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I have never understood why there could even be a debate about Spam, but taking my own family as an example, I suppose it should be expected. My family is divided. My Mom and I can't stand the sight or smell of what looks like, well, Spam. Dad and sisters, on the other hand, absolutely love the stuff, and in fact, will do what I consider an act of utter I-don't-know-what, eat Spam "raw," straight out of the can.
I am absolutely intrigued that there has to be a sizeable enough contingent of Spam-lovers that almost 6 billion cans of the processed meat have been produced since its introduction into the world. I loved the strong aroma, the rich flavor and the smooth and creamy texture. That moment for me was a lot like the one most kids experience eating their first ice-cream sundaes, except that my food wasn't a sundae. It happened to be cold processed ham and pork."
On the other (more sensible, in my opinion) hand, Shapiro hates Spam. She says, ""Spam was the color of the 1950s: preternaturally pink, a slightly speckled flesh tone shared by Caucasians and pigs. When fried, Spam acquired an even more unfortunate hue, kind of like a radioactive tongue."
So I ask you, dear Slashfood readers, about Spam. Do you love it? Or, do you, like me, hate it?
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8-31-2007 @1:09AM mcddjj said... I love the stuff but not raw. I am especially endeared to Spam Musubi with wasabi.
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8-31-2007 @1:25AM EF said... Same here. It's pretty nasty when cold, but fry up a few slices and put them between mayo covered white bread and that's good eatin'.
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8-31-2007 @1:26AM streetKJ said... For Filipinoes (like myself) and Hawaiians, SPAM has a special cultural significance. In the Philippines, where having a refrigerator is still a luxury in some parts of the country, all meals are cooked fresh from ingredients bought that same day. Oftentimes though, people like convenience, and SPAM works well since it is canned and needs not be refrigerated. Since the days of WWII when Filipinoes fought alongside US troops against the Japanese, we've developed a liking for this salty processed meat product because it could be sliced thinly and fried to a crisp, similar to many filipino snack foods (called "pulutan" since you tend to eat them while drinking beer or liquor) including "tapa" (fried beef jerky), "dilis" (seasoned fried anchovies), or chicharrones. SPAM is so popular in Filipino cuisine that it is actually part of many breakfast options in the (suffix) "-silog" family. SPAMsilog is a breakfast of fried spam slices, garlic fried rice, and a sunny side up fried egg with a garnish of sliced tomato and sometimes pineapple chunks along with chili-garlic vinegar for dipping. Other "-silog" breakfasts include: tapsilog (tapa meat), longsilog (longonisa, a Filipino sausage), tocsilog (tocino, a sweet-salty cured meat which is fried), and bangsilog (bangus, or milkfish fillet) to name a few.
Hawaiians also love SPAM because many settlers in Hawaii are of Filipino descent, and of course those Filipinoes who settled there brought their love of SPAM and mixed it with local tastes. The "Hawaiian Plate Lunch" as it is known is comprised of two scoops of steamed white rice, a side of macaroni salad, and your meat of choice, which is either BBQed short ribs, chicken katsu, shrimp, mahi-mahi, or even SPAM slices. Other Hawaiian cuisine which incorporates SPAM is "SPAM musubi" which is basically an overgrown SPAM nigiri sushi that has a sweet sauce replacing where the wasabi would be between the SPAM slice and rice, and also SPAM saimin noodle soup.
I can understand why you may not like SPAM, but to me and several million other Asian and Pacific Islander folks, SPAM is a part of our culture.
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8-31-2007 @1:31AM streetKJ said... SPAM also inspired the MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) for soldiers!
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8-31-2007 @4:29AM Amy said... Out here on Guam it can be bought at McDonalds as part of a "Big Breakfast".(They also serve Portugese Sausage) My husband and kids love it. A Spam product sold out here is Hot and Spicy Spam. Chopped finely and added to a pan of fried rice is great. People all over the Pacific eat Spam - due to its introduction after WWII. Yes, most of us understand and cultural and health consequences....but sometimes it hits the spot!
PS Another local tradition is Spam and ship biscuits (crackers) during a typhoon when the power is out and the wind is howling outside. I always have a can in the pantry.
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8-31-2007 @5:50AM Silver_Potato said... Spam Musubi in the hizzie
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8-31-2007 @6:18AM Bonnie said... Gotta have it. Not often, mind you, but every now and then it's time to gather the fam around and watch the spectacular, Spamilicious splendor, splurching from the can. (Do I get extra credit for alliteration?)
My favorite way to eat it is finely diced in an omlette.
Also, the can makes a mighty fine cookie cutter, specifically for an old-fashioned iced molasses cookie called Sally-Anns, Aunt Sally Cookies. I try to make these at Christmas time, so I guess that means I buy at least one can of Spam every year.
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8-31-2007 @11:16AM Ariane said... Bleh...with a capital B.
I don't understand it. I find the stuff quite disgusting.
My husband insisted on buying a tin when we were married because "every house has to have a tin in the cupboard" and we haven't touched it yet (3+ yrs and still going). Does anyone want a free tin?
It tops my list of the worst foods ever,
Spam
Marmite
Pot Noodle
etc...
What is it about Spam that makes people like it?
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8-31-2007 @7:57AM LordJezo said... Just last weekend during a tailgate party for a show here in New Jersey we barbecued sliced Spam right on the grill. Add a little mustard and you have some tasty finger food.
Mark me down in the "Love it" category.
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8-31-2007 @10:42AM Beanie said... I too love it. My father used to fry it up on weekends for breakfast with ketchup and eggs. I also like it cold on white bread with mustard.
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8-31-2007 @9:36AM Kat said... love it especially as spam musubi or in goya champuru, definitely wouldn't eat it raw though.
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8-31-2007 @10:15AM Susan said... Fried spam with mased potatoes takes me back to the late 1940's and my grandma's kitchen at 216 West 90th Street in LA.
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8-31-2007 @10:29AM eva said... Seems like everybody likes it, so far . . . I guess we don't admit it in person, though :) It's been years and years since I had it, but I have great memories of camping during autumns as a kid and having eggs and spam cooked in a frying pan over the fire. Smoky, hot, crispy, eaten in the cool morning sunlight with a big cup of cocoa--mmmmm. Cold . . .I dunno.
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8-31-2007 @10:58AM Kevin said... I don't particularly like SPAM, I like Prem. Is it weird to have brand loyalty in tinned luncheon meats? I have very fond memories of camping breakfast fry ups, and dipping a crunchy crisp bit of fried PREM in a runny egg yolk.
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8-31-2007 @11:10AM Ima Wurdibitsch said... I'll get a craving about once every five years. The rest of the time, I'm completely skeeved out by the "spamjelly" around the meat when you bang-bang-bang-skluck it out of the can.
http://wordybitch.blogspot.com
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8-31-2007 @11:22AM Chairmantao said... Another vote for Spam musubi. A friend of mine from Hawaii even got me a neat little musubi press which forms the rice into just the right size and shape, so now I make it at home.
Lots of HK-style restaurants in the Bay Area serve Spam with dishes like fried rice and ramen.
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8-31-2007 @1:15PM kassie said... A Minnesotan here. I haven't eaten it a lot, but I did just have a Spam burger at the State Fair and it was awesome. I may have to add it to the grocery list.
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8-31-2007 @1:11PM Erin said... Love it! We used it get it for breakfast on weekends, with eggs and pancakes, presumably because it is cheaper than bacon. It doesn't do anything for me straight out of the can, though.
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8-31-2007 @1:33PM Drew C said... My Mom who was a kid during the Korean war told me about times when they were certain that South Korea was going to be overtaken by the communist north. Food was scarce, and she lived off making broth from veggies and stream anchovies. When America decided to jump in and save the south from the communist regime, they brought along with them the miracle meat SPAM which she said "tasted like it was from heaven". This food is a life saver, that's the bottom line, and I think we should think back from time to time (being the snobby foodies that we are) and remember that food is first for nourishment, not recreation...
Anyhow, I personally think it tastes great in kimchi chigae (soup) or grilled over the an open fire until crispy, so I'm a loyal SPAM advocate. My wife, however, can't stand the little bits of gelatin, and is disgusted by the slosh/plop sound it makes when you shake the meat out of the tin, haha. But whenever we come home from drinking and there's leftover SPAM fried rice or Kimchi chigae, she gobbles it down in record time!
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8-31-2007 @2:16PM Aaron said... I tried Spam once, its about the only thing I will not eat. I tried frying it, still gross. It was a texture thing I think. Http://www.aarondavidson.com
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