"spam" news and stories

Turn off your spam-blockers and get ready for an avalanche of salty, eraser-colored porktastic goodness. The other day, I wrote about how Spam is ramping up production to meet recession-fueled demand. Some of you passionately defended the oft-ridiculed meat product; others requested Spam recipes. So I rounded up a few of the best Spam-cooking sites, just for you.

First, check out the aptly named spamrecipes.net, which gives Spam a vaguely International makeover with recipes like Spam frittata, Spam carbonara and Cantonese Spam. Spam's own website has recipes from its test kitchen as well as contributions from fans like Spam salad cones and Maui Spam muffins. Just Recipes has 359 Spam recipes, from A Good Hot (Spam) Sandwich to Zippy Spam and Pesto Biscuits.

As for me, I still favor the classic Southern Spam sandwich: A thick slab of skillet-fried Spam between two slices of Duke's mayonnaise-slathered Wonder Bread with a sliced summer tomato.

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Spam, that most mocked of foods, is apparently experiencing an upswing thanks to the recession. People may not be able to afford steak, but they can always dig up some change for a $1.99 can of putty-pink goodness. So the industrious workers at the Hormel factory in Austin, Minnesota are cranking out the Spam 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, according to the New York Times. That equals about 150,000 cans of Spam daily.

Spam is just one of the many cheap, filling foodstuffs flying off the shelf across America. Others include pancake mixes, instant mashed potatoes, and Jello-O. While I'm not opposed to the occasional fried Spam sandwich on white bread with mayo and tomatoes, when it comes to budget food I'll stick to lentils and tuna, thanks.

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Last week the new COOL (country of origin label) labeling went into effect. The legislation was actually created years ago but faced stiff resistance from the food industry. However, the recent salmonella outbreak in the US and the Listeria outbreak in Canada have made it impossible to hold it back anymore, and the labels have to be implemented within six months.

Some lawmakers and consumer groups are worried about the loopholes, though. According to Bloomberg.com, loopholes in the legislation allow foods of mixed origin to be exempt. That includes things like mixed vegetables, Spam, processed meats, and mixed nuts.

Some lawmakers are looking into making changes to close the loopholes, but of course the industrial food lobby's are against that. They're worried about how much all of the new labeling is going to cost. I understand that, but are their up front costs worth risking the health of consumers?

[Via Coldmud]

I have a faint recollection of eating Spam when I was a kid. I know that my mom bought it once in a while, but I tried it a while back and I don't think it's something I would try again (that film on top...gah). I think the only way I would try it is if it's in a recipe where it's cooked a lot or smothered with other flavors.

Like the recipe after the jump. It's for Spaghetti Carbonara and it comes courtesy of spamrecipes.net.

I love Japanese food. And I love Monty Python. But the two can never blend.

So when one blogger sent a URL describing Spam onigiri, I naturally launched into Monty Python's immortal "Spam Sketch" (Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam!....) while simultaneously dreaming about the taste of those glorious triangles of rice Japanese eat for lunch...until I stopped short.

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