The Lonely Legacy of Spam

food52 ^ | 12/18/2020 | eric kim

[mylife]

“Spam is the ultimate loner food,” said the chef Esther Choi, who lives in a one-bedroom by herself in New York City. Working late hours to keep the lights on at all of her restaurants, Ms. Yoo and two Mŏkbar locations (with one more on the way), Choi doesn’t get to cook meals at home for herself very often. But when she does, she turns to the simple things: fried Spam, eggs, and Hetbahn, a single serving of Korean microwavable rice. “Even though I’m a chef and I can make anything in the world,” she said, “when I’m by myself, those are the things I want to eat.”

This is a common fugue for many Asian Americans: Spam, eggs, and rice. The nostalgic valances that stem from that salty, pink block of luncheon meat go way back for some of us, not least because it represents a very specific experience: what it was like growing up in America with immigrant parents. Choi remembers, for instance, only eating Spam when her mom and dad were out for the night, usually at work. On such evenings, she and her sister were in charge of feeding themselves and their younger brother. Spam was an obvious choice, not least because it was so easy to heat: Just slice the block into thin rectangles and sear in a dry pan until crispy on both sides, like bacon. (No oil needed. There’s plenty of fat in the product itself.)

[LegendHasIt]

I’ll have to try that! Thanks for posting.

[FreedomPoster]

It has been a while since I’ve been there, but I think cheese.

[MayflowerMadam]

I like it fried, in a sandwich with mustard.

[Kartographer]

This is NOT Spam!

[HP8753]

Maybe her parents grew up on Spog. ;-)

[ontap]

I love Spam!!!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

During World War II, the United States Army received 150 million pounds of pork luncheon meat, or what soldiers jokingly called “ham that didn't pass its physical,” “meat loaf without basic training,” and “the real reason war was hell.”

‘Long about 1965 I was living alone and bought a cookbook, supposedly but not actually for my demographic. The only thing I remember about it was its warning to never cook a meal for company that you haven’t tried beforehand.

Author recounted having seen an interesting recipe, and invited company to dinner and cooked it for the first time. Of course veterans were thick on the ground after WWII, and she was mortified when she first tasted it with her company, and realized: “It’s SPAM!"

[redfreedom]

SPAM = Spoiled & Putrefied Animal Meat

[FredSchwartz]

Stuff Posing As Meat

[trebb]

I found it a cheap way to get fatty protein when doing the low-carb diet - helped me lose 22 pounds by eating a can for lunch.

[outofsalt]

"Rather have deviled ham"

My mom would mix it with a little cream cheese and spread it on Wonder bread. She cut off the crusts and served it with Koolaid to us kids when we got home from school. A poverty version of High Tea. I still love it.

[PROCON]

I love Spam, have it for breakfast frequently.

[texas booster]

Talk about a generational food.

My parents had fond memories of Spam (seriously, truly fond memories). My Mom is from East Germany and my Dad, Depression-era and military for life.

We ate it as dependents when we were low on money, probably the same as most state-side based kids.

My kids and grandkids view it as a punishment. Not so folk from other cultures. To quote from the article:

For Sunwoo, Specially Processed (a play about SPAM) is an opportunity to explore this disjuncture between American and Korean perceptions of Spam, what she calls “one of America's most misunderstood foods.” “Through this project, I learned about my relatives from North Korea for the first time,” she said. “My dad was born in Pyongyang, and my maternal grandmother in Kaesong. Spam kind of gave me permission to collect a more formal oral history. I asked my grandma about her experiences eating Spam during the Korean War. For her, it was like manna from the heavens. She was so hungry, and to have that was the most delicious thing.” But whenever Sunwoo’s grandmother (now 93 years old and residing in Washington State) takes a bite of Spam, there's something missing. It doesn't taste as great. “There are so many other things to eat now,” Grandma Chongyol said. “So why would I eat Spam?”

[texas booster]

From the SPAM® Museum website:

The museum will be closed following orders from the State of Minnesota until December 18th. THE SPAM® SHOP IS OPEN. While we are closed the SPAMbassadors will be hosting live virtual tours every day Monday through Friday at 2pm. Virtual Tours will also be available by appointment, email spam_museum@hormel.com to schedule.

A virtual tour of the SPAM® Museum in Austin, MN? Woo hoo!

I'll grab to grandkids and see if I can get them off their iPads for long enough to get some proper education ...

[outofsalt]

Now I'm going to have to go to Walmart and start stacking cans in the aisle to answer this question!)

[bert]

I have been recently eating the Spam saved in the pantry at least ten years

I like spam but consider fried spam to be to salty for my current tastes

I like a cold spam sandwich on crusty bread with Miracle whip

A former favorite is Kraft Mac Shells and Spam. My wife can’t eat cheese so we no longer can have that.

I intend to replace the old Spam with new

[mylife]

It is an interesting article and as you see here the stuff touched millions of lives.

[SimpleJack]

I went into Seafood City, A Filipino supermarket in Southcenter WA. They literally had a wall of Spam in one aisle.

[Semper Vigilantis]

My wife and I love SPAM. I grew up on SPAM w/ mac & Cheese from a box.
Nowadays it's the less sodium SPAM with baked mac & cheese once or twice a month.

[mylife]

Who knew how many were touched by a SpamAngel...