Austin, Minn., (where Hormel makes Spam) has 13 restaurants with Spam on the menu, including Johnny’s.
Jerry’s Other Place sells a Spamburger for $6.29.
Posted on 02/12/2009 4:24:55 PM PST by dennisw
Spam, a gelatinous 12-ounce rectangle of spiced ham and pork, may be among the world’s most maligned foods, dismissed as inedible by food elites and skewered by comedians who have offered smart-alecky theories on its name
But these days, consumers are rediscovering relatively cheap foods, Spam among them. A 12-ounce can of Spam, marketed as “Crazy Tasty,” costs about $2.40. “People are realizing it’s not that bad a product,” said Dan Johnson, 55, who operates a 70-foot-high Spam oven.
Hormel declined to cooperate with this article, but several of its workers were interviewed here recently with the help of their union, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 9. Slumped in chairs at the union hall after making 149,950 cans of Spam on the day shift, several workers said they been through boom times before — but nothing like this.
Spam “seems to do well when hard times hit,” said Dan Bartel, business agent for the union local. “We’ll probably see Spam lines instead of soup lines.”
Even as consumers are cutting back on all sorts of goods, Spam is among a select group of thrifty grocery items that are selling steadily.
Pancake mixes and instant potatoes are booming. So are vitamins, fruit and vegetable preservatives and beer, according to data from October compiled by Information Resources, a market research firm.
“We’ve seen a double-digit increase in the sale of rice and beans,” said Teena Massingill, spokeswoman for the Safeway grocery chain, in an e-mail message. “They’re real belly fillers.”
Kraft Foods said recently that some of its value-oriented products like macaroni and cheese, Jell-O and Kool-Aid were experiencing robust growth. And sales are still growing, if not booming, for Velveeta, a Kraft product that bears the same passing resemblance to cheese as Spam bears to ham.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Hot & Spicy Spam with Tabasco = Yum.
Garlic Spam = Interesting.
Spam with Bacon = PORK FAT RULES!!!
Yes, they really do make those varieties. You can get them at the Spam Museum Gift Shop, and maybe even a grocer near you. :)
Austin, Minn., (where Hormel makes Spam) has 13 restaurants with Spam on the menu, including Johnny’s.
Jerry’s Other Place sells a Spamburger for $6.29.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
SPAM is a tradition in my family.
We LOVE those SPAMburgers.
It’s for the upcoming DEPRESSION which the DEMOCRATS are putting us into!!! Or, it’s for “emergencies” like terrorist attacks. We are NOT dumb.
I had a Spam sandwich yesterday. I broke every rule in the book. I used white bread, Miracle Whip Salad dressing and Spam. With a cold glass of milk I was in heaven. Seriously, this was a staple when I was a kid and we always liked it. Sorry, I don’t mean to offend the sensibilities of the gourmets out there, but facts are facts, I love the stuff.
I suspect that one reason why people are buying more spam is that they fear some kind of economic catastrophe, and they want to lay a little food by, just in case.
That would also go for the other foods mentioned, beans and rice.
And, as well, it would apply to the huge increase in sales of ammunition. People are perhaps saying, “Well, maybe we won’t need this stuff, but it won’t hurt to have it, just in case.”
Spam is the State food of Hawaii. It rocks, and hardens the arteries better than super glue.
I’ve been stocking up on it just for that Depression.
I wouldn’t consider SPAM cheap but it keeps well in the cupboard.
I like the stuff
I love a Spam sandwich on white bread with mustard!
That's just wrong. But sooooooo tasty!
Walmart has their own brand which doesn’t taste any different and it’s half the price.
I remember Nikita Khrushchev said he would have starved during WWII if not for Spam. I think we sent huge amounts to the Soviet Union.
If you slice it very thin and fry it up it almost tastes like real ham. Add that to some garlic pastaroni with a can of peas and you got a good meal.
I like it the same way but FRIED!!!!!!!!!
FRIED. let the elites die when they see that
probably sent cases and cases of Vienna Sausages too, but they probably could not figure out why they were called sausages
From 2005:
With $136 million in sales, South Korea is the largest market in the world for Spam outside the United States. But here, some consider the pink luncheon meat with its gelatinous shell too nice to buy for themselves, and 40% of the Spam is purchased as gifts.
Especially during the holidays, you can see the blue-and-yellow cans neatly stacked in the aisles of the better stores. . . the Spam often comes wrapped in boxed sets. A set of 12 cans costs $44.
“Spam really is a luxury item,” said . . . an impeccably dressed fashion buyer who was loading gift boxes of Spam into a cart at the Shinsegae department store before the recent Chusok holiday. . .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.