AUSTIN, Minn. — The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want. The workers make Spam, perhaps the emblematic hard-times food in the American pantry.
Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table. Now, in a sign of the times, it is happening again, and Hormel is cranking out as much Spam as its workers can produce. In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely. 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 (one G-rated example: Something Posing As Meat).
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. “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.
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Italian Style spaghetti were main staples for me as a college student surviving (barely) on the Veterans GI Bill… but Spam? Sorry, no can do. BTW do they still serve this crap in the military? And now, for something completely different…
Spam is a contraction for spolied ham.
Treet is a contraction for tricinosis meat.
That’s all that need be said.
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I have fond memories of sitting on the beach at Waikiki eating SPAM sushi from the International Market Place.
Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!
SPAM goes with everything!
It activates my gag reflex. I might as well stick my finger down my throat. At least I won’t have the displeasure of tasting something nasty going down followed by something nasty coming up.
The wife knows to only open a can of that crap when I am going to be gone at least two days. I can smell it lingering in the air for days afterward.
Bill said “I have fond memories of sitting on the beach at Waikiki eating SPAM sushi from the International Market Place.”
Aah yes, Spam Musubi, a Hawaiian treat indeed.
I watched a program about food tech once and it featured a segment on Spam, Even though the flavor and texture are an acquired taste, it’s not full of the crap some people tend to believe.
I used to eat it as a kid, but the salt and fat content have cut my consumption to maybe a couple of times a year.
There are allot of things people eat that other find horrible, I don’t like caviar, yet many people do.
No wonder a lot of you don’t like Spam. You don’t eat it raw! Spam has to be fried.
#19
“Eating that stuff is just disgusting and I’ll stick to proper food when it comes to feeding my kids.”
Who’s teaching you how to eat? Madonna’s Kaballah group?
#35
“There are allot of things people eat that other find horrible, I don’t like caviar, yet many people do.”
Caviar: Salted & fermented fish eggs from Russian sturgeons swimming in heavily polluted water.
Foie gras: Morbidly obese duck/geese liver.
Truffles: Turd shaped, pussy scented & dirt tasting mushrooms.
#36
I’ve had spam every way but in a smoothie.
I do not like it.
I would much rather buy a 1.29 a pound pork shoulder, slow roast it until fork tender and then dowse it in BBQ sauce then eat spam.
I will have a better finished product, with lots of leftovers and overall cheaper.
Spam is Battle of Leningrad fare.
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