Food History: SPAM
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- čas přidán 5. 01. 2023
- SPAM sushi and Korean "army base stew" are maybe not the first dishes to pop into your head when you hear the mysterious acronym "SPAM." But people have a way of turning lemons into lemonade, and there's no better example of that then the sealed mystery meat phenomenon.
Food History is a show all about... well, the history of food. Join host Justin Dodd as he brings you the stories of how your favorite meals ended up on your plate. Today, we're talking SPAM. What does SPAM stand for anyway?
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My favorite fact about SPAM is that their parent company, Hormel Foods, once sued Henson Productions for defaming their brand with the evil boar Spa-am in Muppet Treasure Island.
This sounds like spam to me.
Awesome movie!
@@NeonVisual This comment deserves more love. 😀
They also sued ...somebody, don't remember who... to stop the use of "spam" to refer to junk e-mail. It was brand trademark defense. Even if they lose, [which I think they did in the Muppet case and I know they did in the e-mail case] they show that they will defend their trademark and/or patent rights. If you don't sue, some other company could use the name for their own version of the actual meat product and the courts might use their disinterest in policing non-meat uses as a reason to rule in the other company's favor. It's part of the joke behind "McDowell's" in the movie "Coming to America," in which they riff on the fact that McDonald's will aggressively lawsuit other uses of the name McDonald's.
On seeing the thumbnail I was transported back to watching Monty Python's spam sketch/song (and the 70s when it was a fairly regular thing to eat because of the convenience). Python was the best thing about spam.
Would you like some Tart with not so much Rat instead? A call back to the Spam Sketch in one of their movies replacing SPAM with Rat.
Lots of great recipes for it!
Egg and Spam
Egg, bacon, and Spam
Egg, bacon, sausage, and Spam
Spam, bacon, sausage, and Spam
Spam, egg, Spam, Spam, bacon, and Spam
Spam, Spam, Spam, egg, and Spam
Spam, sausage, Spam, Spam, Spam, bacon, Spam, tomato, and Spam
Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, baked beans, Spam, Spam, Spam, and Spam
Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy, and a fried egg on top, and Spam.
🎵Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam! Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam! 🎶🎵
I DON'T LIKE SPAM!!!
@@Freddles279 Have the Spam, bacon, sausage, and Spam. There isn't much Spam in that.
@@Freddles279 Don't make a fuss dear, I'll have your SPAM. I luv'it, I'm having SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM baked beans SPAM SPAM SPAM and SPAM
@@therexbellator Baked beans are off.
In Malaysia, we have something called luncheon meat. That made me wonder if that is what SPAM is called in our country or it's another variation of SPAM since the SPAM meat from the US look similar to our local luncheon meat.
Local canned luncheon meat is not only square shape, but there's also round shape canned luncheon meat.
Here in the US, "luncheon meat" is a generic name for SPAM-like products. Their quality and ingredients can vary widely. My grandfather swore by a competing product, Treet, but I think that stuff tastes like recently-unshod feet smell.. I imagine if you had SPAM there, it would be branded as such. -- unless there were some other product already using that name as a trademark.
As a Southern child,I grew up eating and loving Spam! Regular Spam,not any of the weird flavors out now.Fried with a golden crust with a breakfast of eggs & grits ,or plain out of the can,sliced on a sandwich with yellow mustard.It is wonderful! We also ate scads of scrapple,potted meat/mustard sandwiches and canned corned beef as well. it is delicious made into hors- hor d' ouvres with olives,pickle,pineapple pcs etc on toothpicks.I was born in 1960 and I still remember opening the can using the "key" stuck onto the top of the can with a dollop of sticky stuff,and you place the tab on the can into the slot on the key and used it to them twist off the thin strip of metal around the can to release the top off near the top.This was kind of scary and dangerous - that strip could cut you ud you weren't careful,and sometimes that coil of metal would come off the key at any given place and I would just go get my dad's needle nose to finish opening it.! It isn't that hard these days thank goodness!
My mom grew up in WWII England. For years the only meat she got was Spam. All the fresh meat, and fresh food in general, went to the military. She freaking LOVES Spam, so do I.
My Austrian mom never allowed it in her kitchen. My American dad agreed.
I just mentioned to my wife last night that we hadn't had Spam for a long time.
Maybe we'll have Lobster Thermidor aux Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam, although I'm not sure about the egg.
All credit to Micheal Palin and the late, great Terry Jones.
Brilliant.
I knew about SPAM being popular in Hawaii but not in Korea! You learn something every day I guess.
Apparently you can eat SPAM with eggs for breakfast. I learned that from listening to old episodes of some radio show (Burns and Allen I think) that was sponsored by SPAM.
In the 50s, my mother would bake spam like she did canned ham: stuck with whole cloves. Occasionally she would slice and fry it as a sub for bacon.
Growing up, my favorite soup was potato soup with diced Spam. I lived on a Montana cattle ranch at the time but preferred Spam over any other kind of meat. I think that was when my parents decided that I had hit my head once too often, or not often enough. ;-) I still love Spam 75 years later.
I smoke Spam on a Big Green Egg. It started on a whim as I was smoking ribs, chicken and sausage for a work lunch. I happened to grab a can of low sodium Spam and I rubbed my house made rub and put it in the fridge over night. The next day I tossed it on with the ribs, et al. It cooked quicker than the rest and in about 3-4 hours I felt I needed to take it off. I left it on the counter to rest. As I went to continue with the rest of the meat i was smoking. After a bit, I decided to give it a try, It was amazing, truly a Eureka moment. I brought the rest with the BBQ I was bringing to the office. About 8-10 of my work/lunch buddies gathered for a BBQ feast. To a man they were offered the Spam and nobody wanted any. I was able to persuade one or two to try it and they were aghast at how wonderful it was. Pretty soon, everyone was trying it and everyone was shocked at how good it was. Even my wife who hated the idea of Spam with her very being tried it and was amazed at how good it was. I now how a specialty sandwich, smoked Spam with BBQ Sauce, a small scoop of cole slaw and pickles on a potato roll. It is an amazing sandwich.
I will have the Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy, and a fried egg on top, and Spam.
There is an Okinawan dish called Goya Champuru that is often made with Spam. Super easy to make and DE-licious
I love that dish! One of my summer favorites!
The best part of Spam was the free jelly that came with it. Now they took that way, what's the point?
That jelly is called aspic (even though this is not a particularly fancy sort)
and I miss it, too.
As a Korean, born and raised in Hawai’i, my favorite is kimchi fried rice; can’t have it without the SPAM!!!
In Australia around the 70’s as kids I ate SPAM. I hated the jelly remember eating it a fair bit and there was other dearer canned meats. However in outback Australia I ate a LOT of canned foods and powered milk. Being at least 1000km away from a major city back then there wasn’t much fresh food. Dad did grow what he could and we had chickens. Love fresh food and the technology we have now.
I wonder if it might have been inspired by "head cheese", made in Italy from pig's head and assorted scraps, then chilled in a cheese mold. Lots of gelatin, delicious. My memories of Spam: camping with family, in the 1960s, with a leaky canvas tent, mosquitoes and Kraft mac and cheese with Spam for dinner.
Upon seeing the topic, I knew that Budae Jjigae and Spam Musubi would make an appearance.
I need that wallpaper! Nice report.
Spam wellington... Oddly enough its quite tasty.
Spam does not have a shelf life, it has a half-life! Love me some SPAM!
I was inspired one winter when I had some Hawaiian neighbors to try my hand at making musubi. I did some research and some shopping. I got thumbs up all around, even though I had never been to Hawaii or tasted musubi. I used the teriyaki SPAM. It was nice to know that I could get a taste of Hawaii even deep in the Rockies.
LOL I've lived in SKorea and Guam where spam is quite popular. I've never eaten the stuff myself, but can confirm it's great as chum if you want to snorkel with tropical fish on a coral reef.
Great for my lo carb diet.
Immortalized forever by the Weird Al tune. Hey, I love the stuff. I don't very much miss the key though.
Always thought it meant spare ham
I thought about faux shrimp dish entry into county fair but didn’t.
Only watching this now because I'm making a SPAM stir fry with cabbage, zucchini, green onions and bacon. a bit of soy sauce and red pepper chili flakes. I love SPAM. If I have anything left over, I'll make breakfast with it by tossing in some scrambled eggs and serving it with Basmati rice with a side of garlic Naan.
Over here in the UK, I like to grill my spam and have it in a sandwich with some mustard. Yum yum. :)
A cousin to liver mush a southern delicacy. Would you ever do a video on liver mush?
Only because they are processed meats.
Ha, yes, absolutely! I just learned about it like 2 days ago for a video we're making covering regional foods-should be out in a month or 2!
Interesting video. I have a love-hate relationship with SPAM. I mostly don't like it, and went years without it, but sort of got into it in the form of spam loco moco at the nearby Hawaiian BBQ place.
I wonder if it's bigger to Asian palates? My grandparents loved it, and had it all the time. I recall my dad having it from time to time, but SPAM disappeared from my household when my mom went on a general anti-sodium nitrate thing in the 1980s. (We were the only kids in school whose sandwiches didn't have the typical processed Hormel/Oscar Mayer lunch meats, for that matter.)
I like Spam, unlike Monty Python. But spam is only 1 of 3 things that survived the world ice caps melting and was eaten by the water world people in the future.
I used to like Spam. I ate thousands of Spam sandwiches. I recently bought a can of Spam and found it to be less tasty and more greasy. Bring back the old stuff!
So it's not Salted Pork Austin Minnesota
it is sold here in australia but i dont think i've ever had any. it doesnt have that high reputation.
also, do you think the word is said more often in this video than the monty python sketch? probably not, but it cant be far behind.
On a side note: If you fly out of or within the U.S. with Spam in your luggage, it is very likely to be checked by T.S.A. screeners. Not confiscated, just looked at. This goes for all canned meats.
My father was in the army during WWII and while he mentioned some of the less desirable things he had to eat, he never, near as I can recall, mentioned spam. As for me personally, I've never knowingly eaten it.
Spam used to be the perfect Saturday night dinner. You got your meat and your gelatin dessert. The key worked double-time as a roach clip, and the empty can could be used as an ashtray. What more could a poor fellow ask for?
Brilliant.
Fun fact: you would probably need at least five cans of spam to trace the US-Mexico border!
Spam is something I eat only when I'm out of food and I can't make it to the store or if I want something really salty. For me, it's alright as long as you don't eat it often. I eat it maybe once a year.
SPAM = Squirrels Possum And Mice
I'm a white American that has had Army Base Stew, it's honestly really good
I love spam.... Fry it up and eat it
Spam is only good with eggs, beans and spam.
Spam, Spam, egg, Spam, and beans is pretty good too! 😁
@@jimgsewell Spam spam and spam
Thank you Justin for putting the idea of SPAM lemonade in my head.. Yuck > -
My disabled and elderly parent's favorite foods: Bacon cheeseburgers from Wendy's or BK, hot dogs with mild chili, onions, and/or slaw, KFC chicken, candy/chocolate/ice cream, certain pizzas, and SPAM/Treat (which disgusts me).
Spam is delicious lol
Fried SPAM is of the deities, and the stuff ain't half-bad right out of the can and sliced up for a quick SPAM-and-cheese sammich.
Spare
Parts
And
Meat
My favorite spam recipe is what I call beer-spam.
Throw the spam in the garbage, then have a beer.
You mention scrapple but not Pork Roll? The Audacity!
We have a pork roll (or is that Taylor ham) section coming up in a video soon!
Spam wasubi!
I absolutely abhor this video for making me crave a horrible food that I have not eaten in about three decades! 🤣
Stuff Posing As Meat
Deep Fried Spam Musubi
I've never tried spamand have no desire to. It just seems so wrong, ham in a can.
I resist the urge to *SPAM* this video
Spam, spam, spam, spam, 🎶
Yes he missed that. Perhaps didn’t realize it was the same stuff.
and today we call something undesirable, spam.
I can't discount the smell in Austin.. it's the smell Agent Smith talks about in The Matrix.. it reeks throughout the city
Only downwind of the prevailing winds on the east side of town. The smell in the Crane Addition section over in the triangle between the plant, I-90, and East Side Lake could make me feel like I was going to barf, but we lived on the west side past the high school/St. Augustine's Church and it wasn't so bad. Once one crossed the freeway on Oakland Avenue and started heading west out of town towards Oakland and the Par-3, one would encounter hog farms that were their own version of smell-hell-- it was a very close run between hog farm and fresh skunk roadkill.
@@kevindivine2869 not true, if you're from town & live there you probably just don't notice on the other sides of town because the smell is not as strong, but it's there
@@kevindivine2869 Austin is the first instance of Legionaries disease
@@kevindivine2869 Hormel has also faced lawsuits for brain cancer & other issues which they deny is caused by what their plant releases & of course they built a cancer research facility to bolster their defense
I'll never forget that time this talking head wore the dumbest mustard and ketchup matching type sweaters to match with the history of ketchup and mustard episode and I had a fit of anaphylactic proportion
I like spam to be in my SPAM folder.
Wikipedia:
The term spam is derived from the 1970 "Spam" sketch of the BBC sketch comedy television series Monty Python's Flying Circus. The sketch, set in a cafe, has a waitress reading out a menu where every item but one includes the Spam canned luncheon meat. As the waitress recites the Spam-filled menu, a chorus of Viking patrons drown out all conversations with a song, repeating "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam… Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam!"
🐷🍍🍞🤤
What? No Monty Python?
Yes he totally missed that, didn’t he. This video belongs in the spam folder 😂
Shimmy? It's just pork
Stuff posing as meat
SPAM is clearly an acronym: Scraps Posing As Meat
Ahem. Much as I like to lambast America for it's imperialist behavior, South Korea is NOT one of the countries it occupied. South Korea is an ally of the US, they made a mutual defense pact - it is NOT an occupier of S. Korea, it is an ALLIANCE and the US exists there at S. Korea's permission / request.
The US occupied South Korea after WWII. The administrative government was the US military for years before setting up a local government.
@@quovo4 Today's South Korea was literally founded by Koreans who collaborated with the Japanese Empire during WWII under the patronage of the US government.
Imagine the US government founded a country in Continental Europe after WWII with former Nazi collaborators..... This is essentially South Korea, but apply it to East Asia instead.
Living in South Korea for 7 years as a Canadian born person, I noticed that South Korea still lingers to far right social values that match with an ideal 19th century Prussian society.
I have to say. The US government really loves secular or Christian-ized Asian countries like South Korea that treat their citizens like soldiers instead of tax-payers.
@@kimandre336 Last paragraph: See also the Philippines by a near identical SOP
Is there money involved other Barry? Yes there is ....yes there is/was
SPAM musubi is NOT sushi.
The word “sushi” means”sour” and refers to specifically seasoned rice to hold raw fish and other fresh toppings. Musubi is instead made with plain rice. Not all Japanese rice dishes are sushi.
Fun fact: families who eat one can of spam per week, eat one can of spam per week more than families who don't.
Will check the #s on this and report back.