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SPAM Saves Maui
Hormel Foods, who produces SPAM, has jumped in to help out the survivors of the wildfires:
‘Three truckloads of SPAM products are on their way to the impacted areas with two more trucks following,’ Hormel Foods, the company that owns SPAM, said. ‘In all, the SPAM brand has donated cash and product with a retail value of more than $1,000,000 to directly help those impacted by the wildfires.’
The company said it has partnered with nonprofit group Convoy of Hope to get the cans to where they are needed most.
More SPAM is consumed per person in Hawaii than in any other state:
It’s stacked on a block of rice and wrapped in seaweed to make SPAM musubi, and sold at fast-food chains like McDonald’s in Hawaii. There’s even an annual Waikiki SPAM Jam festival. . .
. . . 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Aloha United Way’s Maui Fire Relief Fund.
Didn’t our John Yoo opine recently on SPAM in Hawaii? I know many of you hold fond memories of SPAM, and may still indulge in it to this day.
Published in Culture
Yeah, I’d heard the part about SPAM (it’s in all caps on the cans!) being very popular in Hawai. My first thought on seeing this post was “well that can’t be TOO difficult for them, there must be a lot of it there already!” It just about always has to be cooked/fried though. Especially the canned version vs the singles although I cook the singles too. Uncooked it might be okay on crackers with cheese, but I prefer other options there.
I’ve never even visited Hawaii, let alone lived there, but enjoyed SPAM at least occasionally, pretty much my whole life.
And not just because of this:
I will correct the spelling forthwith!
I just had to make this post, because the Hawaiians have a special relationship with SPAM, and I know that the company reaching out as it did must have been like a friend reaching out to help. I really do believe that it was for more than corporate publicity.
And while I always cook SPAM before eating it, it can be safely eaten straight from the can. That’s a plus when it might be impossible to cook things for a while.
I’ve heard that it has been popular throughout Polynesia as a consequence of its ubiquity during World War II.
My uncle first encountered it in Europe during that time. For the most part he left it where he found it.
I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty confident that modern SPAM is better than it was 80 years ago.
Although I do think it needs to be sliced and fried.
SPAM was a staple when I was a young man at summer camp. I can attest that when the storm is wet enough and fire is not an option and the bannock is long gone, SPAM straight from the can is not the worst option. (Otherwise near-burnt is the proper method.)
I am sure that today a freshly packed can of SPAM is better than its 80 year old counterpart. Canning is not forever.
Growing up as a Navy brat I’ve eaten many a SPAM sandwich, both fried and straight from the can. Both preferably with mayo on soft white bread. I still like it.
No wonder all the shelves are bare of spam in Guam. Hawaii is being recolonized. (Just a bit of local politics that I’ve inadvertently picked up.)
A local business man once told me that the Pacific was being trained into US foods for assimilation purposes, and he directed me to an old position paper by Kissinger. Sure enough, that’s what he said to do. No wonder we have spam sushi here.
I prefer Underwood Deviled Ham to Spam, but Spam is much more filling. And I think cheaper per ounce. (Not that I’m all that frugal — I said I think, not I know.)
Great post Susan. And I can speak first hand to the staple that is SPAM in the nation state of Hawaii. It is in fact on the menu at McDonalds for breakfast and beyond.
The locals in Maui will be happy to have it. I think it will bring a small bit of normality into unimaginable chaos.
I have wonderful memories of a bookstore in Maui. Browsing through the cookbook section, looking for local, Junior-League-type cookbooks a gentleman struck up a conversation about SPAM. I purchased a cookbook and a deck of cards with additional SPAM recipes. It was such a fun, Aloha conversation.
I would love to know where to make a donation where the people will actually receive benefit. I read that ActBlue was soliciting donations. That’s a big Nope.
It wasn’t intentional. It was a consequence of a lot of people showing up out of nowhere with wondrous goods like meat that came in cans that the strangers would trade for fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish. And it tasted pretty good, too. Ascribing a long-term motive to it gets dicey.
I’ll have to think about this. Reading Kissinger’s paper, he was prescriptive not descriptive. And that’s the way it turned out.
Spam is always on the menu Hawaii, and there is nothing wrong with that. Weird Al who is a great satirist and a keen observer of culture has an ode to Spam.
And I can think of at least 3 more off the top of my head that aren’t included here: Regular, Lite, and Maple.
Oh, and if someone doesn’t fancy eating SPAM even in an emergency? They should be grateful it’s not Armour Treet.
Memories, yes, but fond memories? Salty memories, maybe.
That’s why I sent my brother some Lite Singles this week to try. He says the regular is too salty – although for example, when I make SPAM and eggs I don’t add salt which seems to take care of it nicely – so maybe he’ll be okay with the Lite. Although the Lite is also lower fat and calories which may reduce the flavor too. If I were getting regular cans for him I’d probably go with Reduced Sodium to deal with the saltiness while still apparently having the fat for flavor. :-)
Yes. Fond? Well, it makes a nice break from ketchup sandwiches. So, yeah, I guess.
I prefer the saltiness. But the point of Spam is in a starvation setting is calories per can, not taste.
I wonder if this version is still available?
But I still can’t even find out for sure if it ever was real. Along with 3 others, Pineapple, Macadamia Nut, and Hawaiian Rainbow.
Spam is popular in the tropics for the same reason the military loved to use it: before refrigeration was ubiquitous, this is what filled the gap between fresh food subsistence and modern living.
God I hate Hawaii.
Gee, next thing you know crime will go down and literacy will go up.
The brown banner looks at the ends like it was photoshopped; the banner doesn’t fit the curve of the can.
Depend on who’s doing the recolonizing.
WASPy Western Civ, right?
Most likely globalism, which makes the your projected outcome most unlikely, unfortunately.
Survival food in college, along with 89 cent frozen A&P pizzas and Kraft mac & cheese . . .