Happy 70th Birthday SPAM

This article appeared in the Orange County Register:

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Mighty Spam!
Spam – the meat, not the junk e-mail – reaches a milestone.
By THERESA WALKER
The Orange County Register
It's Spam turning 70, my dear.

Marketed as the "Miracle Meat," Spam debuted in July 1937 and still has a place in hearts and frying pans worldwide. It was the first canned meat product that didn't require refrigeration.

Hormel Foods has produced more than 6 billion cans of Spam, which now comes in 13 varieties.

But why celebrate a can of processed meat, you may ask? Because Spam is part of our culture, like it or not. It even made it from the Hormel factory in Austin, Minn., to Broadway, via the hit musical "Spamalot." How many meats do you know that can make that claim to fame?

Consider some other Spam highlights:

Golden arches, golden letters

McDonald's restaurants in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan include Spam on their menu. Ever tried Spam musubi – a slice of fried Spam on top of rice wrapped in seaweed?

Secret weapon

Spam not only helped sustain American troops in World War II, it was consumed by Russian soldiers, a fact recalled by Nikita Khrushchev in "Khrushchev Remembers."

Jingle jangle

The Spam mascot, SPAMMY the Pig, appeared on the Burns and Allen radio show in 1940. A jingle sung to the chorus of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" included the lyrics, "tastes fine, saves time / if you want something grand, ask for Spam."

Humble beginnings

Before there was "Spamalot" there was the "Monty Python's Flying Circus" comedy sketch that featured a greasy-spoon cafe with nothing but Spam dishes on the menu. The spoof harked back to the days during and after World War II when strict rationing in Britain left Spam as one of a few meat alternatives.

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Spam trivia #1
How many cans of Spam are sold in the U.S. every year?
35 million

90 million

301 million (one for every citizen)

1 billion

*Answer is 35 Million

Spam eaters always seem to have a Spam recipe that's been a favorite in their families for years. Here are some sent to us by Register readers:

SPAM-aroni Casserole

In a large frying pan brown together:

1 can of SPAM (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

Add:

1 can of corn

2 small cans of chopped olives

1 can of tomato paste (dilute with three cans of water)

1 ½ cups of macaroni noodles (cooked)

1/2 pound longhorn cheese (cut into chunks)

Heat until cheese melts.

WooHooWahine

[ Edited by: WooHooWahine 2007-07-07 18:42 ]

Aloha,
Numa here from Aloha Island Grille, just wanted to chime in about "Da SPAM". To give you an idea of how popular Spam is, our little Hawaiian restaurant here in Santa Cruz sold about 4500 orders of Spam musubi last year. For those of you not familiar with Spam Musubi, it is a grilled slice of spam, brushed with teriyaki sauce, on a bed of rice, wrapped in seaweed. Hugely popular in Hawaii as seen on the Hawaiian Spam can.

If we sell that much here on the mainland imagine what kind of numbers they do in Hawaii. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a try, not so bad.

Cheers,
Numa
http://www.alohaislandgrille.com

P.S. I know this isn't that Tiki related, but it is a part of Hawaiiana that you simply cannot deny. Oh, they have Spam festivals sometimes with a Spam carving contest and I'm sure there has been one or two Spam Tikis :)

My last meal on earth would include a spam musubi. There is nothing better!