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Hawaii food festival explores the wonders of canned meat

19 Comments
By CALEB JONES

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19 Comments
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Portuguese Sausage-Flavored SPAM!! That's two breakfasts' in one!! Can't wait to try it...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Don't get me wrong, I love Spam. But, I don't eat it anymore because it's so unhealthy. 79% of its calories are from fat, and a two-ounce serving has half the recommended daily intake of sodium.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I occasionally enjoy teriyaki spam musubi. The spam is marinated in teriyaki sauce and placed on rice Nigiri style. So Ono! Of course eaten in moderation. I make it with spam lite which is lower in fat and sodium.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

That's just flat out gross! I prefer my meat fresh natural and lean!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Spam became very popular because Hormel produced them in huge numbers for the US military during World War II. Indeed, because it was widely available due to being a canned product with a long sheif life, that's why it became very popular in Hawaii, where other meat products became too expensive due to the food rationing of World War II. Spam also became popular in South Korea, especially after the ravages of the Korean War (1950-1953); indeed, the well-known Korean stew dish, budae jjigae, was created by South Koreans at the end of the Korean War by using Spam and hot dogs procured from US Army bases plus more traditional Korean ingredients used in stews.

For many years, people looked down on Spam; but the introduction of new flavors and the healthier versions with far lower fat and sodium content, Spam has made a resurgence in popularity in recent years.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Canned meat is even worse than fresh meat.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

SPAM MUSUBI

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I like my fatty meat with fat you can see, not mashed into it.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

that's why it became very popular in Hawaii, where other meat products became too expensive due to the food rationing of World War II. Spam also became popular in South Korea, especially after the ravages of the Korean War (1950-1953)

Another fun fact: a lot of people think Hawaii is the world's largest consumer of Spam but they're wrong. This distinction actually goes to Guam (by a wide margin) where the average per capita consumption is 16 cans a year.

I like my fatty meat with fat you can see, not mashed into it.

But then you don't get any delicious gelatinous goop!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Spam is indeed full of wonder. Wonder what it actually is? Wonder why people would choose to eat it? Wonder why any restaurant would degrade itself by placing it on the menu. Wonder why vikings sing "Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!"

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

They love it on Guam. and the results show in the general physiques of Guamites.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Gah, too salty. Wish they made them healthier here.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

There's a reason why the word 'spam' is associated with 'junk' or 'garbage' in most uses, if not all, of the word. I can understand how it became a kind of necessity during and after war, when people were desperate, but why people would CHOOSE to eat it is beyond me. What's most absurd about it is that it is actually quite expensive in Japan, despite being about as good for you, or less even, than a can of cat or dog food.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

When goods are from other coutries the price is higher Smith. Dont you know that?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Mitsuo: "When goods are from other coutries the price is higher Smith."

Yes, but it is expensive RELATIVE to other things within the country, imported or not. It is higher priced in Asia not so much because it is imported as because of this image of it as a more 'luxury item' as opposed to being a symbol of 'economic hardship' in Western countries. Spam and Holiday Luncheon Meat or any of the other spin-offs of spam are dirt cheap compared with real meat in most nations because they are garbage. In Japan, a small can of spam costs nearly as much as a fresh piece of meat, and as I said not just because it's imported-- so again, why the hell would you buy the former?

As for costs simply being higher because they are imported, Mitsuyo, why are other Hormel products sometimes a lot cheaper than spam? I bet you don't even know of the other Hormel products widely available.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

I love fatty meat like pork belly. I love processed meat like salami and dried sausage too. The French ones with all the white mould on the outside. The good old regular banger or hot dog too. If you watch someone make it properly, a huge amount of salt goes onto yakitori, but the results are usually well worth it.

Spam is fatty and its processed and its full of salt, but its just not very nice. Therein lies the problem.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I actually like the taste of spam. Spam musubi is good and it goes great with scrambled eggs and makes a convenient substitute for ham in a sandwich. But what makes it queasy is the nutritional labeling. A single serving contains 30 percent of your daily saturated fat quota, 31 percent sodium, and 13 percent of your cholesterol. They also call spam the Hawaiian steak and comes with 13 different flavors. Still like great American hotdogs, it 's ok to eat occasionally if you limit your intake of other fats for that day.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

wow, such healthy ingredients. ...potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrate.

Potatoes belong to the family of the deadly nightshade plant, the atropa belladonna, whose solanine glyco-alkaloids CAUSE rheumatoid arthritis. US Agric Dept 1974.Potato is high in cabohydrates that fatten. (no it's not the calories nor fats tha fatten) See http://www.tthairsoluitons.com/all-about-food/potato.

Sugar has 77 harmful effects, hitting you within 20 minutes of consumption, lowering white blood cell activity, immunity,' spiking insulin.. risking diabetes 2. etc.

Nitrates killed the bacteria in Spam..sure, but unless you consume VitaminC at the same meal, they will form carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach.,

Thank USA for sreading sickness and obesity.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Hawaii has to long-distance import much of their food, so anything fresh would cost much more.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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