Yeah my dads screwed up military eating habits made me also grow up very unhealthy. Because he never ate vegetables I also never got vegetables aka no vitamins so I needed braces for crooked front teeth and am short with 5‘9 as a blonde man while everyone else I know its way taller (not american)
I'm 72 now. I spent almost 15 years in Hawai'i. Ate a lot of SPAM cause it was cheap, I was broke and it tastes good. I've lived in Florida for the last 30 years and my pantry is full of every type of SPAM that is made as a great Hurricane back up protien for me and my dogs. The Puppies love it and I do too. When the power is out for 9-10 days, I can open a can and grill it on the BBQ, put it on the exhaust system of my truck, or just eat it cold. It's cheap here, at about $3.29 a can and has a long shelf life. It's a Hell of a lot better then an MRE and you can even slice it and eat it cold if you have too. When I go shopping every 10 days, I always toss a few cans of SPAM in my cart. I gave a few different cans to my Daughter and her husband, but they were not fans. Just wait until they have no gas, power or heat for 10 days and then come on ever and raid my pantry.
It's always the best make your emergency food something you use on a weekly basis so it get's cycled through instead of just sitting there going stale. For me it's oatmeal. Even if I don't have power I can rehydrate it cold. Now will I be happy after a couple of weeks of eating cold oatmeal;)? Probably not. Will I be alive to complain about it? A lot more likely.
@@sakurapablo671 I'd like to see the total chaos that would ensue if the global supply ran out. If you think we won't fly out to the PI and HI just to take your spam, think again.
My grandma had the best SPAM recipe. They lived on a farm that was not too far from the state capitol. Grandpa worked as an assistant to the governor. They were campaigning in the next county and Grandpa showed up, unannounced, with the governor for supper-on wash day. Grandma had not planned on company, so she partially boiled some potatoes, then cut them into chunks. Sliced a SPAM loaf in regular slices almost all the way through. Put the SPAM in a baking dish and stuffed sliced onions and cheddar cheese between each slice. Put the potatoes around it and put it in the oven until the potatoes browned. It was absolutely delicious and the governor loved it! Although when Grandma was telling me about it 40+ years later, she was still mad at Grandpa for just showing up with the governor. We ate it at least once a month when I was a kid and it was always a treat.
what a creative way to cook spam. never thought of blooming a whole spam loaf like that and stuffing it in the middle, i usually slice or cube them up and fry them lol
My dad refused ro eat Spam for decades after he left Vietnam. My entire childhood I had Spam once or twice at most. In recent years since I've been helping care for him, he's redeveloped a taste for it (typically with eggs and toast for breakfast) and it's become a common grab for myself when grocery shopping. So many ways to make it, and cheap as hell.
Or you can be my household, where a can might last a few weeks tops... we all love spam, just cut into slices, and fry it up, good on a sandwich, or by itself with some eggs, though its generally considered a breakfast food here.
Fried slices of spam, white rice, eggs (and aguacate if available) will always be one of my favorite simple go-to meals. If you grow up with Spam you tend to love it forever and if you didn’t, it’s a bit hard to understand I would imagine. Never change, Spam. Never change.
When I was in the Army, I remember telling my grandfather that our MREs didn't include SPAM. His reply was, "My God! The top brass got something right!!" He hated SPAM!
My grandpa loved the stuff. However, my grandpa grew up in a rural farm area in Texas. When he joined the war, canned meat was new to him. When he got back, he had a taste for the stuff. Spam, potted meat and Vienna sausages were staple foods in his house. Especially toward the end of his life when he didn't eat a whole lot. He said his taste buds are gone and the only thing he can taste, is fried Spam with crackers and cheese.
Probably depended on whether the soldier was combat arms (who would have been living on C and K Rations and would be grateful for a hot meal no matter what it was) or a support troop who'd have been eating at military kitchens and was facing the two hundredth day of powdered eggs and spam or chipped beef on toast.
The thing about SPAM is that it goes SOOOO well with rice because of its saltiness. In Korea, a full set of SPAM is given as a holiday gift because of it. It also goes so well with Korean stew varieties since it also is consumed with rice.
So true. You don’t need any gimmicks with spam. It’s so good with rice no wonder it’s a hit in Asia. I also like it as a spam musubi. It’s quite salty on its own so I can’t usually eat it on its own unlike other luncheon meat. Problem tho is it is so crazy expensive.😅
Spam is made to be crispy. People who don't like it are probably eating it cold and soggy, and while that's fine and safe to do because it's precooked, it's leagues better hot and crisped. It isn't meant to be eaten as pate, and just like you wouldn't eat a cold hot dog or a frozen nugget without cooking it, the way to success is to heat it up. Saute it/pan fry it and experience joy ✨ Edit: And to those who complain it's too salty - you arent supposed to eat a whole can at once! Do you eat a whole pack of bacon at once? A whole pound of beef or other meat? A whole bag of chips? Lol. You combine it with other things, guys.
As someone who was born and raised here in Hawaii, I had no idea that spam was considered “poor food” until the internet was a thing. It was and is just a normal food here. Super versatile also, if you never tried making spam fried rice, do it; it’s delicious. Hell, if you gave me a choice I’d eat fried spam over bacon 9/10 times just cause I like it better lol. It’s ironic cause I can’t stomach Vienna sausage or bologna, spam is delicious tho. Make sure you fry it though, raw spam is gross. No one here eats it like that lmao 😂
I assume you haven't tried a good European sausage, my mom had a canned meat phase for whatever reason so I don't think I'd mind eating SPAM, just know that sausage is best in Europe, I don't like what they sell as Vienna sausage in on other continents, shouldn't be sold under that name.
@@ericl2769 Don't knock raw Spam in a time of war; it has its own key to open it. And it's just as delicious as eating a can of Underwood Deviled Ham or Chicken. Just bring some crackers if you have them!
@Lurch yeah OK. Lol I love SPAM Get triggered much on the internet? I simply stated something that I grew up saying, along with everyone else I knew in Hawaii. I'm sorry if that offends you, but its history. this was over thirty years ago. sorry again
I tried spam in middle school and was absolutely shocked to find out it was not as bad as I was previously led to believe. In the beginning of the Covid pandemic, just before things got bad in our state, I talked my wife into getting a few packages to fall back on as needed. Initially, she wasn't to keen on the idea, but she let me get them anyway. After frying them up in a breakfast scramble with some Pace Picante, she changed her mind completely.
Spam is a hit in Hawaii, Guam and countries affected by world war for a reason. I get it from the comment now why the American GIs hate it. They are effin eating spam straight from can, like hell no! Lol. Spam is soooo good fried. It goes so well with rice that’s why it’s a hit here in Asia. Just take it in moderation tho because of sodium.
Austin, Minnesota (about three hours' drive south of Minneapolis) has the SPAM Museum that reveals a lot about what this video spoke about, and as of this writing, admission is still free.
@@uberdice Agreed. I can still tolerate it but only when I'm too lazy or too hungry to prepare it. Simply frying it works wonders. Goes really well with lots of things too like eggs, rice, potato wedges, etc.
@@uberdice and I think you’re right! It’s very understandable that many people wouldn’t like *cold, canned meat* but when cooked? The margin for error suddenly shrinks exponentially!
There's a story that the Japanese got hooked on SPAM during and after WWII. During the battle of Okinawa, Japanese troops were dying of starvation and soldiers would often break into American PX stations and the first thing they stole were cans of SPAM. After the war and occupation of Japan, tons of SPAM were shipped to Japan.
People underestimate just how much relief we sent through Lend-Lease. When I was in Russia I brought my host family a can of Spam as an "American" gift and they practically cried at the smell.
My grandfather served in the Pacific theatre, he refused to eat spam after the war. He said he ate so much that he had spam “coming out of his ears“. I like to eat it from time to time fried with dippy eggs. Really love spam musubi.
I actually prefer spam lite. Way less salty and greasy, its far less overwhelming on the palette. If you don't like normal spam I think you'd prefer that. Word of warning, if you wanna fry it still, add a bit of oil, theres not enough in the lite version to fry well.
Agreed that the Lite version is a bit dryer. I find the 25% Less Sodium version to be the best of both worlds - less sodium but still fries crispy on it's own.
@@lurch789 Yeah but it is still too salty for me, I like spam lite for less grease 'and' salt. If you have a very liquidous food like soup or a stew, normal spam is fine, it gets mellowed and leeches into the whole food. But I like spam when its fried in a sandwich, or in mac and cheese, that sorta thing. Lite works for me there.
Spam lite is by far their best product. It doesn't burn my mouth with salt and leave me guzzling water for hours after eating it. Add a little olive oil and it fries up just fine too. It also has a meaty texture, instead of dissolving like slime. The regular stuff is just too slimy and too salty imo.
Spam is still a staple in a lot of rural villages in Alaska as well, just like Pilot Bread. You can find spam musubi in stores and gas stations around Anchorage, which I thought was normal until I moved to the Lower 48.
I wish you could get Pilot Bread in the lower 48 without having to pay exhorbitant shipping. Pilot Bread is made in a factory in Virginia but you can't find it at all in the mid atlantic states. Pilot bread slathered with some head cheese and port wine cheddar is fantastic hurricane food. (as in shelf stable pantry fodder for when the hurricane downs the power lines and it takes a few days to weeks to get repaired)
Many years ago, I read an article about South Pacific headhunters who only recently stopped eating their enemies (cannibalism). During WW2, US soldiers gave them SPAM and they said it had the same texture and taste (saltiness) of human flesh. They LOVED it because it reminded them of their headhunting days.
I don't think you can ever go wrong with SPAM. It's good for a quick breakfast, lunch, or supper. Super easy to keep, and stores well. The meat that won WW2 will always have a place in my cabinet.
SPAM is one of the greatest canned foods ever made. It's kept me from starvation. A cheap food that is filling and goes well with lots of other foods. BBQ it, saute it, fry it, add it to beans or rice or mac n cheese. Make a grilled SPAM n cheese sammich or just eat it plain and cold out the can. I love SPAM.
i swear to god. 1:15 is so true. my first job was a meat factory worker and i am still there until today. i was a nerd weakass fatass with no self confidence. Nothing builds character more than that job
I'm from Hawaii where SPAM is commonly used and enjoyed by nearly everyone. Here nearly every corner store and gas station sells SPAM musubi's, which is spam on a square of rice wrapped in nori seaweed. A common breakfast plate here is bacon, SPAM, and eggs. And we put SPAM in lots of different dishes like chow fun noodles and fried rice.
SPAM actually takes me back to my childhood where my grandparents who's in the states back then when they were still with us, would send large care packages filled with cans of SPAM, vienna sausages, candy bars, shampoo, soap, and other stuff not readily available in the Philippines back then.
It is still (in 2023) relatively cheap, can either be eaten straight from the can or prepared 1,000's of different ways, and has a meaningless expiration date. I prefer the low sodium or lite varieties, but the original is just fine. My career Army father refused to eat SPAM, so I rarely had it growing up. Thankfully, it no longer has that risk slicing your fingers off key to open the can! Fun video! Thanks!
SPAM - the meat with a half-life! :) 'Tis said that after the nuclear exchange that will come to be called "WW3", the only things to survive will be cockroaches, Keith Richards, Twinkies, and SPAM. But seriously, as noted elsewhere, lotsa love for SPAM from me. Tasty by itself, or too many other possible ways to eat it, and with a shelf-life that approaches "eternity", there's no way I'll be without a stockpile of it to go with the beans, rice, and assorted other "prepper groceries".
Working at the VA, you could tell how close to the front vets were in World War Two simply by asking if they remembered SPAM fondly. "Sick of it" = REMF, whereas documented combat trops (especially several Guadacanal Marines) said they LOVED it if they could get it.
Spam always makes it into our "struggle" or emergency cabinet along with canned chicken and tuna, 20lbs of rice and a similar amount of beans. But it is always the first out when we have to rotate because it makes such a good breakfast side or part of a grilled cheese!
@@0daadaadaa0 honey mustard sounds pretty good with spam, never really tried it. Not a big onion person so I don’t know if I could bring myself to do that, but appreciate the different takes on spam!
I'm 49 and grew up and love SPAM! I have 4 or 5 tins of it in my pantry as we speak. Not that it does much most likely, but I buy the low sodium. I do have 2 tins of the figgy pudding limited edition from last Christmas as well.
I keep a few cans on hand at both of my cabins, and for some reason it just tastes better there vs. at home. Maybe because of the physical activity, hiking, chopping firewood, etc., and just that everything cooked over a campfire or on a camp stove seems to taste better!
68 years old. Never had Spam as part of a breakfast but Dad would (pan)fry Spam and (American) cheese sandwiches every Saturday for lunch. Nom nom nom!
I've only had Spam one day in my life. It was roughly 20 years ago, I was at the Warped Tour, a punk rock music festival. There was a Spam truck there giving out free samples. So that was all I ate all day. I didn't hate it.
I love the jokes and humor in this episode, great stuff! By the way, I make spam fried rice for my family every now and then, and they actually love it and even ask for it.
The fun memories I have of my grandma is eating spam grilled with a pineapple ring on it. Didn’t touch it again for 20 years till my bestie rekindled my love for the meat jello. Due to watching what I eat spam went back on the shelf
Yes, I grew up on SPAM and I still love it at age 64 and was very surprised when I went to Hawaii and found how popular it was, ever had a SPAM McMuffin? It's a real sandwich at McD's.
Amusing and informative presentation! As a baby boomer I can attest to the frequent inclusion of SPAM in our meals. Not bad with eggs and hash browns. I don't think I've eaten any for the last 40 years. LOL!
Spam is like White Castle. About once a year, I need to eat some. Then I'm good for another year. (Sliced, fried, then served with eggs, or in a sandwich.) During the pandemic, I picked up a few cans of Underwood Deviled Ham spread. Mmmmm... Hadn't had that stuff in years. There's also Corned Beef (usually from Argentina) and tuna fish, but Spam is the king of preserved meat, lol...
underwood deviled ham is my secret ingredient in chilie or sauces to make them rich and tasty, but you have to put less salt than you would other wise do.
I didn’t like it as a kid. We had it a LOT. Fast forward to the new Millenium and I tried it again, and I liked it. The recipe must have changed because I called my mom and asked her to buys some and she said it tasted differently. I suspect that the ‘Reduced Sodium’ variety became the default version. It’s great prepared with some chopped onions, peppers, and garlic wrapped in a flour tortilla. Talk about a breakfast burrito! 👨🍳 😘🤌
In my experience, most of the disgust with Spam comes from most peoples first experience being eating it uncooked, in which yeah, I agree, it ain't the best. But cooked? Fried? Spam is damn good!
28 year Navy vet. I always liked the SPAM, eggs over easy with hash browns and toast. Retired now, and every now and I make it for myself. Talk about a sentimental journey.
I think a lot of people who hate it haven't had it cooked. It's pretty gross without being fried up, but once you fry it on both sides and get it a bit crunchy it's actually super tasty
im partly from hawaii and grew up on spam. musubis are incredible, and i dont think that's just a bias, because everyone ive given musubis to loved them even if they didnt like spam
My mother would prepare spam (classic) with eggs, black beans, tortillas, and queso crema. It was simple to make and tasted great. I myself buy the less sodium version every once in a while (in my pantry now actually) if I'm feeling lazy to cook and have everything else in stock. I'm curious to try it alongside some of these Hawaiian dishes though!
My English teacher in high school had us watch the entirety of Band of Brothers and we had a spam sandwich party afterwards. It was a blast and I still enjoy the stuff fried on a breakfast sandwich.
I love SPAM. The first time I ever had it was as part of a school lunch. I didn't like it much as a kid but by the time I was an adult I thought it was great. Strange thing though, I spent 32 years in the military (active duty and reserves) and I don't recall ever seeing SPAM except in C-rations.
When soviet union collapsed in 1991 I was in the school. Teacher asked our class to stay after the classes and he gave us 5 cans of SPAM for every student. I liked is actually, thanks US for that help.
SPAM! Hell yeah! Cut a slab of lengthwise, throw it in a skillet for 3 minutes a side, toasted white bread, lettuce, tomato, mayo and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce! A perfect sandwich!
I remember when I was in middle school, I had a teacher who was born and lived in Hawaii until he went to college and had a Spam based lunch at least once a week. One of my classmates eventually asked him what it tasted like one day after we got back from our lunch period before he started the lesson. To our surprise, he said he would offer everyone a little slice of it during the next day's class after we got back from lunch. Thought it was alright, not the worst thing I had eaten but surely not the worst. I only remember tasting like I licked a line of salt with a bit of ham. The rest of the class was about evenly divided between those who agreed with me and those who hated the stuff, except for one or two people thinking it was fantastic. Haven't had it since though maybe I should try it again. I had a college roommate who swore by the stuff fried and with eggs and offered it to me, but I never took him up on it. That's likely better than the cold and fresh-out-of-the-tin that I did in middle school.
Lol, it's really good for a lunch or breakfast sandwich since it's so salty. I was pressed for cash at this time last year and I was trying everything I could to make my food go as far as it could and I had a few cans of that stocked up so I figured "fuck it" and had spam for like a week straight, I quickly learned when SPAM is and isn't good lmao.
you've gotta try it fried up. Anywhere you use bacon, you can use spam! I fry up some slices, put it in grilled cheese, with scrambled eggs, and chop it up in my instant ramen.
I've had the pleasure of eating SPAM once in my life and that was at a dinner comedy club, where SPAM was part of the show and the only item on the menu. They deep-fried the SPAM after dipping it in an amazing coconut concoction...it was AWESOME!!! Between the hilarious skits on stage and the delicious SPAM inspired deliciousness, it would be a night out I would never forget. Yum!!
It's one of those foods that I'd eat if naught else was present, but wouldn't go out of my way to have. Fried in a skillet was the most palatable to me. Something about the slight crunch helped the texture.
I don't eat SPAM much now, though I do like it. Growing up, I remember my family had it for Saturday or Sunday breakfast, sometimes with eggs and grilled tomatoes and toast. I would help my mom make breakfast. We would put Heinz 57 sauce on the meat slices and broil them.
Whenever anyone says they hate the taste of SPAM 95% of the time it turns out they didn't know you could also COOK SPAM, of course eating SPAM straight from the can and cold isn't going to taste good. Cook it with a pan and eat it with some rice! Chop it into tiny cubes and use it for Fried Rice!
It tastes better when you fry it. My mom used to serve it to us right out of the can, so I grew up hating it. Luckily, my wife was a little more creative and she would fry it with eggs and serve it over rice. It's one of my favorites things now.
SPAM is popular in the Philippines. They told me it was made so by the influence of WW II GI's. I could always get fried SPAM with my breakfast when I was vacationing there, and saw it in every grocery store.
Yes, that's why it became a staple here. It's actually considered a luxury with how expensive it's become for us. Some groceries even put their stock of Spam behind locked shelves.
I like SPAM because it is convenient. I always keep a few cans in the pantry. My favorite way to make it is to slice it thin and blast it in the oven at 425 while I cook a box of mac and cheese. By the time the mac and cheese is done the spam is nice and crispy just the way I like it.
As a kid of divorce, spam, macaroni, and tuna were the staples. Single mother trying to raise the kids after dad left in 78. I can remember thinking it was delicious when fried, but not so much as a leftover sandwich for school.
@@mariateresamondragon5850 Put that ham steak on the shelf in your pantry next to the SPAM, and get back to me in 6 months or a year to tell me about how tasty the ham steak is...
What is your favorite way to prepare SPAM?
by putting it in the trash:)
@@somersguy I’ll come grab it
Fried, then put it on some toasted bread along with some mustard.
In fried rice
I haven't had it since i was a kid, but i use to cut it into squares with some cheese slices and put it on ritz crackers as a snack
My father came home from WWII saying that SPAM was the only food they got that could be trusted to be good. We ate it often at home.
SPAM is secret weapon Hilter build to against US ! Heard that from Iron heart IV, pretty funny.
@@尖嗓well its extremely unhealthy. A normal can of spam has so much salt that should usually be consumed in 3-4 days
Yeah my dads screwed up military eating habits made me also grow up very unhealthy. Because he never ate vegetables I also never got vegetables aka no vitamins so I needed braces for crooked front teeth and am short with 5‘9 as a blonde man while everyone else I know its way taller (not american)
Lies again? AMWF CAR VIGRX PLUS
@@NazriB Lies again? Psychosis is no joke
I'm 72 now. I spent almost 15 years in Hawai'i. Ate a lot of SPAM cause it was cheap, I was broke and it tastes good. I've lived in Florida for the last 30 years and my pantry is full of every type of SPAM that is made as a great Hurricane back up protien for me and my dogs. The Puppies love it and I do too. When the power is out for 9-10 days, I can open a can and grill it on the BBQ, put it on the exhaust system of my truck, or just eat it cold. It's cheap here, at about $3.29 a can and has a long shelf life. It's a Hell of a lot better then an MRE and you can even slice it and eat it cold if you have too. When I go shopping every 10 days, I always toss a few cans of SPAM in my cart. I gave a few different cans to my Daughter and her husband, but they were not fans. Just wait until they have no gas, power or heat for 10 days and then come on ever and raid my pantry.
You may as well be eating dog food
It's always the best make your emergency food something you use on a weekly basis so it get's cycled through instead of just sitting there going stale. For me it's oatmeal. Even if I don't have power I can rehydrate it cold. Now will I be happy after a couple of weeks of eating cold oatmeal;)? Probably not. Will I be alive to complain about it? A lot more likely.
@@gulfstream7235 Trashing a 72 year old on what they eat... stay classy!
@@gulfstream7235 you seem to be the expert on what dogfood tastes like so which brand is the most tastiest?
🤘🏼
Spam has left its mark in Asian American History, cuz of its prescence in Hawaii and other Asian areas. Its very good in fried rice or noodles
yes love the fried rice, and you can make it yourself with a little garlic, onions, some soy sauce and some cayenne pepper. It's an easy, cheap dish.
And this is the reason why, Guam, Philippine and Hawaii, will be the top three places that will fight for competitive spot for #1.
@@sakurapablo671 I'd like to see the total chaos that would ensue if the global supply ran out. If you think we won't fly out to the PI and HI just to take your spam, think again.
@@sakurapablo671 I work with a woman who grew up in Guam, who says her whole family is huge SPAM fans.
With eggs 🥚
My grandma had the best SPAM recipe. They lived on a farm that was not too far from the state capitol. Grandpa worked as an assistant to the governor. They were campaigning in the next county and Grandpa showed up, unannounced, with the governor for supper-on wash day. Grandma had not planned on company, so she partially boiled some potatoes, then cut them into chunks. Sliced a SPAM loaf in regular slices almost all the way through. Put the SPAM in a baking dish and stuffed sliced onions and cheddar cheese between each slice. Put the potatoes around it and put it in the oven until the potatoes browned. It was absolutely delicious and the governor loved it! Although when Grandma was telling me about it 40+ years later, she was still mad at Grandpa for just showing up with the governor. We ate it at least once a month when I was a kid and it was always a treat.
what a creative way to cook spam. never thought of blooming a whole spam loaf like that and stuffing it in the middle, i usually slice or cube them up and fry them lol
Your nan is a genius
My dad refused ro eat Spam for decades after he left Vietnam. My entire childhood I had Spam once or twice at most. In recent years since I've been helping care for him, he's redeveloped a taste for it (typically with eggs and toast for breakfast) and it's become a common grab for myself when grocery shopping. So many ways to make it, and cheap as hell.
Here in Australia it certainly ain’t cheap. $5.90 a can!
@@mattdrake2065 Same in Mexico - more or less $5.30... Lot more cheaper options.
SPAM is expensive in Vietnam. Unfitting price!
Yeah it’s so expensive nowadays!
You have to be in the mood for it. It's good on a sandwich or rice. Or left in your pantry for years.
I'm always in the mood for spam, but I'm alone in my household on this.
Or you can be my household, where a can might last a few weeks tops... we all love spam, just cut into slices, and fry it up, good on a sandwich, or by itself with some eggs, though its generally considered a breakfast food here.
@@mlmmt I keep a stockpile for myself.
I love fried spam sandwiches
My stepmother made us eat cold spam sandwiches on a road trip. 50 years later, I'm still traumatized. I love it fried, but all that sodium - yikes.
Fried slices of spam, white rice, eggs (and aguacate if available) will always be one of my favorite simple go-to meals. If you grow up with Spam you tend to love it forever and if you didn’t, it’s a bit hard to understand I would imagine. Never change, Spam. Never change.
SPAM, scrambled eggs, and white rice is probably my goto breakfast. Sometimes I'll switch out the SPAM for Vienna Sausage or bacon.
If you're not gonna say avocado, why not call rice 米?
When I was in the Army, I remember telling my grandfather that our MREs didn't include SPAM. His reply was, "My God! The top brass got something right!!" He hated SPAM!
My grandpa loved the stuff. However, my grandpa grew up in a rural farm area in Texas. When he joined the war, canned meat was new to him. When he got back, he had a taste for the stuff. Spam, potted meat and Vienna sausages were staple foods in his house. Especially toward the end of his life when he didn't eat a whole lot. He said his taste buds are gone and the only thing he can taste, is fried Spam with crackers and cheese.
Probably depended on whether the soldier was combat arms (who would have been living on C and K Rations and would be grateful for a hot meal no matter what it was) or a support troop who'd have been eating at military kitchens and was facing the two hundredth day of powdered eggs and spam or chipped beef on toast.
Should have given him an omelet MRE and told him to think again lol
@@ricklepick5829 LOL!
We had spam MRE's in the late 90's.
The thing about SPAM is that it goes SOOOO well with rice because of its saltiness. In Korea, a full set of SPAM is given as a holiday gift because of it. It also goes so well with Korean stew varieties since it also is consumed with rice.
Great with fried or scrambled eggs😢
So true. You don’t need any gimmicks with spam. It’s so good with rice no wonder it’s a hit in Asia. I also like it as a spam musubi. It’s quite salty on its own so I can’t usually eat it on its own unlike other luncheon meat. Problem tho is it is so crazy expensive.😅
i love the thought of some hard ass vet just rubbing his rifle with a brick of spam.
Never heard it called “rubbing his rifle” before.
Spam is made to be crispy. People who don't like it are probably eating it cold and soggy, and while that's fine and safe to do because it's precooked, it's leagues better hot and crisped. It isn't meant to be eaten as pate, and just like you wouldn't eat a cold hot dog or a frozen nugget without cooking it, the way to success is to heat it up. Saute it/pan fry it and experience joy ✨
Edit: And to those who complain it's too salty - you arent supposed to eat a whole can at once! Do you eat a whole pack of bacon at once? A whole pound of beef or other meat? A whole bag of chips? Lol. You combine it with other things, guys.
You are right!
how long would you suggest cooking it in a microwave?
Yes! My mom always made us fried spam sandwiches and I still love them to this day!
Its pretty solid right out of the can too
@@simplyaregularguy131 15-30 seconds. The water content inside it heats up QUICK.
As someone who was born and raised here in Hawaii, I had no idea that spam was considered “poor food” until the internet was a thing. It was and is just a normal food here. Super versatile also, if you never tried making spam fried rice, do it; it’s delicious. Hell, if you gave me a choice I’d eat fried spam over bacon 9/10 times just cause I like it better lol. It’s ironic cause I can’t stomach Vienna sausage or bologna, spam is delicious tho. Make sure you fry it though, raw spam is gross. No one here eats it like that lmao 😂
I assume you haven't tried a good European sausage, my mom had a canned meat phase for whatever reason so I don't think I'd mind eating SPAM, just know that sausage is best in Europe, I don't like what they sell as Vienna sausage in on other continents, shouldn't be sold under that name.
Fellow spam lover here, raw spam is delicious
@@ericl2769 Don't knock raw Spam in a time of war; it has its own key to open it. And it's just as delicious as eating a can of Underwood Deviled Ham or Chicken. Just bring some crackers if you have them!
thanks for the tip, im going to cook it over rice with eggs
SPAM fried-rice foreva my local bradda. Tell the tourist to go to Big City Diner. Aloha 🤙
I grew up in Hawaii. Spam is a staple. I grew up saying " Spam... some parts are meat "
@Lurch yeah OK. Lol I love SPAM
Get triggered much on the internet?
I simply stated something that I grew up saying, along with everyone else I knew in Hawaii. I'm sorry if that offends you, but its history. this was over thirty years ago. sorry again
@@stupedasso6819don’t apologize for their idiocy
I tried spam in middle school and was absolutely shocked to find out it was not as bad as I was previously led to believe. In the beginning of the Covid pandemic, just before things got bad in our state, I talked my wife into getting a few packages to fall back on as needed. Initially, she wasn't to keen on the idea, but she let me get them anyway. After frying them up in a breakfast scramble with some Pace Picante, she changed her mind completely.
Spam is a hit in Hawaii, Guam and countries affected by world war for a reason. I get it from the comment now why the American GIs hate it. They are effin eating spam straight from can, like hell no! Lol. Spam is soooo good fried. It goes so well with rice that’s why it’s a hit here in Asia. Just take it in moderation tho because of sodium.
Too*
Spam is great sliced thin and fried. My mother used to bake it over mac and cheese and that was great. It was always a staple for camping trips.
Austin, Minnesota (about three hours' drive south of Minneapolis) has the SPAM Museum that reveals a lot about what this video spoke about, and as of this writing, admission is still free.
Sounds like a great thing to visit.
actually about 2 hour drive :DD
A museum is where Spam belongs.
I just hope they sent that 'We're up for the Spam jokes' statement to everyone by email.
*slow clap*
Well done, friend. Well done.
I can understand not liking SPAM if you eat it raw from the can, but just a little bit of cooking makes it so much better
Frying it until at least the edfes were crispy is where it's at its best too :)
I actually think most people who don't like it just ate it raw like barbarians.
@@uberdice
Agreed. I can still tolerate it but only when I'm too lazy or too hungry to prepare it. Simply frying it works wonders. Goes really well with lots of things too like eggs, rice, potato wedges, etc.
Generally, the first two slices out of the can I'll eat "raw." After that, I usually fry it up.
@@uberdice and I think you’re right! It’s very understandable that many people wouldn’t like *cold, canned meat* but when cooked? The margin for error suddenly shrinks exponentially!
There's a story that the Japanese got hooked on SPAM during and after WWII. During the battle of Okinawa, Japanese troops were dying of starvation and soldiers would often break into American PX stations and the first thing they stole were cans of SPAM. After the war and occupation of Japan, tons of SPAM were shipped to Japan.
People underestimate just how much relief we sent through Lend-Lease. When I was in Russia I brought my host family a can of Spam as an "American" gift and they practically cried at the smell.
My grandfather served in the Pacific theatre, he refused to eat spam after the war. He said he ate so much that he had spam “coming out of his ears“. I like to eat it from time to time fried with dippy eggs. Really love spam musubi.
I actually prefer spam lite. Way less salty and greasy, its far less overwhelming on the palette. If you don't like normal spam I think you'd prefer that. Word of warning, if you wanna fry it still, add a bit of oil, theres not enough in the lite version to fry well.
Agreed that the Lite version is a bit dryer. I find the 25% Less Sodium version to be the best of both worlds - less sodium but still fries crispy on it's own.
@@LightsJusticeZ 25% is the best. Lite is already kind of disgusting.
@@lurch789 Yeah but it is still too salty for me, I like spam lite for less grease 'and' salt. If you have a very liquidous food like soup or a stew, normal spam is fine, it gets mellowed and leeches into the whole food. But I like spam when its fried in a sandwich, or in mac and cheese, that sorta thing. Lite works for me there.
Spam lite is by far their best product. It doesn't burn my mouth with salt and leave me guzzling water for hours after eating it. Add a little olive oil and it fries up just fine too. It also has a meaty texture, instead of dissolving like slime. The regular stuff is just too slimy and too salty imo.
Just add so honey on it then cook, and it completely gets rid of that super salty taste 😂
Spam is still a staple in a lot of rural villages in Alaska as well, just like Pilot Bread. You can find spam musubi in stores and gas stations around Anchorage, which I thought was normal until I moved to the Lower 48.
I wish you could get Pilot Bread in the lower 48 without having to pay exhorbitant shipping. Pilot Bread is made in a factory in Virginia but you can't find it at all in the mid atlantic states. Pilot bread slathered with some head cheese and port wine cheddar is fantastic hurricane food. (as in shelf stable pantry fodder for when the hurricane downs the power lines and it takes a few days to weeks to get repaired)
Musubi is big here in Hawaii.
Many years ago, I read an article about South Pacific headhunters who only recently stopped eating their enemies (cannibalism). During WW2, US soldiers gave them SPAM and they said it had the same texture and taste (saltiness) of human flesh. They LOVED it because it reminded them of their headhunting days.
😮
I don't think you can ever go wrong with SPAM. It's good for a quick breakfast, lunch, or supper. Super easy to keep, and stores well. The meat that won WW2 will always have a place in my cabinet.
Spam, potatoes, and onions fried up in a cast-iron skillet. One of my favorite meals that my Mom used to make.
I'll give it a try, thanks!
You ever crack an egg over it?
SPAM is one of the greatest canned foods ever made. It's kept me from starvation. A cheap food that is filling and goes well with lots of other foods. BBQ it, saute it, fry it, add it to beans or rice or mac n cheese. Make a grilled SPAM n cheese sammich or just eat it plain and cold out the can.
I love SPAM.
i swear to god. 1:15 is so true. my first job was a meat factory worker and i am still there until today. i was a nerd weakass fatass with no self confidence. Nothing builds character more than that job
I'm from Hawaii where SPAM is commonly used and enjoyed by nearly everyone. Here nearly every corner store and gas station sells SPAM musubi's, which is spam on a square of rice wrapped in nori seaweed. A common breakfast plate here is bacon, SPAM, and eggs. And we put SPAM in lots of different dishes like chow fun noodles and fried rice.
SPAM actually takes me back to my childhood where my grandparents who's in the states back then when they were still with us, would send large care packages filled with cans of SPAM, vienna sausages, candy bars, shampoo, soap, and other stuff not readily available in the Philippines back then.
It is still (in 2023) relatively cheap, can either be eaten straight from the can or prepared 1,000's of different ways, and has a meaningless expiration date. I prefer the low sodium or lite varieties, but the original is just fine. My career Army father refused to eat SPAM, so I rarely had it growing up. Thankfully, it no longer has that risk slicing your fingers off key to open the can! Fun video! Thanks!
SPAM - the meat with a half-life! :) 'Tis said that after the nuclear exchange that will come to be called "WW3", the only things to survive will be cockroaches, Keith Richards, Twinkies, and SPAM. But seriously, as noted elsewhere, lotsa love for SPAM from me. Tasty by itself, or too many other possible ways to eat it, and with a shelf-life that approaches "eternity", there's no way I'll be without a stockpile of it to go with the beans, rice, and assorted other "prepper groceries".
To this day, the way Graham Chapman shrieks out "BUT I DON'T LIKE SPAM!!", makes me laugh out loud every single time.
Working at the VA, you could tell how close to the front vets were in World War Two simply by asking if they remembered SPAM fondly. "Sick of it" = REMF, whereas documented combat trops (especially several Guadacanal Marines) said they LOVED it if they could get it.
I was very surprised to see how few ingredients are actually in spam when I looked at the can one time.
Spam always makes it into our "struggle" or emergency cabinet along with canned chicken and tuna, 20lbs of rice and a similar amount of beans. But it is always the first out when we have to rotate because it makes such a good breakfast side or part of a grilled cheese!
I always have a can or two in my pantry. Don't have it everyday, but when I do I love it.
Fried spam on bread with mustard will always be the best
I knew there had to be others like me! I add dill pickles too.
@@dougiebuckets1364 never thought about adding pickles will have to try that as well, thanks!
I personally add some sauteed onions to that mix. And sometimes replace mustard with honey mustard.
@@0daadaadaa0 honey mustard sounds pretty good with spam, never really tried it. Not a big onion person so I don’t know if I could bring myself to do that, but appreciate the different takes on spam!
My friend who’s half Hawaiian one time made me pan fried pineapples and spam. It turned me into a believer.
I'm 49 and grew up and love SPAM! I have 4 or 5 tins of it in my pantry as we speak. Not that it does much most likely, but I buy the low sodium. I do have 2 tins of the figgy pudding limited edition from last Christmas as well.
Breaded and fried SPAM sticks dipped in Sweet Baby Ray's honey barbecue sauce is one of my favorite comfort foods.
damn I'm gonna have to try that
Always good to have several cans of this stuff on hand. You never know when you might need emergency food. Great with eggs!
I keep a few cans on hand at both of my cabins, and for some reason it just tastes better there vs. at home. Maybe because of the physical activity, hiking, chopping firewood, etc., and just that everything cooked over a campfire or on a camp stove seems to taste better!
@@civlyzed You have two cabins?
@@k-leb4671 Yes, as I mentioned 😀
@@civlyzed It's good camping food
During the first days of the pandemic shortages, Spam was one of the few things remaining on shelves.
Remain on the shelves good, or remain on the shelves bad?
@@fredfry5100
Both.
Really? It was all done for weeks when the TP shortage hit around my place
That's a blessing by God in my country
=BECAUSE OF THERE WAS ENOUGH SPAM ALREADY AT HOME,I GUESS
=....................
68 years old. Never had Spam as part of a breakfast but Dad would (pan)fry Spam and (American) cheese sandwiches every Saturday for lunch. Nom nom nom!
I've only had Spam one day in my life. It was roughly 20 years ago, I was at the Warped Tour, a punk rock music festival. There was a Spam truck there giving out free samples. So that was all I ate all day. I didn't hate it.
Real Punks never ate Spam, as I remember it was a Prog Rock thing.
Same here, at warped tour in 2000. Also had yoo-hoo spat in my face for a prize. Good times.
@@johnr6963please tell me it was an attractive woman
@@jordanchamberlain4377 I could tell you that...but then id be lying.
I love the jokes and humor in this episode, great stuff! By the way, I make spam fried rice for my family every now and then, and they actually love it and even ask for it.
Mmmmm 🙂 Sounds Delicious !
The fun memories I have of my grandma is eating spam grilled with a pineapple ring on it. Didn’t touch it again for 20 years till my bestie rekindled my love for the meat jello. Due to watching what I eat spam went back on the shelf
Pineapple topped fried SPAM, that was a weekly treat in our house.
Meat jello😂
Yes, I grew up on SPAM and I still love it at age 64 and was very surprised when I went to Hawaii and found how popular it was, ever had a SPAM McMuffin? It's a real sandwich at McD's.
Amusing and informative presentation! As a baby boomer I can attest to the frequent inclusion of SPAM in our meals. Not bad with eggs and hash browns. I don't think I've eaten any for the last 40 years. LOL!
Spam is like White Castle. About once a year, I need to eat some. Then I'm good for another year. (Sliced, fried, then served with eggs, or in a sandwich.)
During the pandemic, I picked up a few cans of Underwood Deviled Ham spread. Mmmmm... Hadn't had that stuff in years.
There's also Corned Beef (usually from Argentina) and tuna fish, but Spam is the king of preserved meat, lol...
underwood deviled ham is my secret ingredient in chilie or sauces to make them rich and tasty, but you have to put less salt than you would other wise do.
I didn’t like it as a kid. We had it a LOT. Fast forward to the new Millenium and I tried it again, and I liked it. The recipe must have changed because I called my mom and asked her to buys some and she said it tasted differently. I suspect that the ‘Reduced Sodium’ variety became the default version. It’s great prepared with some chopped onions, peppers, and garlic wrapped in a flour tortilla. Talk about a breakfast burrito! 👨🍳 😘🤌
Spam is one of those foods when you ask a person if they like it they say gross but then proceed to say they have never tried it.
You got me there. I would defend myself in that my reasoning is I’m just not into pork in general, but I suppose someday I’ll try it.
Or they have tried it and concluded it's a horrendously salty gelatine mess
@@infernalstan886yeah because they ate it raw
In my experience, most of the disgust with Spam comes from most peoples first experience being eating it uncooked, in which yeah, I agree, it ain't the best. But cooked? Fried? Spam is damn good!
28 year Navy vet. I always liked the SPAM, eggs over easy with hash browns and toast. Retired now, and every now and I make it for myself. Talk about a sentimental journey.
SPAM got me through college. Cheap and you can cook it in many ways!
I feel like most people who "hate" spam have never actually tried it. It's surprisingly good, especially some of the whacky flavors
I think a lot of people who hate it haven't had it cooked. It's pretty gross without being fried up, but once you fry it on both sides and get it a bit crunchy it's actually super tasty
I've had it, and cooked, too. It is _far_ from my favorite.
I was born and raised in Hawaii. We're all at least 10% SPAM out there. I still eat it to this day
great story telling on this edit.
I'd only eat that as a last alternative in a nuclear apocalypse.
im partly from hawaii and grew up on spam.
musubis are incredible, and i dont think that's just a bias, because everyone ive given musubis to loved them even if they didnt like spam
Musubi was the reason I tried spam in the first place. Musubi was amazing, and spam by itself was pretty good as well.
My mother would prepare spam (classic) with eggs, black beans, tortillas, and queso crema. It was simple to make and tasted great. I myself buy the less sodium version every once in a while (in my pantry now actually) if I'm feeling lazy to cook and have everything else in stock. I'm curious to try it alongside some of these Hawaiian dishes though!
Tip for everyone who hates Spam: Fry it then eat
My Favorite For Breakfast. Fried SPAM, Sunny Side Up Egg, Garlic Fried Rice and Brewed Coffee. Perfect For Breakfast.
Some days when I don't feel like making anything I'll just open up a can of spam and spend the next 3 hours slowly eating away at it.
Cube it up and stir it in eggs
@@Macks1913 I prefer it by itself
@@edgarbanuelos6472You're cooking it though, right? Right?!
@@Zantreful No.
@@Zantreful SPAM without being fried is fine - it did serve as a MRE after all (meaning it's already cooked by the time it makes it to the can).
The best narrator I've ever heard spam is cool too
I always wonder if the people at Hormel have a hard time getting emails to go through...
Actually, Monty Python started airing in 1969.
0:06 Cook it before you try it, sweetie. 🤣
My English teacher in high school had us watch the entirety of Band of Brothers and we had a spam sandwich party afterwards. It was a blast and I still enjoy the stuff fried on a breakfast sandwich.
The American school system in a nutshell
I love spam for camping cause it’s quick and I don’t need to worry about ice
We made sure we had some spam when bicycle camping. That you could cook it or eat it raw (well, uncooked) was a real plus!
I love SPAM. The first time I ever had it was as part of a school lunch. I didn't like it much as a kid but by the time I was an adult I thought it was great. Strange thing though, I spent 32 years in the military (active duty and reserves) and I don't recall ever seeing SPAM except in C-rations.
When soviet union collapsed in 1991 I was in the school. Teacher asked our class to stay after the classes and he gave us 5 cans of SPAM for every student. I liked is actually, thanks US for that help.
SPAM! Hell yeah! Cut a slab of lengthwise, throw it in a skillet for 3 minutes a side, toasted white bread, lettuce, tomato, mayo and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce! A perfect sandwich!
I had an uncle that worked for Hormel in Austin and he would say SPAM meant spare parts and meat!
I'm sure if we knew what wad in it, we wouldn't eat it. I've never had it, but I'd like to try it
I remember when I was in middle school, I had a teacher who was born and lived in Hawaii until he went to college and had a Spam based lunch at least once a week. One of my classmates eventually asked him what it tasted like one day after we got back from our lunch period before he started the lesson. To our surprise, he said he would offer everyone a little slice of it during the next day's class after we got back from lunch. Thought it was alright, not the worst thing I had eaten but surely not the worst. I only remember tasting like I licked a line of salt with a bit of ham. The rest of the class was about evenly divided between those who agreed with me and those who hated the stuff, except for one or two people thinking it was fantastic.
Haven't had it since though maybe I should try it again. I had a college roommate who swore by the stuff fried and with eggs and offered it to me, but I never took him up on it. That's likely better than the cold and fresh-out-of-the-tin that I did in middle school.
Lol, it's really good for a lunch or breakfast sandwich since it's so salty. I was pressed for cash at this time last year and I was trying everything I could to make my food go as far as it could and I had a few cans of that stocked up so I figured "fuck it" and had spam for like a week straight, I quickly learned when SPAM is and isn't good lmao.
you've gotta try it fried up. Anywhere you use bacon, you can use spam! I fry up some slices, put it in grilled cheese, with scrambled eggs, and chop it up in my instant ramen.
@@aaabbbeee fried spam on an egg sandwich is a goated breakfast
Bet you think Alpo is a delicacy 😂
I am literally frying up some for breakfast when I came across this video
Fried spam with Mac n cheese is such a simple, cheap and tasty dish. You won't win any competitions with it, but you'll enjoy eating it!
This guy never draws the direct line between Monty Python and how SPAM emails were named.
I've had the pleasure of eating SPAM once in my life and that was at a dinner comedy club, where SPAM was part of the show and the only item on the menu.
They deep-fried the SPAM after dipping it in an amazing coconut concoction...it was AWESOME!!! Between the hilarious skits on stage and the delicious SPAM inspired deliciousness, it would be a night out I would never forget. Yum!!
SPAM is the meat of spaminals. Good stuff.
You guys are so underrated
It's one of those foods that I'd eat if naught else was present, but wouldn't go out of my way to have.
Fried in a skillet was the most palatable to me. Something about the slight crunch helped the texture.
I don’t eat spam that often but when I do I slice it grill it and put in into a sandwich. Who needs toppings when you’re spam is nice and crispy
I don't eat SPAM much now, though I do like it. Growing up, I remember my family had it for Saturday or Sunday breakfast, sometimes with eggs and grilled tomatoes and toast. I would help my mom make breakfast. We would put Heinz 57 sauce on the meat slices and broil them.
i feel sorry for the people who say they dont like spam because they're only eaten it cold (unfried).
I’ve found that many meat products taste better when cooked.
Never had it straight out the can..
always cooked, and I still don't like it
The lower sodium product is better than the regular stuff. Way too much salt for me.
It is gross
I actually love it, and DO eat it out of the can sometimes...Dip it in some mustard, and it's delicious.
What type of mustard do you recommend?
@@brandonberner5467I like honey mustard to dip it into and plain yellow mustard on a sandwich. Yummy 😋.
Thai sweet chilli sauce. Trust me on this.
I'm a bit weird. Sometimes I eat it cooked, sometimes I eat it out of the can... Other times I put it in the fridge and eat it Cold.
"But slow Cookers were still decades away"
You do realize that slow cooking now was normal cooking then right?
Heavy roasting pans were in every kitchen.
Whenever anyone says they hate the taste of SPAM 95% of the time it turns out they didn't know you could also COOK SPAM, of course eating SPAM straight from the can and cold isn't going to taste good. Cook it with a pan and eat it with some rice! Chop it into tiny cubes and use it for Fried Rice!
Spam not only taste good, it makes good fish bait too
Let's hope the 2nd half of that is right at least
Highly recommend visiting the Spam museum in Austin MN
Agreed. Great people and great museum.
living in korea for 2 years has given me an appreciation for spam
It tastes better when you fry it. My mom used to serve it to us right out of the can, so I grew up hating it. Luckily, my wife was a little more creative and she would fry it with eggs and serve it over rice. It's one of my favorites things now.
Spam and rice is a match made in heaven.
The rice balances the salty flavor of spam
My mother, who hates spam, loves fried spam and just about ate all of it the first time I made it
SPAM is popular in the Philippines. They told me it was made so by the influence of WW II GI's. I could always get fried SPAM with my breakfast when I was vacationing there, and saw it in every grocery store.
I love Spam!
Yes, that's why it became a staple here. It's actually considered a luxury with how expensive it's become for us. Some groceries even put their stock of Spam behind locked shelves.
Suggestion: Another canned meat, my Dad's favorite, Vienna sausages.
Yes, I would enjoy them doing a Vienna sausage video.
Longanisa SPAM just about changed my life 😂
I like SPAM because it is convenient. I always keep a few cans in the pantry. My favorite way to make it is to slice it thin and blast it in the oven at 425 while I cook a box of mac and cheese. By the time the mac and cheese is done the spam is nice and crispy just the way I like it.
Never tried it but love learning as always 😊
BTW, the lesson in this video is maintain a flexible marketing campaign. That's a big part of how SPAM has remained relevant.
It’s cheap and high in protein. I used to manage a convenience store and it always amazed me how quickly we sold out of SPAM each week.
As a kid of divorce, spam, macaroni, and tuna were the staples. Single mother trying to raise the kids after dad left in 78. I can remember thinking it was delicious when fried, but not so much as a leftover sandwich for school.
Cheap? It's $6 a pound. I can buy a ham steak for $4 a pound.
@@mariateresamondragon5850 Put that ham steak on the shelf in your pantry next to the SPAM, and get back to me in 6 months or a year to tell me about how tasty the ham steak is...