Posted on 03/29/2011 4:54:33 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
TAMPA - With food prices on the rise and families struggling to stretch their food dollars, sales of Spam are up – and so is the price.
Spam is just the sort of food you'd expect Americans to turn to in an economic crisis. The iconic metal can has been a part of the country's food landscape since 1937, fed the troops during World War II and harkens back to Baby Boomers' childhood.
Spam also enjoys something of a cult standing in popular culture, with legions of devoted fans swapping recipes online, annual festivals in Hawaii and Minnesota, and Spam cooking competitions at more than 20 county and state fairs.
For many others, it remains a deliberately repressed culinary memory.
Still, the numbers suggest many people are giving Spam a second chance.
In its most recent earnings report, filed last month, Hormel Foods reported a 6 percent first-quarter sales increase in its grocery foods division, driven by bigger sales of Spam and other products.
Hormel's international sales increased 17 percent year-over-year, driven by greater exports of fresh pork and Spam. That helped increase Hormel's first-quarter earnings 34 percent, compared to 2010.
Hormel spokeswoman Julie H. Craven explained her theory as to why in an email to the Tribune:
"Sales of Spam products continue to rise both nationally and internationally because it is offered at a great value, has a distinct savory and salty-sweet taste consumers enjoy and is versatile because it can be used in a variety of dishes."
A combination of ham and chopped pork shoulder meat, Spam is versatile. Witness the hundreds of recipes logged on the official Spam Recipe Exchange and the many varieties Hormel sells, including Spam with bacon, Spam with cheese and hickory smoked SPAM.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.tbo.com ...
I really like SPAM but its nowhere near the favorite item of shoppers in this country, does it get its own aisle or anything like that?
I like it sliced and fried on bread.
Ick! My mom always liked this chopped formed “meat”
Yeah, ya gotta fry it - good with fried eggs. (tho I haven’t had it in yrs)
SPAM- the other “what” meat.
Seriously, it is very tasty. It is one of the few things I do not need to add anything to, such as mustard or mayonnaise. It gets a bad rap but undeservedly so.
Emergency food stockpiling ? Better tasting than MRE, cheaper than specialty survivalist brands.
IMHO, the time is ripe for 6 month's worth of food.
If you look closely at the shelf alongside the Spam, you’ll see something else called Potted Meat.
Yes. Potted Meat.
Please, shoot me first.
I also like Devil’s Ham Spread with mayo on white bread.
But its kinda pricey for a sandwich these days
Since I haven’t actually bought - or even looked at - a can of Spam in years, I don’t know what the actual net weight per can is, but I’m willing to bet that in price-per-pound terms, the stuff doesn’t really cost a whole lot less than *real* pork....
Fried spam, a slice of tomato, lettuce and a dab of mayo on whole wheat toast! SLT’s ROCK!
I like it fried in olive oil. I could live on that and home made bread.
doesn=down
What’s the shelf life for Spam?
Next to the potted meat, wrapped in white paper is Devil’s Ham
It’s ‘CRAZY TASTY”
I’ll have the SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM Baked Beans SPAM SPAM and SPAM.
It may not cost a whole lot less, but it lasts indefinitely in good conditions.
With hyperinflation around the corner, that makes it priceless.
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