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 ...
” There are lots of alternatives available, some are pricey, like actual canned ham, canned beef and such. “
I vaguely remember, from my childhood, whole canned chickens - anybody know if these are still available???
I can deal with Devil's Ham... or Chicken... or Beef... or whatever. I may not "like" it, but at least it's NAMED. But "potted meat" ???? I mean, seriously.
Lightly fried with a nice caramelization.
I think I’ll go open a can right now.
By the way, I have cans that are quite old, the only one I have ever had go bad was one that lost it’s seal. All the vital fluids leaked out. I never opened it, just threw it away. It didn’t weigh anything and I knew it was dried up.
You do know that you can use a pressure canner to can your own meats?
This article explains it, and this article and others by this author gave me the courage to try. http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay105.html
Since reading Jackie Clay’s articles in backwoods Home magazine, I have successfully canned extra thanksgiving turkey in it’s own broth, chicken, pork and beef that I found on sale, a goat that hubby and I butchered, ham, soups and stews containing meat.
Much better than Spam, and healthier too!
Better than SPAM? Cmon.
EW!!! I haven’t had that stuff since I was able to refuse to eat it.
A 12 oz can goes for $3; so, it is $4 per pound. Not cheap at all.
Would love to try the Hot and Spicy Spam....makes my mouth water just typing this up.
But cannot find it anywhere.
BTW, the 12 oz can is $2.28 at Walmart.....not sure where you are shopping.
OK, so Hormel is raking in some cash.
Can they please stop with that stupid “Clients are early, ten minutes for lunch...” commercial? They only play that sucker about 600 times a day.
Or the other one with the kid and the helicopter dumping the sauce.
When the aliens finally come from Arcturus and evaporate us, it will be because they saw this stuff repeat about a billion times too often...
I’m pink, therefore I’m spam.
Chop it up and mix with scrambled eggs. Spam and Eggs baby.
Now they’re eatin’ Spam in their Obamavilles...
We ate it when we were kids and my grandkids love it but I hadn’t tasted it in 30 years so I bought a can and found that I hadn’t missed much...YUK!
Our neighbors canned about 100 chickens and 2 whole calves.
never cared for deviled ham.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.