From: alisg@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Subject: Re: SPAM
Reply-To: alisg@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Organization: Montana State University
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 18:35:35 GMT

I have savored (such a useful word) the exchanges on Spam, and felt I had to
throw in my two cents' worth.

SPAM allegedly stands for Spiced Pork and hAM. There is a similar product
called Treet; one is made by Armour and the other by Hormel, though I can't
remember which is which.

Spam is indeed popular around the world. My brother, a long-time resident of
Seoul ROK says that it is a very hot black-market item there, and is considered
a very acceptable, nay, high class, wedding or New Year's gift. My supervisor,
a Japanese-American (Sansei) woman who lived for many years in Hawaii, attests
to the popularity of Spam throughout the South Pacific and Orient.

I happen to like Spam. When I was growing up in Alabama, more or less on the
wrong side of the tracks, we got Treet in sandwiches, and IMHO, Treet is not as
good as Spam. I would not care to eat Spam without further cooking, though I
suppose one could (the Treet we used to get was simply sliced and slathered
with Bama brand mayonaise and slapped between two pieces of "day-old" white
bread with some lettuce -- umm umm, the memories).

Spam is made of pork shoulder and ham, according to the folks at Hormel/Armour.
It does have considerable salt, and though the "Lite" kind supposedly has less, 
I can't taste the difference (the "Lite" refers to less salt, not less fat).
Spam is a good thing to take camping; sliced and cooked over a wood fire or a
camp stove, it is quite acceptable for breakfast. No doubt the fresh air and
vigorous exercise provide some degree of "sauce."

My ex-wife, who also grew up in a family with many kids and little money,
introduced me to Scalloped Potatoes and Spam, which can of course be extended
to feed however many show up. I don't doubt that this could be a fine dish if
one used a good Smithfield ham and cream and so forth, but for my money, the
following is real comfort food on a cold night:

                          Scalloped Potatoes and Spam

Chop some onion into a largish casserole. Slice a bunch of potatoes into 1/8 to
1/4" slices and throw them in. Cut Spam into smallish cubes, about 1" square.
Mix all this up with a little pepper, dot with butter, and pour in some milk.
Bake at 350 until potatoes are done. No amounts are given because they don't
much matter, though I like a fairly high ratio of potatoes to Spam. I have
jazzed this up with sliced mushrooms and garlic and hot pepper and what all,
but the Classic version is fine. As I say, a real comfort food, except that it
always reminds me of my ex-, whom I still miss.

Also good is to add fried slices of Spam to a grilled cheese sandwich. I use
small cubes of Spam in fried rice, too.

I'm not going to pretend that Spam is or ever will be haute cuisine, but when it
is served in the right circumstances and with love, it is as fine as the best
prosciutto.

  ***************************************************************************
  * George 'Notso' Suttle            * When Time recently announced the     *
  * SUTTLE/LIB@RENNE.LIB.MONTANA.EDU * discovery of a miles-wide fungus,    *
  * alisg@MtsUnix1.bitnet            * the largest and possibly oldest      *
  * Fax: 406-994-2851                * known living thing, readers wrote in *
  *                                  * immediately to ask "Can I eat it?"   *
  ***************************************************************************

In article <1992Jul22.063901.22085@news.cs.brandeis.edu>, mfrancis@binah.cc.brandeis.edu writes:
>>In Germany Spam is called `Fruehstuecksfleisch' (Fruehstueck = breakfast,
>>Fleisch = meat).  As if anybody would eat Spam for breakfast...
>
>Well ... I grew up in a neighbourhood with a lot of Filipinos, and
>everyone I knew had Spam with the fried eggs, fried rice, and the
>fried fish!  It was the typical breakfast meal.  Of course, my
>brother and I (and most of the neighbourhood kids) got sick of
>Spam, since its taste never changed (although we still went for
>that nice dried fish for the mornings, mmm mmm mmm!)
>
>So, Spam for breakfast is not foreign to me.  It reminds me of
>my childhood.
>
>Lyn Francisco
>mfrancis@binah.cc.brandeis.edu
>