The History Of Luncheon Meat

Among the U.S. military rations in World War II, the more legendary is the so-called "spiritual meat" - Spam Luncheon Meat (SPAM). This canned precooked meat product made by Hormel Fc in Austin, Minnesota. Probably the most famous ration during the entire war. In the early 1930s, Hormel launched the first canned meat product - HSH formel Spiced Ham. Hormel spiced ham suffered a fiasco in the market competition. Company executives had no choice but to solicit new names from social sages. The older brother of Hormel Vice President DaigncaLi, Kenneth DaigncaLi, is a half-baked actor who proposed adding ham with pork belly. The acronym SPAM (shoulder of Pork And haM) was adopted immediately as a trademark for the new product, and Kenneth Dagnew received a $100 award from Hormel. On June 5, 1937, the No. 1 Spam canned luncheon meat was born.

According to the statement on its distribution table. The main ingredients of Spam luncheon meat are pork, ham, salt, water, sugar and sodium nitrite. There are 7 grams of protein per 56 kPam luncheon meat. 2 grams of carbohydrates and 15 grams of fat provide 170 calories and 1/3 of your daily salt intake. It comes in more than ten flavors such as black pepper, salt, minced garlic, cheese, smoked, honey pickled, spicy, etc. There are even large-sized luncheon meats for banquets and Islamic luncheon meats (the raw material is turkey meat). In 2002 alone, Hormel's main factory in Austin, Minnesota (another tuba called 'Spamtown') sold 6 billion tins of spam worldwide, more than 41 People in 100 countries are eating this canned food.

WWII Memories

However, in the rave reviews about Spamula, there is certainly no voice of the American soldiers on the battlefield of World War II. There are many things that evoke the common memories of American veterans of World War II and tie them together, no matter where they served: Lucky Strike cigarettes; movie stars Jane Harrow and Leda Hayworth; Japs bombing Pearl Harbor what they were doing on that day; where was the news of Roosevelt's death; moral admonitions from chaplains; company sergeant majors; love letters from girlfriends. Beyond that, there's one thing that quickly conjures up vivid memories of the war in countless American veterans, whether they were in the deserts of North Africa or the ruins of Mount Cassino. The beaches of Normandy are the tropical jungles of Bougainville. This is Spam Luncheon Meat. To them, Spam is as common enemy to millions of GIs around the world as enemy bullets and gonorrhea.

Jack eats his acorn noodles

Grant is chewing brown bread

Teddy eating poisonous beef

No meat in the world is worse than this

Infantry has his cookie

Just look at the navy jam

Everyone's stomach is squirming

Because it's full of spam

The GIs have all sorts of lurid nicknames for this hapless can that never seems to be finished. Such as "Something Posmg As Meat", "spare Parts Animal Meat", of course, more called "Mystery Meat". There were legends about Spam that terrified the soldiers: "The cooks would fry the luncheon meat for breakfast, roast it for dinner, put it in corn cakes for dinner, and lunch the next morning. Meat patties, God knows where they get so much lunch meat, they must have ordered them in buckets! Spam, sticks, and boiled meat greased!” a pre-war Spam sales pitch Enlisted in the war, he wrote a letter from the Pacific Front to the owner of Hormel: "Dude, never realized how good the can of spam is in the foxhole! All we have here Brothers think Spam is the most delicious meat in the world." Hormel turned the letter into an advertisement, which caused a frenzy of ridicule among the U.S. Army.

Indeed, spam luncheon meat contains almost no vitamins and minerals (perhaps maybe 1% vitamin c, 1% calcium and 5% iron), it is not very helpful for health, and long-term consumption may also lead to obesity and High cholesterol. What's more, aside from the starch, salt, and spice flavors, you can't really taste the "meat" in it. Probably more than a million times someone complained that "this shit must have come through the back door into the food". However, no one can deny that Spam is crucial to maintaining the stamina of soldiers. In the ever-changing battlefield, it is difficult for the logistics department to ensure enough meat every day. At this time, Spam lunch meat has become the best choice; on the hot Pacific islands, because fresh meat is difficult to preserve for a long time, Spam is even more become a strategic material. Luncheon meat stewed in a tin can, the aroma wafts from London to Tokyo.

And, while Spam was demonized by countless U.S. soldiers, their British and Soviet allies were grateful for the god-given food. Numerous spams were distributed to Canadian, British, Australian and Soviet troops. Its popularity is no less than that of American tanks and jeeps shipped under Lend-Lease. A veteran of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division recalled that after the Battle of Normandy, he and his buddies were once complaining about the endless lunchmeat in the field cafeteria, only to be overheard by two visiting British officers. Without saying a word, they picked up two pieces of luncheon meat from the American soldier's dinner plate, threw them on the ground, covered them with dust, and picked them up and ate them in their mouths. The meaning of this silent performance is clear: "You spoiled little Yankees have nothing to complain about. It's a feast compared to what we eat."

The same is true of ordinary people in occupied European countries and the United Kingdom. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher recalled: "I remember that it was Boxing Day in 1943 (the first day after Christmas, when the British gave gifts to postmen, milkmen, etc.), and a friend came to visit... … We opened a can of Spam luncheon meat. We also had some lettuce and potatoes. Friends said happily: luncheon meat and salad, how rich!” Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev also once After the famous "kitchen debate" with Nixon, he grudgingly admitted: "Without Spam (after the Germans occupied the Ukrainian agricultural areas), we really had nothing to feed the Red Army."

A couple of stats probably tell the story: To this day, U.S. residents in Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands still consume the largest quantities of canned spam in the world, the latter two of which were the Pacific Ocean more than 60 years ago. the cruelest battlefield. Residents in both places eat an average of 16 cans of Spam a year. The local McDonald's and Burger King restaurants still sell Spam Burgers! Spam is equally popular in several other old battlegrounds where American soldiers were haunted—Okinawa, the Philippines, and South Korea. Koreans lost almost overnight Japanese sushi that they had been eating for more than 30 years. Picked up canned American luncheon meat. Even in distant China, many people are used to adding a few slices of lunch meat to sandwiches or instant noodles.