If you don’t know, SPAM — the canned meat, rather than junk mail — is a big deal in Hawaii.
I ate the meat when I was a kid. Pale in color, shaped like a rectangle and coated in a yellowish jelly, it’s not hugely appetizing when you open the can. But fry it up in a pan and it’s okay. Not enough to keep eating as I grew older, but okay.
But Hawaiians eat almost 7 million cans a year, according to a Huffington Post article written by a woman who’s dad grew up in Maui.
Apparently the state’s love affair with the Hormel product began when the U.S. military imported the canned meat during WW II to feed the troops.
The above dish, SPAM Musubi, is still popular: “a sushi-style slice of Spam served with rice and seaweed.”
I’m including 5 Hawaiian-inspired SPAM recipes.
Do you like SPAM?
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