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Perhaps the sneaky spammer would have been more successful if the screen name had been 'Arthur Stuart'...
Posts: 993 | Registered: Jul 2006
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Has anyone had spam before? It can taste pretty good by someone who knows how to cook it, Polynesians in particular.
Posts: 2489 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Yeah, we have spam now and then (my Mom grew up in Hawaii). It's an important ingredient in my grandma's won ton. I don't see why it's so maligned, actually. It's a little too salty for my taste, but the low-sodium version is fine.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote: Not Polynesians, Hawaiians (as in residents of Hawaii, not ethnic Hawaiians).
Wait, are you saying that you feel Hawaiians cook it better than Polynesians, or that I am mistaken and meant Hawaiians?
Posts: 2489 | Registered: Jan 2002
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We eat it frequently at my home and I'm certainly not ethnic Hawaiian.
I'm not sure what the connection is between Hawaii & Spam. I never made it before I moved here. Not once. I remember once a neighbor of mine gave me a few cans of it when he was moving and I donated it to a food drive. I don't recall ever eating it as a child. My children gave it to their friends as gag gifts and eating Spam was a common consequence of losing a bet or a dare in my 2nd daughter's circle.
Then we moved to Maui and learned how tasty it can be. We dice it up and fry it with leftover rice for breakfast. I make Spam stirfry with fresh pineapple for dinner. And nothing compares with Spam musubi. mmmmmmm Spam
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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See, in Britain during WWII, they had very little meat. They ate whatever the butcher or store had, canned, fresh, kidneys, trimmings, tripe, whatever. My grandma married a US serviceman before the war was over, and he got as part of his ration Spam imported from the US. When she was pregnant with my oldest uncle a few months after getting married, he would trade his chocolate for the other guys' spam occasionally so she could have more meat (she was anemic.) He also used to get oranges on base and bring them home from her, and her friends would come over and she would have to hide them-- not because she didn't want to share, but because she was pregnant and her friends weren't, and fresh fruits and vegetables (and even sometimes tinned) were almost impossible to get, and she needed the vitamin C (it helped her absorb more iron.)
She still likes Spam occasionally.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I can understand (maybe) why the oldsters who were around during WWII might still have a fondness for Spam. But that's not the case. *Everyone* eats it here - from toddlers to geriatrics. I don't think I've ever met a Hawaiian who didn't love Spam. And they're quite passionate about it.
I've lived in every region of the US except New England, and I've never seen a regional food that was so universally loved - although green chiles in New Mexico came close.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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quote:Originally posted by maui babe: I can understand (maybe) why the oldsters who were around during WWII might still have a fondness for Spam. But that's not the case. *Everyone* eats it here - from toddlers to geriatrics. I don't think I've ever met a Hawaiian who didn't love Spam. And they're quite passionate about it.
Well, with the "bomb shelter food" stigma aside, Spam is basically just another meat. I don't know many people who flat out dislike chicken or pork, religious reasons, taboos & vegetarians aside.
I know lots of Hawaiians who dislike Spam in specific applications (e.g. uncooked, spam in sandwiches, spam chunks in mac salad, etc.). I disagree with the passionate part, though: Hawaiians aren't really that passionate about it until they see someone react aversely to it.
Heck, I usually only eat spam maybe once every month or two. I go through six or seven cans a year on average. But if someone maligns it, especially when I'm eating it, they will get an earful.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:I can understand (maybe) why the oldsters who were around during WWII might still have a fondness for Spam. But that's not the case. *Everyone* eats it here - from toddlers to geriatrics.
It's associated strongly enough with Hawaii now among Hawaiians that they defend it as part of their state's identity. It's like moving to Wisconsin and not eating cheese, sausage or beer.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Well, I certainly meant Ethnic Polynesians, as it was a Polynesian who prepared the food I ate.
Posts: 2489 | Registered: Jan 2002
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I merely meant that the Polynesians can cook spam well, not that they were the only culture capable of doing so.
Posts: 2489 | Registered: Jan 2002
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That's the same incorrect generalization. The spam culture is almost entirely a Hawaiian (and to an extent, Guam) thing, not a Polynesian thing. It's as inaccurate to say that all Polynesians can cook spam well as it is to say all Caucasians can cook grits well, or all Asians can cook (or, well, assemble) sushi well.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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