Can you eat raw Spam?
Spam rose to popularity since you can eat it right out of the can, making it a useful product for feeding soldiers during World War II. But according to Spam enthusiasts, eating plain, cold Spam is like eating plain, cold chicken breast. Devotees swear that it lends itself to a variety of culinary deliciousness.Mar 11, 2014
Is Spam really that bad for you?
It is a canned, precooked meat mixture that is often referred to as mystery meat. Why it’s not good for you: A single serving of spam has about 53% of the recommended amount of sodium. It’s high in cholesterol and fat, and it has no nutrients or vitamins.Oct 26, 2011
Why is spam so popular in Hawaii?
Hawaii consumes more Spam than any state in our union — in total, 7 million cans a year. According to the SPAM website, the island’s love affair with Spam began in World War II, when GIs were served the salty luncheon meat because it didn’t require refrigeration and had a long shelf life
What does spam in a can stand for?
Special Processed American Meat
The name spam was derived from a contraction of ‘spiced ham’. The original variety of Spam is still available today, acknowledged as the ‘spiced hammiest’ of them all. During WWII and beyond, the meat colloquially became known in the UK as an acronym that stood for Special Processed American Meat.May 10, 2012
Spam vs Corned Beef
I read a post on the Survivalboards a while ago on which was a better canned meat product to store: Corned Beef or Spam. I thought this was hilarious, so I decided to have a little fun and check this out myself.
Living in Hawaii, SPAM is almost a food group, yet I never really ate much of it. Every once and a while when I was a kid my Dad would fry up a slice or two with eggs for breakfast. Other than that I didn’t really have an opinion either way and I’d never had Corned Beef in a can before.
When I bought them the Corned Beef was cheaper but that was because it was the smaller container. The price per oz for the two cans was only a penny or two apart. You might be able to find a better deal at costco or something, then maybe the price difference would be a deciding factor.
The Nutritional Info per 2oz serving:
Calories: SPAM 180, CB 160
Fat: SPAM 16g, CB 12g
Cholesterol: both had 40mg
Sodium: SPAM 790mg, CB 420mg
Carbs: SPAM 1g, CB 0g
Protein: SPAM 7g, CB 13g
I kind of considered the Nutritional Information to be a bit of a wash between the two. The Corned Beef had slightly less Calories, Fat, and Sodium (not necessarily a good thing for survival scenario), but had more protein. The difference between the two was just too close to tell definitively which was better.
Taste test:
Raw.
Both of these can be eaten cold, out of the can. I can’t say I was looking forward to it but heating them up might not be an option if you ever had need for your canned stores. When I opened the cans neither of them looked very appetizing, both looked like bad variations of wet dog food, slimy and chunky. Yum.
The corned beef was surprisingly edible out of the can. It was as if I had cooked some corned beef the night before and I was eating some of the left overs. Not quite as good as the home made but not all that far off.
Eating the SPAM cold was like eating a cold, very salty, hot dog. It’s edible but not anything I would eat on a normal day. Other than today, I guess.
Cooked:
The Corned Beef got better when it was cooked, even closer to home made. I wouldn’t mind eating this again.
The SPAM, when sliced up and fried, got even saltier. It wasn’t all that bad but it was REALLY salty. In a survival scenario the salt might be a desirable thing, refills electrolytes and all that, but the taste left something to be desired.
Conclusion:
Both of these items are good things to have around, stacked for emergency use. However, with how close they are nutritionally, I can only say that I vastly prefer the Corned Beef because of the far better taste. Cold or hot the Corned Beef was just better. I know what I’m going to be picking up the next time I go to the supermarket. (Just don’t tell anyone in Hawaii that I didn’t choose SPAM, it would be considered sacrilegious)
I hope you enjoyed the mental image of me slurping down cold, chunky meat out of a can. I made that sacrifice for you. I hope you appreciate it.
