19 votes

The history of SPAM

8 comments

  1. [8]
    kingofsnake
    Link
    So it was war food - very interesting. Every time I see what passed for North American cuisine in the middle of last century, I throw up a little.

    So it was war food - very interesting. Every time I see what passed for North American cuisine in the middle of last century, I throw up a little.

    2 votes
    1. [4]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      LOL, yeah, the 1930-60s was an "interesting" time when it came to American cuisine. The shortages of the Great Depression and WW2, immediately followed by the economic, technological, and...

      LOL, yeah, the 1930-60s was an "interesting" time when it came to American cuisine. The shortages of the Great Depression and WW2, immediately followed by the economic, technological, and advertising boom of the 50s created some really "unique" food trends in those decaces. E.g. Jello, mayonnaise, and canned fruits/meats were seemingly being integrated into every dish in the 50s and 60s, and even all being combined together in bizarre "Jello salads"... which is not exactly my idea of appealing either. :P

      8 votes
      1. [3]
        fefellama
        Link Parent
        Hate to tell you this but the children of those in the 30s-60s grew up with a similarly blasphemous sense of taste. I've come across at least two jello recipes in a 1980s cookbook, one featuring...

        Hate to tell you this but the children of those in the 30s-60s grew up with a similarly blasphemous sense of taste. I've come across at least two jello recipes in a 1980s cookbook, one featuring crab and another featuring fish. The cookbook is a collection of local recipes submitted from a coastal and seafood-heavy town, so the crab and fish weren't unexpected... the jello was.

        Also, holy mother of tags on this one. Feels like I'm reading a story just going through them all.

        2 votes
        1. [2]
          cfabbro
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Yeah, I've seen a few similarly bizarre jello mold recipes in 70s/80s cookbooks too. I can at least understand some of the classic French aspic recipes, since they're made from stock/broth and...

          Yeah, I've seen a few similarly bizarre jello mold recipes in 70s/80s cookbooks too. I can at least understand some of the classic French aspic recipes, since they're made from stock/broth and contain soup ingredients that complement that gelatinized stock/broth. Not my cup of tea, but I can understand them. And most of the dessert "salad" jello dishes make sense to me too since jello itself is a dessert.

          But the American aspic-inspired jello recipes with various fruits, veg and meats in them, especially when its a fruit flavored jello (e.g. ring-around-the-tuna)? I honestly just can't wrap my head around how anyone thought that was a good idea or could possibly think it would taste good.

          Also, holy mother of tags on this one. Feels like I'm reading a story just going through them all.

          Heh, yeah, I tend to go a bit overboard with tags on history related topics. :P

          4 votes
          1. turmacar
            Link Parent
            Other than the texture that seems like a decent tuna salad recipe, just with jello instead of mayo/mustard. Adding some lime juice wouldn't even be that outlandish. But the concept a quarter of...

            Other than the texture that seems like a decent tuna salad recipe, just with jello instead of mayo/mustard. Adding some lime juice wouldn't even be that outlandish. But the concept a quarter of that as an entree is just so off-putting.

            2 votes
    2. [3]
      stu2b50
      Link Parent
      I mean it’s nothing compared to British food in the mid 20th century. Unlike in the states, a lot of that remains. You have such highlights like: sugar sandwiches, two pieces of supermarket bread...

      I mean it’s nothing compared to British food in the mid 20th century. Unlike in the states, a lot of that remains. You have such highlights like: sugar sandwiches, two pieces of supermarket bread with butter and refined sugar.

      https://pastrychefonline.com/bread-butter-and-sugar-sandwich/

      5 votes
      1. kingofsnake
        Link Parent
        I've heard that Scottish curries are a special kind of hell. Is that true? Are there good versions of it? Also, I don't know how much of that trickled down to Australia, but 'hundreds of...

        I've heard that Scottish curries are a special kind of hell. Is that true? Are there good versions of it?

        Also, I don't know how much of that trickled down to Australia, but 'hundreds of millions', the popular kids snack is just sprinkles on button white bread. Yeccch!!

        1 vote
      2. babypuncher
        Link Parent
        I think just looking at that gave me diabetes

        I think just looking at that gave me diabetes

        1 vote