What the tastebuds will accept

The most fun show caught my attention this afternoon.

It about the 25th anniversary Spamarama festival in Austin, TX. **

That's right folks. It was a food festival all centering around Spam. It was fabulous!

They had a sports event! Teams of two would toss a full-size piece of spam at a specified distance. Teams who successfully tossed & caught the spam would continue to the next round.

Then there was the cook-off. The THINGS they came up with were amazing.

There was one dish that had Spam mixed with lobster (some sort of parfait). It seriously looked like a French dish with all the layers and the pretty presentation. There was the Spam sausage. It was 40% spam & 60% pork butt with herbs, onions, and other seasons mixed in. There was Spam on a stick. It was sliced long and thin. Dipped in jalapeno pancake batter. Deep fried. Toped with some sauce.

It was great when they rolled clips of people recalling Spam in their lives.

"Oh yeah. My Mom used to make it 2 to 3 times a week. We'd have it with potato flakes. Spam & mashed potatoes!"

"My grandpa used to fry it up on Sunday mornings. Us grandkids would eat it up."

"My Mom used to fry it up and also do up some eggs. Spam and eggs. Ummm..."

What I found interesting is how Spam made its way into homes across America. Did you know that World War II soldiers had canned Spam as a part of their rations? Yes. Turns out that Spam was the only meat that a lot of soldiers were able to eat on a regular basis. So after the soldiers came home? They incorporated Spam into their civilian lives. Through these soldiers, Spam received national acceptance.

I grew up with the stuff. Oh yeah. On weekend mornings, my Mom would cut it up into square shaped the pieces and fry them up in a pan. Then she'd scramble some eggs. Then she'd throw some cooked white rice in. Yes, Spam fried rice! We'd even have Spam for dinner sometimes too. We'd have it cut into rectangles and fried it up in a pan. We had it with white rice and diced tomatoes. Yummy!

The Hubs? He can't seem to wrap his head around Spam. Meat in a can. Can't seem to get over that concept. But doesn't tuna come in a can? He has no problems eating that. Yes. I am aware that Spam is processed WAY more than tuna, but it's still in a can the same way.

Maybe it's because he didn't grow up eating Spam. That's my only conclusion. His Mom never made it for them as kids. So none of them have an appreciation or desire to eat Spam. I don't even bring it up. I know I'll hear sounds of disgust at the thought of eating this American icon. To me, eating Spam is like eating food from McDonald's. It's a classic.

Now did you grow up with Spam?

** They actually had the 27th festival in April 2005