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In celebration of Spam (the kind you eat, not delete)

Spam

Love it or hate it, Spam — the precooked, pork-et cetera product created by Hormel Foods — is one popular mystery meat. In fact, in Waikiki, the “miracle meat in a can,” as it was advertised in 1940, is celebrated annually, with the most recent Spam Jam Street Festival, on Apr. 25, attracting approximately 20,000 people, according to organizers.

According to the event website, more Spam is consumed per capita in the Hawaiian islands than in any other state in the U.S. Indeed, in Hawaii nearly 7 million cans of Spam are eaten annually.

If you didn’t get to see the unique festival in person, take a moment for Spam now and have a look at these shots by event attendee Kyle Nishioka, a civil engineer who lives in Honolulu:

Spam okonomiyaki

Spam Jam

The hungry and curious

Grills

Mysterious meats on the grill

Spam Jam

Larger-than-life Spam

The next Spam Jam in Honolulu is scheduled for April 24, 2010.

– Susan Derby, Special to The Times

[Top photo: Hormel Foods Corp.]

[Other photos: Spam Jam Street Festival 2009 by Kyle Nishioka]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 9:37 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Family & Kids, Festival, Gourmet, Hawaii, Islands & Beaches, Oahu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

2 Comments on “In celebration of Spam (the kind you eat, not delete)”

Ares Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Gotta love Spam. Anyone who grew up and didn’t have to eat Spam knows nothing about the American experience. A true right of passage, Spam is a cultural savior. Thank you Spam.
Liz Kao Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
YUM - does Kyle have a recipe or explanation of what okonomiyaki is, b/c it looks intriguely tasty.

I am a huge spam musubi & spam-in-Hawaiian-food fan. My friends usually make it with turkey spam (which does exist) — just in case people were hoping a “healthier” option existed. I think it is less salty than the full-strength version, too.

Liz Kao
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http://www.dealbase.com