Surprisingly Delicious

In this episode, we explore the history of Spam while making Spam Upside Down Pie. This episode also takes a look into why it’s so popular in the Philippines, Hawaii, and Korea.

spampie2 — The original recipe was published in Life Magazine during World War II. The recipe is not only fun to make: it’s also easy to make!

One layer of sliced Spam and one layer of biscuits. Ultimately, I used three canisters of mini-biscuits for this recipe.

Layer number two. Small pieces of Spam are sprinkled between the layers of biscuit.

A third layer of biscuits is added, and it goes into a 425 degree oven.

A little bit over cooked. The recipe calls for it to be baked 45-50 minutes. This is about 35 minutes into baking. I probably should have taken it out of the oven at 30 minutes.

Served with beer cheese and garlicky peas.

References:

Ty Matejowsky. SPAM and Fast-food “Glocalization” in the Philippines. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/155280107780154088

CBS News. As Food Prices Soar, So Do Sales Of Spam. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-food-prices-soar-so-do-sales-of-spam/

Erin DeJesus. A Brief History of Spam, an American Meat Icon http://www.eater.com/2014/7/9/6191681/a-brief-history-of-spam-an-american-meat-icon

Gothamist. Spam is making a comeback at hip NYC restaurants. http://gothamist.com/2014/04/01/spam_brooklyn_hipsters.php

Lucy Williamson. Why is Spam a luxury food in South Korea? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-24140705

Rachel Laudan The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii’s Culinary Heritage https://www.amazon.com/Food-Paradise-Exploring-Culinary-Heritage/dp/0824817788

Spam Website: http://www.spam.com/

The Hormel Website: http://www.hormelfoods.com/

The SPAM Man. New Yorker Magazine: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1945/08/11/spam-man

In this episode, I make two recipes from The 2-in-1 International Recipe Card Collection published by Random House in 1977. On the front side of the cards in this collection, there are recipes for mixed drinks and on the back there are recipes for hors d’oeuvres. I’ll be using recipe card number 208 which is in the rum section. This card has three recipes, but I’m only going to make two: the banana daiquiri from the front of the card and bananamole from the back. While preparing my ingredients, I talk about the history of the Cavendish banana and some of the issues with the global demand for this particular variety.