Why is lunch meat so bad? Civilians in World War II starved for food, but it became a "nightmare" for the US military

When I was a child, during the New Year's holiday, luncheon meat must have been swept away by our children first. At that time, I was chewing something similar to sausage and meat in my mouth. I didn't think about what this thing was and why it was. It's called luncheon meat, not breakfast meat, dinner meat, and supper meat, just eat it. When I grew up, I became a foodie. In order to become a qualified foodie, Jiujie decided to find out, how did luncheon meat come from? What does it have to do with lunch? Once it was so unpalatable that it was foul? what happened?

Why is lunch meat called "luncheon meat", its invention time and process

1. It only takes 20 minutes for pork to canned

First of all, Luncheon Meat, formerly known as Hormel Spiced Ham, is a canned pork product developed by Hormel in 1932, containing potato starch, sodium nitrite, etc. Pigs are pulled to the factory gate and directly into the slaughter room - cut - cut meat - processed to minced meat - mixed with starch - put in food additives - canned - steamed - capped - shipped from the factory, a lively pig becomes lunch meat Canned, it only takes twenty minutes.

The birth of a can of luncheon meat includes the integration and application of disciplines such as breeding and slaughtering, food microbiology, food packaging materials, food production technology, and mechanical production. The luncheon meat in the 1930s undoubtedly represented the highest level of the food industry at that time.

2. The development history of "title"

However, this kind of canned food has unexpectedly failed repeatedly in the market. For the rich, canned meat is not very attractive, and it is far better to buy the meat directly, and for the poor, although canned pork is only 40 US dollars per can It is one-third of the price of meat products of the same weight, but it is still unaffordable food for them who are going through the Great Depression.

In 1937, Hormel asked the society for a new name for this product in an attempt to change the status quo. Kenneth Dagnew, the elder brother of Dagnew, the vice president of Hormel at that time, proposed to use SPAM as a new trademark. SPAM Is the abbreviation of Shoulder of Pork And Ham, which means pork shoulder and ham.

At that time, the working class in the United States did not have the habit of eating lunch. Only the middle and upper classes would eat lunch. They often took out SPAM at luncheon gatherings (Luncheon). Later, people used to call this canned food Luncheon Meat. In China, Luncheon Meat is translated as luncheon meat, which is how luncheon meat came to be.

During World War II, the US military ate lunch meat and vomited

$1.4 billion in lunch meat

In 1939, when World War II broke out, SPAM ushered in the opportunity to go global. The government found that SPAM was inexpensive, had a long shelf life, was easy to store, didn't need to be heated, and was ready to eat right out of a can. It was the perfect army ration. In those days, it was as important to the battlefield as a weapon and shell. During World War II, SPAM was sent to the front in large numbers.

As for why the canned meat, which was already popular in the world at that time, was not chosen, it was because the cost of that kind of canned food was high, and it was not enough to use it for mass production and send it to the battlefield. Spent $373 million to purchase more than 680 million kilograms of SPAM.

The SPAM produced during World War II did not contain ham at all. At that time, according to the prediction of the United States, the war would last for at least 5 years. Therefore, Hormel was required to increase the production of SPAM, and even lower the product standard appropriately. There are more and more starch and soy protein to fool, but in fact, the products produced and real pork are not much different in nutrition except for the taste.

The nutrients that lean meat can provide include protein and vitamins, and the lard and starch used to make SPAM, lard is responsible for providing a lot of calories and A, D, and E groups. Compared with lean meat, the cost-effective ratio is not a small half o'clock. However, the SPAM that comes out of this way, one can imagine, the taste is not much better. But this actually increases the cohesion of the US military. How can this be explained?

2. Can luncheon meat enhance cohesion?

It turned out to be because SPAM was so unpalatable that it caused public outrage. Do you want to know how to make friends with someone quickly? It has almost the same meaning as "the enemy of the enemy is a friend". When there is a common source of anger and complaints, even if you are friends, they will have a strong resonance because of SPAM, which will enhance the cohesion.

The American soldiers even gave it a nickname: Mystery Meat. The cooking team doesn't know where to get so many SPAMs every day. They are fried in the morning, roasted at noon, and steamed in corn cakes at night. Then chop it into patties the next day. The resentment at the time continues even today, with Spam being used to refer specifically to spam.

In stark contrast, the armies of other countries have only endless gratitude for SPAM. After Ukraine was occupied by the Nazis, without SPAM, the Soviet Union would have no food to feed the Red Army. Every SPAM can is glowing, this is life-saving rations. Luncheon meat may change not just America, but the whole world.

How can anyone still eat SPAM now?

After so many years of development, luncheon meat has of course improved a lot. It is not limited to pork and ham. SPAM alone has more than 20 flavors. Spicy, cheesy, chorizo, black pepper, in addition to pork, there are beef, chicken, and fish.

Coupled with the secondary processing of our hard-working and capable Asian people, we have made army hot pot, Maoxuewang, luncheon meat balls, etc. From the first can born in 1937 to 2002, the world has purchased a full 6 billion. can. There is a special counter for SPAM in the duty-free shop at the Korean airport. Koreans really love to eat lunch meat.

Difference Between Luncheon Meat and Sausage

In terms of raw materials, luncheon meat is mainly pork or beef, and ham sausage is chicken or pork; there are also differences in processing technology. Luncheon meat is high temperature and high pressure, sealed in a can to keep fresh, ham sausage is not subjected to high temperature and high pressure, and only depends on salt. and preservatives for preservation. Compared with the two, ham has a lot more preservatives than lunch meat. It can be said that ham is a simplified version of lunch meat.

The history of luncheon meat is not comparable to that of ham sausage. Ham sausage is a commodity that Japan exhibited at international food fairs in the 1980s and was taken into the market by large manufacturers.

Today, the inhabitants of those battlefields still look for canned luncheon meat to eat every year. For them, luncheon meat is not just canned food, it is a trace of sweetness that is not easy, and it is the peace and dignity that their fathers exchanged with blood and tears. Every year on Independence Day, the residents of Austin, Minnesota hold a grand SPAM festival, and they even set up a museum for luncheon meat, the SPAM Museum.

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