How Spam Helped Shape Hawaii - National Geographic

Hawaiians like Spam so much, they consume an estimated 5 million pounds of it a year. Per capita, they consume more than anyone else in the U.S. That works out to about six cans a year for every man, woman and child, which is just a little eyebrow-raising, given the sodium and fat content of that can. (A 12-oz. can is supposed to contain six servings, and each serving includes 25 percent of the U.S. recommended daily fat intake and 33 percent of a day’s sodium. Does anyone eat only one serving?)

So it’s not exactly health food. But you have to admit, Spam is tasty. Hawaiians use it’s slightly spiced, salty flavor in everything from breakfast scrambles with eggs to a sushi-like concoction made with rice and a seaweed wrap known as musubi (moo-sue-bee, my Hawaiian colleague informs me, with no syllable accented stronger than another).

Musubi is a favoriteMusubi is a favorite of former Hawaiian resident President Barack Obama, who reportedly seeks it out whenever he’s on vacation there. Musubi is sold everywhere on the island, from gas stations to fine dining establishments. it has also, apparently, become a verb. Hormel recently introduced a teriyaki-flavored SPAM product to “encourage consumers to Musubi.” There’s even an adorable musubi baby costumemusubi baby costume and a yearly festival in Waikiki known as Spam Jam Hawaii, which falls on May 2 this year.

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The family-friendly Spam Jam attracted about 25,000 people last year. It features local musicians, crafts and special Spam dishes by local and national chain restaurants. “With all our different cultures here, there are a lot of dishes that can be made with it,” says Karen Winpenny, spokeswoman for Spam Jam Hawaii. The elegant restaurant/store Chai’s Waikiki is expected to take things up to highbrow level by offering Spam and fresh ahi katsu with wasabi curry, but don’t worry, there will be plenty of Spam fried rice and Spam grilled cheese on offer. And dessert, too: Ono Pops is making peanut butter cream pops with bits of candied Spam inside. Donations of Spam cans will be accepted by the Hawaii Food Bank because “it is the most requested item,” says Winpenny.

While the island’s love affair with Spam is all sunshine and rainbows now, it wasn’t always this way. During WWII, American GIs were loaded down with the stuff and more than willing to share. But the story goes deeper. According to food historian Rachel Laudan, who spent years living in Hawaii and wrote a book called The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii’s Culinary Heritage, Spam’s spread has more to do with the American government restricting Hawaii’s deep-sea fishing operations, owned mainly by the Japanese, in the years leading up to WWII. Because there were so many folks of Japanese descent on Hawaii’s islands, it wasn’t possible to put them all in camps, she says, as was done on the mainland in one of America’s saddest history chapters.