Spam is one of just a handful of foods that has become an American icon, reaching near-cult status over the past 80-plus years since it first appeared on store shelves. And now, more than ever, sales are booming as people fearing shortages of fresh meat during the coronavirus stock up on pantry staples with long shelf lives.
Answering the call for new ways to use it, Hormel, maker of Spam, has published a new cookbook, “The Ultimate Spam Cookbook,” scheduled for release on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The book has more than 100 ideas for preparing Spam, from everyday to gourmet, providing consumers with recipe inspiration and new ways to serve it up.
But it’s a product Chattanoogans have enjoyed for decades.
Lynda Gayle Steele Vincent, a member of the Bea’s Restaurant family, grew up eating Spam sandwiches with the canned meat fried and put on white bread with a slice of home-grown summer tomatoes and fresh lettuce. To this day, you can find a can or two in her cabinet.
“We eat it maybe two to three times a year,” she says.