Economy down, Spam sales up

[Jenise]

According to an article in the NYTimes, Hormel has been preparing for the downturn in the economy for months now.

"AUSTIN, Minn. — The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want.

The workers make Spam, perhaps the emblematic hard-times food in the American pantry.

Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table. Now, in a sign of the times, it is happening again, and Hormel is cranking out as much Spam as its workers can produce.

In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely...."

To read the whole article, use this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/business/15spam.html

Don't make fun of Hawaiian Foie Gras. If things get a little worse in the economy I understand it'll become the first course at the French Laundry.

Many years ago, I bought a can of Spam to try. I remember browning it in a pan, and making sandwiches with mustard, mayo, and lettuce. As I recall, it had a rather nice smell while cooking, and I don't think the sandwiches were bad at all. I never bought it again after reading the ingredients list. But then, we don't eat packaged lunch meats either.
It's not that we don't like lunch meats, we do, but the Doc says they are one of the worst things we can eat.....to bad because I really like fried Bologna, the kind that comes in one giant log and you can cut thick slices!

[Jenise]

But then, we don't eat packaged lunch meats either.
It's not that we don't like lunch meats, we do, but the Doc says they are one of the worst things we can eat.....to bad because I really like fried Bologna, the kind that comes in one giant log and you can cut thick slices!

Between the fat and the preservatives, I'm sure your doctor's right. Couldn't stand bologna, but I have been addicted to Italian and French cured meats since childhood. And that's why 100% of my "lunch meat" calories go to occasional splurges on Armandino Batali's incredible salume (most recent indulgence: last Thursday.) I need to adopt Armandino, and I'll take better care of him than Mario does. I'm only 100 miles away and I have a lot more free time!

Jenise, I saw an episode of Mario's once, where he featured his dad's place of business, it looked wonderful. I have not had too much experience with those types of cured meat combinations. I just may have to order Armandino Batali's incredible salume.

And that's why 100% of my "lunch meat" calories go to occasional splurges on Armandino Batali's incredible salume (most recent indulgence: last Thursday.)

I agree my mental budget for that sort of thing goes only to really high quality salume, cured hams or pate', and not just because they taste so much better (although that's the #1 reason). My theory is that because they have so much more flavor, you can slice them much thinner and end up eating a lot less fat than with ordinary lunch meats, let alone bland junk like bologna or spam. It only takes a few thin slices of a good salami to flavor an entire sandwich.

Be aware that the two most popular foods at the American and Russian research stations in Antarctica are:

(1) McDonald's Big Macs which are flown in twice weekly
(2) Spam which is available, as the jargon has it 24-7

What this says about the people stationed in Antarctica is not known to me.

[Jenise]

Jenise, I saw an episode of Mario's once, where he featured his dad's place of business, it looked wonderful. I have not had too much experience with those types of cured meat combinations. I just may have to order Armandino Batali's incredible salume.

You really should (if indeed these can be ordered online, I'm not sure they can). It's a whole new world from the kind of thing available in supermarkets, even the rather upscale ones.

Jenise,
His products can be ordered online here...http://salumicuredmeats.com/

What I don't get is what is the economy of buying Spam at $3.20/lb when a careful shopper can have fresh chicken, beef, turkey, and pork more economically ?
I also don't get the 45% increase in sales of frozen side dishes. Are they really cheaper than seasonal vegetables prepared simply ?
I was hoping that the economic downturn would mean a turn away from expensive pre-packaged convenience items.

[Jenise]

I was hoping that the economic downturn would mean a turn away from expensive pre-packaged convenience items.

Apparently, the message is that people are buying packaged food to prepare at home instead of eating out. There was an article in TIME last week about a store called Aldi, "that spartan bastion of private label good where brand names like Coke and Betty Crocker have large been banished for being too pricy." This store, which is German owned and who opened their first US location in 1976, has 950 stores in 29 states and plans to open 100 more (including Connecticut, Missouri and Texas, which pretty much outlines their spread), concentrates on selling high volume grocery products like ketchup and coffee--no choice of brands or sizes, which allows them to undercut conventional retailers. From what I can tell, they don't sell meat or produce, but that may be an incorrect conclusion--they do have dairy. They're small stores (10,000 sf average) and so streamlined they can get by with only five employees in each location. Sounds dreary to me, but apparently they're doing quite well--they've done $5.8 billion in sales here last year, up from 5.3 billion the year before.

There's an Aldi a few miles from me. We've never been in it, and haven't had any desire to.

[Jenise]

Don't make fun of Hawaiian Foie Gras. If things get a little worse in the economy I understand it'll become the first course at the French Laundry.

Then at least you'll be able to get a table.

Many years ago, I bought a can of Spam to try. I remember browning it in a pan, and making sandwiches with mustard, mayo, and lettuce. As I recall, it had a rather nice smell while cooking, and I don't think the sandwiches were bad at all. I never bought it again after reading the ingredients list. But then, we don't eat packaged lunch meats either.
It's not that we don't like lunch meats, we do, but the Doc says they are one of the worst things we can eat.....to bad because I really like fried Bologna, the kind that comes in one giant log and you can cut thick slices!

Chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added.
Salt (for binding, flavour, and firmness)
Water (to help in mixing)
Sugar (for flavour)
Sodium Nitrite (for colour and as a preservative)

What's in there that bothers you?

SPAM is a great camping food. Diced and scrambled with eggs, you've got a tasty, quick breakfast.

There have been Aldi Stores around here for about 15 years. I can't be bothered with them. I went there a couple of times. You have to "Rent" a shopping cart and they have no bags. They do have meat and produce though, but the prices are no better than other local stores and I don't like what I've tried of their brands. It seems to me the folks that shop there are leftovers from the '60s commune movement.

Aldi is the grocer of choice for the bums in Chicago. Shopping there is more depressing than a funeral. I'm not sure how the employees can stand it. I was really surprised to learn that they were part of the company that owns Trader Joes. I like Trader Joes but consider Aldi hell on earth.

[Jenise]

Shopping there is more depressing than a funeral.

That made me laugh out loud! But that's about what it sounded like to me--would make Walmart, which I detest, sound like a fun day out. Which is why it amazes me to read about how successful they are. But being the kind of person who shops the outer perimeter of the store and rarely goes down the center aisles, I would of course think that way.

Something to realize though in the comparison to Trader Joe's--TJ's is what it was before the German owner ever bought them, and Aldi's is a concept that was wildly successful in Europe before they ever came here.