How Did SPAM Come to Be?!

This is to be our American stories we tell stories about everything your Michelle your story. Seven hour American stories.com there are some of our favorites. Dustin black is a group creative director for an interagency in Minneapolis, Minnesota 2007 he published the book of Spam most glorious and definitive compendium of the world's favorite can meet as a collaboration with his advertising partner at the time Dan Armstrong when they worked for Hormel as advertisers shortly after the book was published.

It was internationally recognized and distributed. Here is Dustin black with the story of Spam… Loud interesting on the working Paul over and call Korean radio show or some like that talk about it you know what's great about spam. I think white had the appeal is it's got that it's been around for forever and everybody has a story about it like is very good in opening of the cancer might spark up a conversation around spam beyond any corner of the globe.

It's if there's an experience with it.

I was on production with Tim Gunn a couple years ago and he and I bonded over spam stories growing up. That was part of his leg heritage and is stressing and I think that what Hormel magazine is in effect for as they showed a sort of revolutionizing the meat processor. The meatpacking process. Spam itself is as a result of your hundred years of technology, of trying to preserve the meat to get it shelf stable for longer periods of time and strange enough, like Napoleon when he was moving his armies was really fascinated with how I feed these these armies through really cold Russian winters in Pekin fed and there get tired of salted and dried out food so he started playing around some of his scientists. I can calm with packing meetings, glass jars and cutting fat on top of it and boil it for an hour not boiling was basically an early version of pasteurization and from there it waits you can metal fix metal cans and it got to the point where the cans were larger and heavier than the meters dolphin so it wasn't very easy to transport is very difficult to open their stories out of the war when they would use their guns and muskets to shoot open the cans and their electrons back then because they would they would make the cans to big and so they could cook the middle so there was botulism there was problems with enough spoiled, middle, and the outside was guiding so eventually through sort of as his brilliance formality came back during World War II and basically what we could witness the smaller size cooking for three hours you get to get atop that you can open. It's a way of preserving the meat of pasteurization to keep shelf stable and that was really like revolutionary kind of 1937 was the start of this sort of process meet and in for him to. It was at the time. Like in World War I when he was serving in World War I, they were shipping meet with bone and they would ship the cowardly ship the pork and it would have bones in it. That's not very efficient for weight is not very efficient because last scrap pieces left over so he said look we take bones out of the grind it up pretty smart can pasteurize it. It will ship and 1937. That was the start of Spam was born. So it was fascinating. In 1937 then he helped revolutionize the World War II which is on the verge of starting up. It was kind of Spam sprinkling and it wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today or wasn't quite as popular quickly. You know, the military recognized the advantage of it and so they started shipping it to all that the military overseas. I was fascinating as they. I think that's kind of where the replication spam started and was solidified.

You had enough people on these bases and bonding around the world and are getting fed spam constantly because of his transition easy through dissent but also what happened is the government have been overcooked it essentially for safety like they want instead of just cooking up a three article 5, and that can push the meat, so the getting fed is lesser quality process meet around the world and then because the idea because after the war they needed as much protein sent over the past four other manufacturers were doing it in sizes that were as reliable. You get 12 pounds sizes and six count sizes and that flexing up of different quality standards and of different processing and of different cooking kind of ended up with a perfect storm of these soldiers that that were stationed around the world. Getting over fed something. They were tired of eating getting mixed quality getting bad quality, and then you know the perfect marketing started and they were all sent home to spread the word, and so that's how we ended up with grams of popular Guam spam so popular why, but also I think what started the bad name and reputation for spam is because it was such a mixed bag, and so here we are 80 years later and it still Has that reputation of being something that's like weirder strange animal parts are gross which is which is really interesting and unfortunate because in any other day, spam is actually a really good cuts of meat like it's really just ham, pork shoulder saltwater and little sodium nitrate & nitrate found in any process meet just keep you safe. But is it the better cuts of meat that the byproducts that you don't use going to hot dogs and sausages like that's the real I give you your hot dog or a sausage should really have no problem spam because it's actually better cuts the quality of meat and for years it got the reputation of like the gel rightly.

That's one of the first things people at little bit less lesser now, but like people are is like a booth at the gross gel on the outside make that funny noise was interesting. That was actually that pure protein is acting up that bad for you as a byproduct of the cooking process. Protein goes towards key if you're pressurizing me. Can he draw the protein out, it stays there. Then people put up.

It looks gross and looks like petroleum jelly or whatever saw back in 2001 the ground up a little bit of potato starch, start that in there.

The potato starch traps protein and you don't have a Joni Moore cell since 2000. Want to get rid of the gel which is helped with the the reputation of it and you're listening to Dustin black tell the story of Spam and I'm a big hot dog lover. I also love liverwurst and belongings. Of course I can eat spam when we come back more of the incredible story of Spam with someone who knows a lot about it and wrote the book of Spam. We continue with Dustin black story about this inimitable American product here on our American story view of the great American stories we tell and love America like we do, or asking you to become a part of the L American stories family. If you agree that America is a good and great country. Please make a donation monthly gift of $17.76 is fast becoming a favorite option for supporters little L American stories.com now and go to the donate button and help us keep the great American stories coming to our American stories.com and we returned to our American stories and the story of spin. Yes, the kidney we been listening to Dustin black author of the book of Spam most glorious and definitive compendium of the world's favorite can meet and he's telling the story of the creation of Spam during World War II are no realize that there was a great need for shelfstable meats to be sent to our troops and thus spam was created we left off with Dustin talking about people's hesitation with buying the canned meat product. Let's return to Dustin black. But I still think people have trouble thinking about buying me off the shelf, but you know it's it's a state of mind because there's so many cans of soup. You now have meat in it and has plenty of examples of shelfstable and I discussed back that pasteurization back that idea. No. 200 to hear your own technology of if you cook it and kill everything.

Don't let any air bacteria in their shelfstable for a long amount of time in her mouth actually continued and I think they they don't get the credit they deserve for revolutionizing a lot of the packaging processes they do their lives or lunch meats are now high-pressure pasteurized and that kills basically squishes all the bad stuff in there and so it can be all-natural without having to add a lot of extra preservatives that they do it through pressure and technology.

We like to just shelf technology which is really just the book we go through a lot of different chapters of how it's made origins expand the origins of process meet at a goes through the Spam Museum. It was through this spam will be all that is to travel around the country giving out samples but throughout there we we then a lot of photos from people that get sent in a farmout house of the more interesting part about working on ads get access to their archiving to the people down there that were getting the fan mail and you have people that would send in the fanart they would make costumes as spam cans. They would do weddings with the spam themes in okay around the world to get people that would send in you notice their rooms at hand like spam or the car as spam. This is no it's it's had such for such a long time devoted fan base and whether you love or hate spam you, have a story you kinda know about it happen. You know it's a brand that I think you sort of have to unabashedly love, you know, I know that there's a bit of a statement out there with it. So if you're spam Fannie and proud to wear shirts for a take that as a badge of honor that year someone thinks differently or someone that is not scared to go against the grain and you are tasting or not scared to share it young career for allows uses a wedding gift was acceptable wedding gift because it was something of such great esteem and honor that universal sort of story device that I think was most interesting, your fears of the advertising we had the tagline crazy tasty's not around anymore, but I really love that we did it because it was all me walk that line. Some of the love that things yet is crazy tasty like I really you know I can put it between two slices of bread.

I can cook it with bags of credit you know and I spam sushi is amazing, tasty, and the people he didn't like it or didn't get it, related to the crazy. Partly it's crazy tasty like the crazy was I don't get it, but it's kinda fine. It's weird and I see people you know where sure I can strike up a conversation so we can walk the line with that day like it's you know when is prepared and cooked properly like it's it's really good and I think we start to see a resurgence of that there's a lot of fancy restaurants that are using it as a in addition to, you know, protein option and you losing food trucks pop up with it. It's kind has a bit of a resurgence in that sort of way that like a PVR has a resurgence the knowledge that nostalgic soda brand that people love and has a familiarity form SAG is on plan menus and you look at like French cuisine. You will really fancy French restaurant and you're going to get served for lats, but essentially it's a fancy French version of Spam is the same thing the grind it up now that they put it into can work and often into dish. Cook it slice and serve it at exactly what spam is no pasteurized for as long the classic brands been around for 80, 90 years for scones are all the same phases that advertising is not so. It came back was held that the sort of solution to to to dinnertime problems. So for really long time. That was sort of like to show you different ways to cook it on the limited recipe ideas you know I love the classic 60s casserole recipes and things like outlets like spam Jell-O and you just things that I probably shouldn't have ever seen the light of day so it went through that phase of the data soap opera sort of batlike detergents (like sponsorships and 80s. It was all about know how often helping solve dinner know what you have for dinner and I spam night and they went ventricle phase is that the service spam lot currently living in the can. The nature of it where they had that little character, popped up. He was on the can give you recipe ideas imploded and comforted spam pre-2001, there was a lot of hack scores for urban wives tales around what to do with Dell so use it on this week and I use it to buffet table. Like most of the things like that you know and then I think there's a whole culture and arts around hands later these nice little candy can use them for painting or pot put some flowers and was like that. So this kind of art collective around what happens with cans and I what I see there and have a classic mode is been through all the phases of of food advertising from you know weird as publishing seen the light of day sponsorships.

You know, thousands of products you buy today with the need spam keychains. There's spam flip-flops. I got you covered. His enemies got connection to it like you would get on the phone sonically and talk about getting it as a wedding gift. You get on the phone and they talk about making as a care know how much they love eating in college and it's it's one of those brands that just sparks you know it. It and I think it's because of its it's lower in pop culture right back in the 70s Monty Python that the spam spam spam spam spam spam spam like that continue to ratchet up the lore and it it you know. Now we call, email, junk email spam email and and that kinda comes a little bit off the Monty Python and Jim Henson had spam.

He character in some of the movies and saw spam like American Idol came out with the version of the holy Grail Broadway, which was brilliant. It was a lot of fun, but he recognized the value of the spam Brandon at the time Hornell recognize value branded content. They partnered with Eric idle and they had spam lot toward the globe and was very successful. A lot of fun for years. They have the spam Mobile toward you know they gave out 1.7 million samples in 2007 is that there's five of them and they would go around and you get lines 2 blocks long little sample spam is one of the things like a good cook properly. It's it's really good like you don't take hamburger and just like Hale McCook Hamburg is to be spent for him, but that would be weird but identical.

People often think about or do his family here before getting Triton signals not rightly grill it to get the Juilliard affected. It's nice caramelization you can put between two bonds or put it between two slices of bread is really good in a person pineapple and rice is really tasty, or from some mashed potatoes like that that you know you just have to prepare properly. I think of traversing a resurgence in food trucks and in answer boutique sort of restaurant because the chefs realize it's not easy.

They can get a lot of it and store it ready right there you grill it up properly and it makes additionally tasty. I me next time you're in the store pickup in all 12 ants can or you know they they do singles now 3 ounce, which is a little bit easier to get into. You don't have to have the commitment of a 12 ounce can I get a little slice and try it like you know what it grill it up between two pieces of bread or prison but was an abundance of American cheese and have yourself a tasty little sandwiches you know it's it's you have it you know it's good or you are scared of it and get over and try and great job on the pieces always by faith and a special thanks to Dustin black story spam you on our American and we continue here on our American stories. We love to tell stories about every facet of American life and periodically those are faith stories as we know that faith animates so many Americans in their walk and in their day-to-day lives.

Elizabeth Elliot has been described as one of the most influential Christian woman of the 20th century. Let's get right into the story.

Here's breaking through gates of splendor is a 1957 best-selling book written by Elizabeth Elliot upon release.

The book was so popular that it competed with John F. Kennedy's profiles encourage in terms of sales through gates of splendor, tells the story of operation Alka an attempt by five American missionaries, Jim Elliott, the authors husband, Pete Fleming, Ed McCauley pilot Nate St. and Roger you Darian, a participant at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II to reach the Alka tribe of Eastern Ecuador. All five men were killed by the tribe in 1967, a documentary film also titled through gates of splendor was narrated by Elizabeth Elliott herself. Thanks to the folks at vision video. We are about to hear the story, here's Elizabeth Elliott, the Republic of Ecuador 3000 air miles due south of New York City is one of my friendly South American neighbor down the capital city 9000 and this is where the story began one time or another, all of us jungle missionaries stayed with me in mind St. their rustic and thoroughly functional house. Marge managed to find time to take care of her three children and supplied jungle missionaries with everything from fresh beef and prudes to screens and nails. Whenever Nate took office supplies. It was my rotten store weighed and even help me load them into the plane. She kept his ground log near his position in the air and stood by at all times with shortwave radio is all you need to clean even beg for rides.

Even some of the well-known tribe of drinkers called bidders had heard the words of the Lord Jesus arrived, and others, and some had come to believe that it is sort of on the wings guides which would release a parachute supplies when Jim and I were just married. We opened a new station place, five months we had nowhere to Nate got surprised with my parish finally passed testing excited gave his hopes of opening more stations getting around is no even by neighboring tribes. One day when no. They decided to make another service. Everyone knew they were there somewhere jungle had killed the key to England, near Ed station only a few months before I talked and prayed a lot about the very remote possibility. Until that day, September 19 eight with just about to turn around-home when they saw the house agency and people that this had devised to ground exchange even got the telephone so we could talk back and forth with the plane. The plane circled slowly near the vortex of Asian experts are still trying this voice decided to use contact years before Michelle plane had got gifts on my phone had the power to give them a regular job and give three thongs is attached to the Indians could find. The boys began to make backdrops build a platform so they could get near the plane. You can imagine the excitement when one day be sent back a roasted monkey in the bucket lights, got Heather's life accepted the gifts and returned offerings of their own men searched constantly for some clearing where the plane might land him he could carry out their mission of meeting face-to-face needs.

The men prayed contributed something to their meager store of knowledge as to the habits attitude of these primitive people believed God's time had come for them to go and explore the could I River and discovered a patch of beach on which he could be called common chow mein or Marge had regular contact with taking down the messages code buys because we wanted the operation for successful contact also filing out because they believed they were probably watching their missionary shaft stuck in the ground would identify the those who had dropped gifts from the gym, had prefabricated treehouse is electric saw in chapter worked all day and have a defensible position in case of said Jim and the fellows were on the Shandy listening every chance I got the radio message is my Marge was indispensable whenever Nate was away every hour to you how much gas you have on board men outside look at the sky. They know just what kind of weather you could expect from landing without radio find program 90 January 6, 1956, after three days waiting on the beach appeared was called the young man, George, of course, neither party understood the other.

Except for a few words. Jim had learned from time George seemed completely dynamically balanced by signs for writing your younger girl probably nicknamed Delilah was fascinated with the texture of the plane, rubbing her body against the fabric and imitating their hands scratching kind lately afternoon. Men waited for them to return Sunday radio looks like to be here for the afternoon service prayed for us. This is the day will contact you at 434 30. There was only silence.

When we come back we continue with this remarkable story you're listening to Elizabeth Elliott herself. We love that we can find material pulled from archives and hear directly from voices that are from the past Elizabeth Elliott story continues here on our American store and we returned to our American stories and to Elizabeth Elliott and again were going to go back to her storytelling and hear her concluding words from a list segment radio my service prayed for this is the day will contact you at 434 30.

There was only silence.

That is until January 30, 1956 issue of life magazine hit the newsstands magazine cost $0.20 life magazine circulated to 8 1/2 million American homes every week, but on page 10 of this issue. There's a stark black-and-white photo of five young women sitting around the kitchen table takes up almost the entire width of the oversized two-page spread.

There are half eaten sandwiches and the plates in front of them and toddlers are wiggling in their laps and on the shoulders there listening to a man with his back to the camera. The man is telling them about the search party that found the dead bodies of their five husbands. The Alka had speared them all of them to death.

The man is just told them that they are now widows. The headline reads, go ye and preach the gospel five do and die within days. The story of their sacrifice and circulate around the world. People were amazed. In an era of peace and prosperity that Christians were still willing to pursue something bigger than money or the American dream. The story of sacrifice and surrender for the sake of reaching a remote tribe with the gospel is compelling even to those who question or mock the faith of the missionaries and they weren't done, most notably Elizabeth Elliott and Nate St. sister, Rachel, St. here again is Elizabeth Elliott I went back to Shandy and when Jim and I had lived and continued to work with the key choice. People all over the world began to pray for the alkyds I prayed to, but it seemed a faithless prayer. At times I ask God to open a door somehow but I had no idea what to suggest. I asked him to send somebody more somebody could tell them but the five minute wanted to tell them that the God who made them actually cared about them and that he was worth trusting.

I told the Lord. I was willing to go if he wanted me to, but that seemed absurd to the five men had been killed. Who would ever succeed. I knew that God could do if he wanted to and that was the reason for prayer. Prayer is not a vein thing in November 1958 to alkyl women came out of their tribe right into McEachern Village. I met them and they came back to Skandia to live with me.I am a girl who had given Jim some help on the language had been with Rachel St. Nate sister for several years now, and Rachel had some valuable language date in which he shared with me. I use this as a basis and began to study the impact on man, the two who were with me one day when the three got together and I am a man, they said were going home. So they went and Rachel and I waited for them when they returned they invited the three of us, including my little girl Valerie to go and live there. We had prayed for this. Others were praying for it to.

We knew that this was God's doing three days by foot over jungle trails and streams by canoe down the credit I rivers and back again to the Delano here came to face alkyds first one we saw was humans younger sister. One would think the five-man I beach two days before they die. I had to keep reminding myself the these very people for the ones who had killed the man they were called one of the most savage tribes in the world.

Savage human beings played they showed no hostility to us and I learned they had their own ideas about right and wrong, even if they were different from ours.

They believed it was wrong to kill people except under certain conditions. Some of them said they thought the five-man side of course they were coming out the obvious thing to do noble and right thing to do was to kill now and man, Linda Yuma had succeeded in convincing them that there were outsiders who were quite all right. But these foreigners would come and live in Leeds and tell them stories about a man named Jesus he was a good man.

They should listen to the stories and learn to talk to Jesus to pray. So just as man, had promised me for the people said yes, we will need to kill any and so we decided that the best we could do was simply to live as much like to share with me and the things they were kind to Valerie and me. I gave Rachel a place to sleep in one of their shelters turned over a whole house they called it a house to Valerie and me began to leak. None of the houses was any more than there were no walls no floors no doors no privacy problem of communication is a constant one. I can put together more than a sentence or two of those were very short ones. Rachel and I never cease trying to analyze classify the language trying to reproduce it verbally with the proper intonation stations and all the things which make a foreign language, especially in language. Just try pronouncing it.

W Tom flat in front of your mouth. They do it in a word like in both the valves or needs allies to besides the trouble she did better with the three-year-old memory and mimicking ability than I did with all my language files tape recorder and systems of mnemonics he showed in picture books and taught them how to hold a crayon and draw this study will attempt to understand, to be understood as really counted about three explained that one day, seven God's day she was going to talk about him. Everyone was told to come and sit down. Client told them simple stories from the Old Testament stories of Jesus from the new. I told them that Jesus says we must not kill right away some of the men stop making spears.

There were occasions when he needed to spare, while paying careful explanation to us about what before you their own relatives same one killed Jim and me.

They had their God had his allowing it to happen.

Five-man custody and protection son before they left home at last morning to the tune in my we rest on.

She and I go not forth alone against the flow of strong nice spring night keeping tender. We rest on succeeded in converting not even speaking of the name of Jesus never unions could not imagine the real reason is simply took them as a threat to their own succeed God. Taken literally the way (abide great job touching that piece and you're listening to Elizabeth Elliott and what a faith story.

Indeed, in the end. So much of a faith walk. If you've had one taking one or thinking about taking one past due merely with obedience and doing what God commands you to do and sometimes those are hard things.

Terrific storytelling indeed about faith Elizabeth Elliott story here on our American stories