Did you know that Spam is making a comeback? In hard economic times, people wanting to stretch their dollar further turn to the canned meat. Die hard fans can now buy a book called “The Book of Spam!” that will teach you things about Spam you didn’t even realize you wanted to know. I’ll pass thanks. Some things are better left a secret.

My Dad enjoys Spam on a regular basis. When I asked him to describe the taste, he pondered for a moment. “It’s sort of a hammy, porky kind of thing.” Hmmmmm. That failed to peak my interest. He’s so fond of the gelatinous pink block o’ meat, he’s even issued a challenge to Geoffroy upon his arrival to the US: make a three star worthy dish from Spam and Top Ramen. It’s Iron Chef revisited.

But back to the topic at hand – my first Spam. After sweating off only 249 calories (according to the treadmill) during my daily workout, my neighbor and I headed over to a place across the street, GoFish GoSushi. It’s a cute new sushi place where all the sushi sashays past you on a conveyor belt, tempting your appetite. As I was eagerly trying to decide, an unusual dish passed by – Spam sushi. I raised an eyebrow at my neighbor, Ian, as the unspoken question of “Why?” passed between us. Sensing our confusion (or revulsion) the sushi chef behind the counter quickly offered up that is was marinated grilled spam nigiri.

At first I laughed off the idea of Spam sushi and filled up on other ethereal delights. But as the Spam kept making its rounds in front of us, my curiosity got the better of me. My reasoning was this: If I’m ever going to try Spam, why not let it be in sushi.

I took a hesitant bite with Ian watching me intently. Hmmmm. A little meaty. A little spongy. A little soggy. It sort of tasted like some that comes from a pig, but I wondered exactly what.

According to the official Spam website, Spam is made from ham, pork, sugar, potato starch, and a tiny bit of sodium nitrate. “A tiny amount of sodium nitrate is added to help Spam keep it’s beautiful pink color.” I laughed out loud. This website is trying to pass it off as something good instead (preserving the meat’s color) rather than something scary (used in fertilizers, explosives, rocket propellant, glass and pottery enamel).

Back to the sushi. I guess the flavor wasn’t all that bad, especially when dipped in wasabi-spiked soy sauce. As I was finishing the last bite, Ian nailed the flavor – turkey skin. As I thought about it, I had to agree. It did taste like some sort of soft, flabby poultry skin. Perhaps Skam (skin+ham) would be a better name.

Everything about my first Spam experience wasn’t that bad. Until an hour later. I kept burping (in a ladylike manner of course) up tastes of Spam throughout the day. Tasting it once was okay, but the second, third, and fourth times were really unnecessary.

I’m looking forward to watching Geoffroy taste it for the first time. He likes creep stuff like that, so who knows; maybe he’ll really enjoy making his Spam and Top Ramen masterpiece. I’ll make sure to post a recipe on Chez Tse.

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