TIL there's such a thing as vegetarian Spam

Why is there regular Spam?

I'm still not sure why there is vegetarian Spam, but...

I became a full time vegetarian 10 or 11 years ago. There are still some dishes I miss that had meat in them. Not necessarily the meat itself. Some I have modified to be vegetarian. Other I have not.

All in all there are not a lot I find myself wanting. One is an Italian cold cut sub, another is various dishes made with spam. 20 years ago I worked in a logistics department and most of my coworkers were from the Philippines, I learned to love spam. It was also a great camping food. I would love to try vegetarian spam.

Maybe I'm crazy, but that actually sounds kinda dope. Spam is underrated, IMO.

Spam is literally like one of the most delicious things on the planet. I have no clue how anyone sane can dislike it.....i bet the people saying it's gross have never even had it and just assume it's gross because it comes in a can.
- I've tried it and I didn't love it or hate it. It was just... on my plate. Like the unsalted mashed potatoes of the meat world.
  Canned corned beef, on the other hand - I'd probably eat it every week if it wasn't so fatty.
- You sure you don’t just really like salt?
I would go past underrated and day much maligned.

Apparently this is a soy and wheat gluten loaf and is made in the Phillipines.

Sounds delicious.
- It does. Honestly SPAM is a good choice for unmeatification.
- Maybe! Idk, I used to like mock duck. Soy based lunch meat is pretty good too. Alas, I'll never be able to try this company's stuff as it all has wheat in it.
- Sounds like its essentially seitan, and frankly you can do amazing things with wheat gluten. My personal fav is the hilariously named WTF method (wash that flour).
  For spam I imagine they just salt the hell out of it. 😂
- It is!
- It could be better, from my experience.
- Unless you've Celiac disease.

Next time grab a photo of the back with the ingredients. That's the most important photo to capture

https://meetunmeat.us/product/luncheon-style-meat/
Water, Non-GMO Soy Protein, Palm Olein, Seasonings (Onion, Black Pepper), Natural Flavors, Potato Starch (Thickener), Modified Vegetable Gum, Wheat (gluten and fiber, Sugar, Yeast Extract, Vinegar, Potassium Salt and Paprika Oil (color)
- So its an oily tofu block with seasoning and preservatives
- So eating meet is bad but eating palm oil is ok? You guys know palm oil is destroying the orangutans right?
This guy/girl ~~fucks~~ knows how to vegetarian

I'm still not sure why there is vegetarian Spam

For the same and only reason that there is regular spam, surely? For musubi.

Musubi or fried with scrambled eggs and mayploy. Only way to eat spam.

For that price I'd happily try it.

However good or bad it is. It can't be worse than luncheon meat. Treet meat and it's offbrand variants.

The price of spam is just criminal nowadays. Costs more than corned beef.

Probably Hawaiian/Filipino diaspora. Those guys love spam, to the extent of innovating fusion dishes centered around it.

There are also a few Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese dishes that use spam. Basically any place that has or has had a US military presence at some point has developed spam based dishes because they leave tons (literally) of the stuff behind when they pull the troops out.
My Hawaiian friend tried the Unmeat brand and said it tasted like the real thing. I enjoyed it a lot, although I've never had "real" Spam.
I have a Chamorro coworker who had a whole rant on how Hawaiian pizza should have spam instead of ham and how awesome spam is. I think it's safe to add the people of Guam to your list.
- They are correct. I'd do it myself but there's alot of spam in 1 can for a pizza or even 2. I'll have to set some aside next time I make Spam Masubi. Of course that means a few less servings of masubi.... life is full of hard choices...
- I mean now that I'm thinking of it, that'd be absolutely right, only way to make it more Hawaiian would be to find a way to get some tarro on it too.
  My guess is the only reason ham was used is because it was made up before spam caught on.
  Also the guy who did it was Canadian, so non zero chance he was just pulling the recipe out of his own ass.
From Hawaii. This isn't Spam, this is luncheon meat. Or veggie luncheon meat. Sorry to be so snobby about canned meat products, but you can take my Spam from my cold, dead hands. I'll give you all my luncheon meat.
- Have you tried it?

they use the word meat a lot on the shelf tag, considering it’s not meat

I was very doubtful about this when it first came out, but it was really cheap at one point so I gave it a try, even though I don't like spam. This stuff is delicious.

Does it taste like spam? Where did you find it at? I'm not even sure I've seen this at specialty stores around here.
- It's sold in quite a few different countries. I get it from Woolworths in Australia.
  I can't really remember what spam tastes like, except that I recall not liking it as a kid; I think it was too salty and too spongy for my liking. This product seems to have a meatier texture than spam though. I've tried it a few different ways and it's quite enjoyable. I even use it as a burger patty replacement. Slice it up, fry it, and it pairs well with cheese and tomato sauce.

Vegan spam?

There is a Monty Python gag somewhere hidden in front of our eyes.

Cue Terry Gilliam and Graham Chapman in drag "talking to each other on the phone"
Spaaaam, you say?
No, no, my dear! This isn't Spam, it's Vegan Spam!
Vegan Spam? Whatever for?
Well, the doctor said we have to cut back on our meat intake, but you know how stubborn Martin can be.
Well does it taste good?
Umm, well, it doesn't taste like spam, more like an intelligent flan
Cue the giant killer flans attacking both of them
- Spam, spam, spam, baked beans, esh and spam. That's not got much spam in it.
  https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=anwy2MPT5RE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fduckduckgo.com%2F

Meatn't

I'm still not sure why there is vegetarian Spam, but...

Because there are Hawaiians who don't eat meat.

What???? I gotta find me some of this Spam!

For those who like canned meat but want it to be more ethical or environmentally friendly?

spam, spam, spam, eggs, spam, spam, unspam, and spam

I don't like spam
- Can I have the Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, baked beans, and Spam without the Spam?

This stuff is great. Not a vegetarian but I eat plenty of protein alternatives because of family. Un-Meat Plant Based Luncheon Meat Style (you have to say the whole thing) is actually preferable to spam.

Not vegan, but damn i'll eat that.

There's a vegan sushi/ramen place near me that makes something between musubi and onigiri with vegan spam and they're crazy good. So that's one use for it.

Monty Python is on point yet again

Less that they're on point, rather that they invented the word Spam with this sketch .
- Didn't invent it, but definitely ratified it, socially.
  And you're right, not on point. Just first to make it endemic.

So sort of like real Spam.

I doubt the original is legally meat either.

Haven't had this particular brand, but I've made vegan musubi before with another. Turned out great and tbh I couldn't tell the difference. The only downside was the price difference.

i wish this were in the UK

Is spam available in the UK?
Honestly it might be, but I've just never really thought of it as a UK product, it's just a weird thing Americans eat, rather like ramen. Whatever that is.
- The funny thing is that both of those are far more Asian/ Pacific Islander cuisine than American. Sure we eat the stuff here, but they invented and perfected the stuff.
- ~~im pretty sure we invented it. i may be wrong on that though.~~ we didn't
  It's defo in the UK though, i literally just came back from ASDA where i saw it
You can probably buy this at a resale place. My SO's company sells this throughout Europe. Even in the UK
I have some close to expiry sitting at home, thats how I know...

TIL there’s such a thing as luncheon meat. I thought that was just what they did in junior league.

Whilst both forms of processed meat, luncheon meat and spam are not the same things.

Here's the thing. You said "vegan luncheon meat is spam."
Is it in the same USDA classification? Yes. No one's arguing that.
As someone who is a scientist who studies processed food, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls luncheon meat spam. If you want to be "specific" like you said, then you shouldn't either. They're not the same thing.
If you're saying "luncheon meat category" you're referring to the economic grouping of the USDA, which includes things from Armour Treet to Great Value to Swift Prem.
So your reasoning for calling a vegan luncheon meat spam is because random people "call the one in the tin spam?" Let's get King Oscar and Chicken of the Sea in there, then, too.
Also, calling something meat or spam? It's not one or the other, that's not how nutrition classification works. They're both. Spam is spam and a member of the luncheon meat category. But that's not what you said. You said luncheon meat is spam, which is not true unless you're okay with calling all tinned meat spam, which means you'd call prem, treet, and other luncheon meat spam, too. Which you said you don't.
It's okay to just admit you're wrong, you know?
- Jackdaw

TIL there’s actual meat in regular spam.

Mmm... Compressed pig rectum...
It's literally just canned salted ham. No clue why everyone thinks it's so weird? It's literally the same as a hot dog.
- I know what goes in a hot dog and there’s barely 20% meat in there.

I can imagine this tasting like actual spam since I find the vegan hot dogs and vegan Bologna actually taste just like the meat ones. It gets harder to replicate the meat taste as you get into ground beef and steak substitutes

I found plant burger patties that were damn near meat flavor wise, but they were hard for me to get cooked right. They were a little mushy.
- Impossible whoppers are pretty good. Impossible burgers from the store are too salty for me and leave a weird taste. I like the vegan chicken burgers though
Agreed. In my experience, the more processed the original product is, the easier it is to replicate.
- Lucky for me. I've been eating Bologna sandwiches for lunch since I was 10 years old, it's like my comfort food. I went vegetarian and just eat the vegan Bologna now

That’s good to know if I ever start craving Hawaiian food

This is what the "why do you eat fake meat if you're vegan" crowd doesn't understand. You typically want to eat what you grew up eating.

I've seen one that comes in a bag, pre-sliced and frozen. Feels like over fancifying something that's supposed to mimic something cheap

I feel this way about packaged sliced cheese
With their fancy plastic bags?

Though we've just met I'm already ready to un-meet UnMeat.

I'm all for vegan and vegetarian alternatives, but ... I don't even know what to say. How bad must your meat cravings be to eat UNmeat ugh.

SPAM is underappreciated.
I remember a long time ago as a fat kid on keto, eating spam right out of the can with a spoon. This is not the recommended way to serve.
But, grilled, either on a sandwich or as part of a breakfast plate? Chef's kiss.
- Grilled with teriyaki and served over rice. The rice soaks up the excess salt
- Pan fried this stuff was good, mixed in with a bunch of stuff in a rice cooker, just awful. Every other fake meat I've tried works fine for lazy rice cooker cooking, not this stuff.
It's just a brand's name isn't it. It's not a very good brand name I'd admit but it doesn't actually mean anything.
Not Meatloaf ?
- They'll do anything for love but they won't do that.
I’ve not eaten meat my whole adult life, so the only things I really miss are nostalgic things from childhood. There’s tons of mock burgers and sausages around but I kind of miss war food because it reminds me of being round my nanas.

I prefer it to real spam. Way less greasy with more flavors

Thanks I hate it

What it a "wanted mail"?

Tbh I've tried it and its not great. It's made of Glutens and has a sort of nutty texture.

Tofu be better

I had my mum try some fried tofu recently and she said, it tastes like spam. ¯(ツ)_/¯
- Yeah, it does. But the texture is better.
Right?

Because it's really tasty!

Same goes for anything artificial. Sour cream and chives chips, burger rings, cordial etc. We eat it because it tastes good.

the tab is there to hold in the can, the can is there to hold in the (not) spam

I went on a date like that.

I bought one of those vegan Spam-a-likes and I have to say I really didn't like it.

I my thought process was "Spam's so heavily processed, how much worse could it be if no meat were involved?" the answer turned out to be "A lot." I don't know how to describe it. It's like... you know how there are all beef hot dogs, but they don't taste anything like beef? It was kinda that but with Spam... but Spam isn't very meat like to begin with.

All that being said, after the plant based Spam sat in my fridge until it started to get fuzzy, I threw it out for the stray cats in my neighborhood. Despite the fact I found it to be quite unappealing, starving alley cats found it to be meat like enough to eat it... which I guess is a mark in it's favor?

You gave moldy food to stray animals? How nice of you!
- It's probably better then the days old garbage they usually scavenge. And I cut off the moldy part too.
Why do you give moldy, spoiled food to animals? It can make them sick too.

why not just eat fucking vegetables? asking as a vegetarian

Because there's only so many vegetables and so many ways inspiration will help you on how to prepare them. Especially if you care about protein intake, it can be quite a challenge with just vegetables.
Plus that's a can that lasts forever and is easy to transport.
I like variation, protein and ease of use. I'll take 3 please and thank you.
Got me. I prefer decent meals made with vegetables like Indian food.
Because that don't taste like that?
- They taste better
  Spam is one of the grossest food i ever tried
Vegetables don't exist as a block I can cut slices of, fry, and put in a sandwich.
Well eggplant does but if I'm buying canned spam substitute I'm not in the mood for breading something.

I'm always more and more weirded out when plant-based foods try to mimic meat. Even to extremes like with Spam here. Just...why?

TBH, I'm not convinced regular Spam is trying to act like meat. Sometimes people just want a hunk of spiced protein.

Counterpoint: no there isn't