The Spam Cookbook by N a

by Marguerite Patten

If all the cans of SPAM(r)...ever eaten were placed end to end, they would circle the globe ten times. Residents of Hawaii eat an average of 4 cans of SPAM(r) per person each year--more than any other place on earth! It's retro, it's fun, and it's about lunchmeat! Just think of how many friends you could give this to! And be sure to keep a copy for yourself, because you don't want to miss out on the fun, the lively anecdotes, and the merry memories of SPAM(r) dinners. From the giant SPAM(r) can on a building to the fastest SPAM(r) can on earth (it's a car) to the hilarious SPAM(r) song intoned by the Monty Python troupe, this is an irresistible treat. Packed with drawings and photos from the nostalgic to the wacky, and with 20 recipes that will redefine your idea of the SPAM(r) meal, this scrapbook of SPAM(r) treasures is one delicious treat! "Without SPAM(r), we wouldn't have been able to feed our army."--Nikita Khrushchev.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Reference, Nonfiction, History

Hardcover

First published July 15, 2000

About the author

Hilda Marguerite Patten was a home econonomist, food writer and broadcaster.
Marguerite Patten fresh from the Ministry of Food during World War II represented post-war austerity cookery books; many selling in huge quantities and produced in colour by Paul Hamlyn. She was one of the early TV cooks to have her own programme.

She was awarded an OBE in 1991.

Reviews

[Patience · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won it in a mixed bundle at an auction. It was interesting and fun to learn the history of such a historically important food, though I never plan to eat it.
Favorite quote (parenthesis added by me): ...Jay Hormel decided to stage a New Year's party for the express purpose of naming "his baby" (that is the canned meat product). Guests were to be entitled to a drink for each name they suggested, and there would be a grand prize of $100 for the winner (this was 1936/7, so, a little over $2000 in 2022) . The host is believed to have commented at a later date that "by the fourth drink people began to show some imagination."

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spamtastic!
A fun book to read in the summer.
There are plenty of easy, fun recipes and you learn about the history and culture of this fun food "by-product " that really has played an important role in 20th century history.

Like Monty Python said : "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam"!

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPAM is a bit like the humour of George Carlin, the writing of James Joyce, or the music of Gustav Holst: one either likes it or one does not. People who dislike this canned meat are probably missing some important chromosome. No less a proper authority than Marguerite Patten (the British author of over 160 cookbooks) wrote this short text which blends the history of SPAM (beginning in 1936) with recipes both basic and imaginative. SPAM fritters are the most popular SPAM dish in Britain; several variations are offered. Among the odder recipes are those for SPAM Croque Monsieur, SPAM rarebit, SPAM cheesecake, SPAM pâté, and SPAM risotto ... seriously. Hawaiians eat more SPAM per capita than any other people on earth. It is therefore odd that this book contains no recipe for SPAM musubi: grilled spam atop sushi-seasoned rice bound in a dried-seaweed wrapped called nori. Devotion to SPAM has inspired poetry, a bit of which is included. This book is too much fun not to own.

[Virginia Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few foods have been as maligned and misunderstood as SPAM. I like SPAM. I like it best when it is sliced thin and fried to a salty crispness. This book is colorful, informative, full of recipes and nostalgic images. At the end of the day, you either like SPAM or you don't. I like SPAM : )