Fancy food trends are great and all, but I've gotta tell ya—there's something weirdly satisfying about watching tinned meat make a comeback. And not just any tinned meat. We're talking about SPAM, people!
God. Remember when everyone was obsessing over avocado toast? Well, move over, you green mushy fruit. The humble £3.70 tin of processed meat is having its moment in teh spotlight again.
My Gran Would Be Laughing Her Head Off
Waitrose (yes, posh Waitrose of all places!) reports that sales of SPAM have jumped a whopping 48% compared to last year. I literally choked on my coffee when I read that. My grandmother, who lived through rationing, used to tell me stories about how creative they got with SPAM during the war years. She'd be absolutely tickled to see it flying off shelves at Britain's fanciest supermarket chain.
But here's the kicker—SPAM isn't even the biggest winner in this nostalgia fest. Beef Corn Slices are up 64%, and shortbread fingers have skyrocketed by 79%!
What's going on?
The 80th VE Day Effect
It's all about the upcoming 80th anniversary of VE Day. Something about milestone anniversaries makes us all sentimental, I guess. Back in 2020, I remember my parents decorating their garden for the 75th anniversary—bunting everywhere and a socially-distanced street party during lockdown. Strange times.
Searches for wartime recipes have gone through the roof too. Bread and butter pudding searches? Up 733%. SEVEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE PERCENT. That's not a typo. Root vegetable casserole searches have increased by 120% as well.
Even Gordon Bloody Ramsay Loves This Stuff!
I spent $15 on a fancy sandwich last weekend that wasn't half as interesting as what Gordon Ramsay's doing with SPAM these days. The 58-year-old chef, who normally screams at people for serving him anything less than perfection, actually confessed on his National Geographic show that SPAM was a childhood staple.
"My Mum served us spam, egg, chips and beans, it was a big staple. So why not?" he said.
And what does Gordon do with his SPAM? He makes a sandwich with teriyaki glaze, miso mayonnaise, and grilled pineapple. I mean... that actually sounds amazing? I feel stupid now for turning my nose up at SPAM all these years.
TikTok Is Obsessed (Because Of Course It Is)
Last night I fell down a SPAM TikTok rabbit hole. Don't judge me.
This creator Oliver Adkins (Ollie Eats) has over half a million followers, adn he's out here stuffing Yorkshire puddings with mashed potatoes and slices of SPAM before drowning the whole thing in gravy. My arteries hardened just watching it, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't demolish a plateful after a few pints.
Another TikToker, Marina Georgallides, does this thing where she grates SPAM and then air-fries it. Apparently the key is drowning it in gochujang (that Korean pepper paste stuff) with soy sauce and oil to make it "ping." Whatever that means.
The Sorted Food lads—you know, those YouTube guys with the 3 million subscribers—they've got a whole arsenal of SPAM recipes. One of my colleagues tried their "army stew style pasta" last weekend. His response: "Disgustingly good. Making it again tomorrow."
From Wartime Necessity to Hipster Obsession
Listen. I'm not saying SPAM is going to replace smashed avocado at your local brunch spot. But there's something weirdly circular about watching a product that was born out of necessity during wartime rationing become trendy again 80 years later.
Imogen Livesley, Waitrose's archivist (side note: how cool is it that Waitrose has an archivist?), put it pretty well: "As the 80th VE Day anniversary approaches, we're seeing customers connect with the past by turning to the comforting familiarity of foods popular in wartime Britain."
I bought a tin yesterday. For research purposes, obviously.
...I might have also bought the ingredients for Gordon's fancy SPAM sandwich. I'll let you know how it goes.
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