It's the showdown of the century, the royal rumble of the food world — classic corned beef versus good ol' Spam. But what are the actual differences between these two tinned titans?
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00:00It's the showdown of the century, the royal rumble of the food world.
00:04Classic corned beef versus good ol' Spam.
00:06But what are the actual differences between these two tin titans?
00:10The main difference between Spam and canned corned beef is the type of meat that is in
00:14the can.
00:15The name of canned corned beef is pretty clear about the main ingredient, of course.
00:19It's made of beef.
00:20Spam is slightly less obvious, although the fact that its name rhymes with ham is a bit
00:24of a giveaway.
00:25This second product contains pork?
00:27Mostly.
00:28You might assume that Spam and corned beef are highly processed with tons of preservatives
00:33and additives, but they're actually much simpler than many other products on grocery store
00:37shelves.
00:38In fact, both have fewer than 10 ingredients.
00:41Libby's canned corned beef ingredients label lists only water, sugar, salt, and sodium
00:46nitrite after beef.
00:48Spam has a similar ingredient list, swapping out beef with pork, and the extra addition
00:52of potato starch.
00:54Compare that to Oscar Mayer hot dogs, for example, which list 13 ingredients including
00:58mechanically separated chicken and turkey, along with several additives.
01:02Both Spam and corned beef look pretty good in comparison.
01:06Sodium nitrite is the sole additive found in Spam and canned corned beef, and it's also
01:10present in most other cured meats.
01:13There have been some health concerns surrounding this preservative, since some research links
01:16it to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
01:20That said, eating excessive amounts of any animal protein may cause heart disease and
01:24high blood pressure.
01:25Oh!
01:26Oh, this is a big one.
01:27You hear that, Elizabeth?
01:28I'm coming to join you, honey.
01:34If you're worried, just avoid eating too much of it.
01:37Put simply, Spam is cheaper than canned corned beef.
01:40Spam.
01:41It's a lot of meat, but not a lot of money.
01:45The fact that pork is usually cheaper than beef helps explain the difference in price.
01:49Meat prices depend on the amount of feed animals need over their lifetime, up until slaughter.
01:54Producers raise pigs only 5 or 6 months, while most cattle live between 12 and 22 months.
01:59That makes cows far more costly to raise and farm.
02:02Interestingly, the per pound prices of fresh meat versus canned meat are actually pretty
02:07similar.
02:08That might make Spam look like a bad deal.
02:10It costs about the same as pork chops, but has worse taste and texture.
02:14But that's not quite the case.
02:16During the canning process, manufacturers cook the meat, meaning that the weight on
02:19the label is the exact amount the consumer can eat.
02:22But if you buy fresh meat and cook it, it loses some of its weight and size.
02:26For example, 1 pound of raw ground beef reduces to 3 quarters of a pound when cooked.
02:32That means cans tend to enjoy a better price-quantity value.
02:35Obviously, though, that's not to say the same is true when it comes to quality.
02:40Search for canned meat on any major grocery store website, and you'll probably find several
02:44flavors of Spam versus a much smaller selection of corned beef.
02:48Hormel's website lists 12 types of Spam, including Classic, Teriyaki, Jalapeño, and Maple.
02:54Redditors seem to hold a number of opinions about which is best.
02:58Many recommended the Classic, Low Sodium, Bacon, or Teriyaki flavors.
03:02Korean BBQ seems to be an exception, with customers rating it around three and a half
03:06stars on Hormel's website.
03:08The biggest complaints concern the unauthentic Korean spices and an unpleasant flavor combination.
03:14If you head to the canned goods aisle for corned beef, you're going to have the choice
03:17of about three flavor options.
03:19Classic, a low-sodium version, and Canned Corned Beef Hash.
03:23You'll still have a wide range of brands to pick from, though, since so many companies
03:27make canned corned beef.
03:29That creates a wider market with more variation in quality and price than is available for
03:33Spam.
03:34Libby's may be the biggest name in the corned beef game, but Goya, Iberia, Ox & Palm, Armor,
03:39and even Hormel all pack and sell it too.
03:42The textures of Spam and canned corned beef are undeniably different.
03:46Spam comes out of the can in a unified block.
03:48It's squishy, spongy, and easy to cut into slices.
03:52Canned corned beef, on the other hand, is drier and stringier.
03:55You can easily identify individual meat fibers, too.
03:58Whereas Spam is homogeneous, canned corned beef seems more heterogeneous.
04:03It doesn't always come out of the can in a whole block and isn't as easy to cut into
04:06slices.
04:07Spam.
04:08Don't knock it till you've fried it.
04:12The difference in texture between the two canned meats has to do with the difference
04:15in ingredients, as well as the canning and cooking process.
04:18To make Spam, machines grind pork and mix it with salt and potato starch.
04:23Cans are filled with this meat paste before being sealed and cooked in a pressure cooker.
04:27That'll do, pig.
04:32That'll do.
04:34The potato starch is likely the ingredient that gives Spam its uniform, solid texture.
04:39Canned corned beef plants use a similar, but not quite identical process.
04:43Raw beef is cut, cubed, or shredded, but never ground into a paste.
04:48Starch isn't added either, giving the final product a looser texture.
04:52Like Spam, though, corned beef is most often cooked after the can is packed.
04:56Cans of corned beef and Spam have interesting shapes, nothing like the cylinders used for
05:00other types of canned food.
05:02Factories usually pack corned beef into rectangular cans, larger at the base than the top with
05:07a key attached.
05:09Spam, meanwhile, comes in an untapered, oblong receptacle with rounded corners.
05:13The resulting shape is somewhere between an oval and a rectangle, and has a pull ring
05:17for easy opening.
05:19It's been a long road to get to this point.
05:21The history of canned meats began when innovator Nicolas Appert of France first packed meat
05:26into heavy glass and ceramic containers.
05:28It was the early 1800s, and Appert won a cash prize for his idea from none other than Napoleon
05:34Bonaparte.
05:35Oh, sacre bleu!
05:38The French emperor needed a more reliable way to feed soldiers, and canned meat seemed
05:43promising.
05:44After this, English inventor Peter Durand proposed using metal cylinders instead.
05:49Others improved upon Appert and Durand's ideas over the next century.
05:53In the 1870s, manufacturers such as Arthur A. Libby and William J. Wilson began placing
05:58preserved meat into rectangular cans.
06:01They may have thought it would be easier to remove the product and then slice evenly.
06:05Interestingly, Wilson wanted to patent this model, but the commissioner at the time refused,
06:10citing that the St. Louis Beef Canning Company and Robert D. Hunter already used this type
06:14of can.
06:15Fifty years later, George A. Hormel put ham in a can.
06:18He imitated earlier canners, choosing to use a rectangular design.
06:23Nicolas Appert invented canned meat to feed soldiers and sailors when fresh food was unavailable.
06:28More than a century later, World War II put millions of soldiers from around 70 countries
06:33in that same situation.
06:35Governments used these preserved products to sustain militaries far from home.
06:39Britain fed soldiers mainly canned corned beef and hardtack, and men on the front lines
06:43created their own recipes to make the dry, stringy canned meat more palatable.
06:48Stew with ground hardtack crumbs, corned beef, and the occasional vegetable was preferable
06:52to eating the stuff cold from the can.
06:54The United States, on the other hand, provided its men with both Spam and Hormel's infamous
06:59K-Rations, which consisted of canned ham with vegetables and eggs.
07:04The company had just put Spam on the market in 1937, which turned out to be something
07:08of a lucky strike due to the coming war.
07:11By 1944, the U.S. government was purchasing 90 percent of the company's products to feed
07:16its troops.
07:17In total, Hormel shipped around 133 million cans overseas to feed U.S. soldiers, Allied
07:23forces, and civilians.
07:25But while Spam tasted better cold than canned corned beef did, the troops still didn't love
07:29it.
07:30Hormel's website makes no secret of the fact, sharing this quote from Dwight Eisenhower,
07:34I ate my share of Spam along with millions of soldiers.
07:38I'll even confess to a few unkind remarks about it.
07:41As former Commander-in-Chief, I officially forgive you your only sin, sending us so much
07:46of it.
07:47Your preference of canned meat likely depends on where you live.
07:50If you're from Puerto Rico or Samoa, your family probably has several well-loved corned
07:54beef recipes, such as hash or stew.
07:57If you're from Korea or Hawaii, you probably eat Spam and musubi, sandwiches or army-based
08:03stew.
08:04Filipinos eat corned beef for breakfast as corn salag and Spam in Spam salag.
08:09History and geography forced these regions to develop a taste for canned protein.
08:13The British Navy likely introduced canned corned beef to the Caribbean in the 1800s
08:18while combating the slave trade.
08:21Meanwhile, South Korea began its love affair with Spam because of the American soldiers
08:24who were stationed there, as many traded rations for services from locals.
08:29Islands such as Samoa and Hawaii hosted military bases and had limited access to fresh meat,
08:34so these products quickly became popular.
08:37People have an emotional attachment to Spam because we all grew up with Spam.
08:43For obvious reasons, areas with cattle and abundant fresh meat have remained generally
08:47uninterested by Spam and corned beef.
08:50In Freybentos, Uruguay is one example.
08:52You won't find canned meat easily in the grocery stores there.
08:55Ironically, though, one of the largest corned beef canning factories in the world opened
08:59in Freybentos in 1863.
09:02In the years after, the town revolutionized the canned meat industry.
09:06Despite that, the locals have so much access to fresh beef that canned corned beef simply
09:10isn't eaten as a regular part of their diet.
09:13A hundred years ago, the word Spam was meaningless.
09:16Ever since the product came out in 1937, however, people have wanted to know what it
09:21means.
09:22What do you think Spam stands for?
09:24Super protein ambivalent meat?
09:29Hormel plays up to the mystery surrounding the brand name, too.
09:32Its official website reads,
09:34"...the real answer is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives,
09:39and probably Nostradamus."
09:41According to Time magazine, though, the name Spam combines spiced and ham.
09:46Although less appealing, canned corned beef's name also provokes a number of questions.
09:50For example, if there's no corn in it, why is it corned?
09:54Well, the term refers to the kernel-sized salt used to preserve meat, rather than the
09:58yellow vegetable.
09:59Alternatively, British and Australian soldiers called this food Bully Beef.
10:04The term is likely an Anglicization of the French bouillie meaning to boil.
10:08The French invented canned food specifically to feed the military, and boiled it to keep
10:12it unspoiled, so it makes sense that the British military would adopt the foreign
10:16term for the food.
10:18If you've only been eating sliced Spam sandwiches or mixing cubes into your macaroni and cheese,
10:23you'll be pleased to find that there are endless recipes for the stuff, and they come from
10:27all around the world.
10:28I don't like Spam!
10:29Don't make a fuss, dear.
10:30I'll have your Spam.
10:31I love it.
10:32I'm having Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam.
10:37Take for example Spam Musubi.
10:39This Hawaiian dish places a slice of Spam on a rectangle of rice before wrapping it
10:43all in a strip of nori.
10:44It's mostly reminiscent of sushi, but without using raw fish.
10:48If you're craving Korean flavors, try a recipe for Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam.
10:53This is the perfect thing to whip up if you're short on time and have some leftover cooked
10:56white rice in the refrigerator.
10:58Saute the three main ingredients with pepper flakes, then add soy sauce for flavor.
11:03After that, scramble in some eggs.
11:05This recipe only takes about 15 minutes, and it's incredibly flavorful and filling,
11:09to boot.
11:10Put the best canned corned beef in the right recipe and it'll taste downright delicious.
11:15And there's so much more you can do with this ingredient than serve it with cabbage
11:18or throw it in a Reuben sandwich.
11:21Corned Beef Hash is one of the most popular recipes to make with corned beef.
11:25Make some small cubes of fried potato and then mix in the tinned meat.
11:28Cook a while longer and add a fried egg on top.
11:31This satisfying breakfast is easy and quick to make, and it uses shelf-stable ingredients
11:36that you probably already have in your pantry.
11:38Stew is another dish people make with canned corned beef.
11:42Every region has its style, and every family has their own recipe.
11:45Some typical ingredients people might add are onions, garlic, potato, carrots, and stock.
11:51Using canned meat is faster and easier than making stew with fresh-cut stew meat that
11:55sometimes needs to simmer for hours to get tender.
11:58You may also want to try canned corned beef in dishes such as Jamaican Bully Beef, Puerto
12:02Rican Alcapurrias, and Filipino Corn Salad.