Home again.

I believe it was Dave Barry who said that a calorie is a measurement of how good something tastes. Too true, alas!

The funniest thing about Spam is that it's short for "spiced ham" and you know what the "spices" are? Salt and sugar!

Funny, we always had cornbread w/ham, or pork for that matter. Lovely combination.

Rissole, I bet. Pronounced fast.

Yepper! Which is why home cooking is better. You can regulate what goes into the meal.

Higs, Katherine

I've bought Potted Meat, Spam, Corn Beef, Deviled Ham and canned Chicken Chunks in many places, such as Chicago, Wisconsin, mid-central FL, several cities in TX including El Paso as well as Las Cruces, NM where my DB lived, and of course, all over MS and LA. I even bought some in the Los Angeles area as part of earthquake supplies. Here in Houston, we keep someone hand in case of a hurricane. Corn Beef mixed with Italian-style tomatoes makes a tasty dish, served over rice, bread or w/crackers that my children ate heartily when youngsters. At least one daughter serves it to her children; and keep all of them on hand as hurricane preparedness in mid-FL. I took potted meat on crackers or bread as lunch while in school in MS during the 30s-40s, and my children did the same during the 50s-60s in SE TX. Of course, not plain in either case, it was always mixed with pickle relish, chopped celery, grated cheese,etc. When I am alone, I sometimes make a salad of one of them with macaroni, grated cheese, diced celery & relish, served with croutons and a fresh fruit for a easy tasty meal. Emily

I didn't mean "someone hand". It should have read "some on hand". I didn't proofread my post.. Emily

Not doubting buying the canned meat stuff all over, just the term "potted meat". I've heard it called just canned meat, processed meat, tinned meat, canned meat products, and certainly remember ads for Deviled Ham in cans when I was very little, as well as for SPAM. Just never heard it called "potted meat" - not in an ad, on the radio or tv, or in a magazine, or in conversation - in the US.

Maybe in the deeper south - such as Mississippi or Louisiana - or Texas, a place unto itself the term is not uncommon.

As a little kid I remember my dad joking with my mom about SPAM - which I think was more as an aftereffect of his time in the service. We never had canned meat products in our house - might be a religious/cultural thing. I still don't/won't use them. But, then again, the only processed meats I'll do are of the kosher type. We do have plenty of canned tuna on hand, and salmon, and soups, etc for use and/or emergenices. I grew up in hurricane zones as well, and understand the value of having a hand can-opener (once remending my grandmother that with all the stuff she had stockpiled, there was only an electric can-opener - next day - there were hand ones in each closet), and food that is non-perishable for a long time, and can be eaten without cooking.

ellice

As a public service, I submit to you:

a lovely picture of the various potted meat products offered to the American consumer.

How/why did you find that! more importantly - why did someone think this was worthy of that much research.

C

HOW long have you been reading this NG? ;)

I can relate to your comments.. However, I admit that I do keep a couple of cans of SPAM in the pantry.. I only use them as an emergency replacement for bacon.. (Sliced VERY thin, dusted with unbleached flour, and grilled quickly over high heat until crispy..) Served this way, a great deal of the excess fat is removed. I usually serve turkey bacon (when I serve bacon at all).. I cannot remember the last time I bought regular bacon. The only time I eat sausages is when I can get them from Ireland (bangers), which is rare indeed.

I do keep potted meat in the pantry, and will have it well chilled and spread on water crackers occasionally as a treat (It actually tastes great, but it is full of salt). {something left over from my childhood}

The vast majority of the food I serve is fresh or fresh-frozen & homemade. (I have to be pretty careful, with the sundry health problems I have: inflammatory colitis, diabetes, heart condition, asthma, allergies, and a host of seemingly related symptoms that the doctors suspect are actually one health problem, but they are not sure what problem {auto-immune}, YET - testing in progress. )

me

Google is my friend. It was very difficult *wiping sweat from brow* -- I had to type in "potted meat" and press the little button. There were other pages I could have told you about, like the "potted meat tribute page." But I exercised restraint.

Google can be your friend, too. In the upper right corner of the Firefox browser is a search box - where you can search terms on a list of different sites.

Absolutely. But you can't regulate what goes into the husband when he's not home.

When we first got married, I was puzzled how he could be gaining weight on what I was feeding him. Then I found out. On his way to work, he supplemented my healthy breakfast with a 600-calorie muffin slathered with butter. He topped off the low-cal lunch I packed with a bucket of the Colonel's finest. After a low-fat dinner, he'd run an errand by way of either Dunkin Donuts or the ice cream shop.

It's not that I'm a bad cook, it's that I don't cook the way his mother did (with lots of salt, lots of fried food, gravy on everything) and my healthy meals made him feel "deprived".

It just seems like forever ;)

Blowing raspberries your way!

Mmmmmmmmm, yum! Love dem raspberries.