Everything in the world has two sides. War is cruel and bloody in nature, but it also promotes the development of science and technology and social progress. Many scientific and technological achievements were fully developed in the military field first. Then it was fully rolled out in the civilian field, from aircraft to radio, from the Internet to atomic energy. For foodies, a little lunch meat is a necessity when making hot pot. It was once an out-and-out military supply.

The story of luncheon meat also begins in the United States shortly after independence. When it was first established, the U.S. Army was far from as powerful and luxurious as it is today, and the food was also very average. In the early U.S. Army food lists, the main sources of protein were beef and pork. Especially for U.S. troops stationed in the south, most of their staple foods were pork-based. Even meat is different. When garrisoned, logistics officers in the army can purchase live cattle and pigs from surrounding residents and merchants, or already slaughtered beef and pork. Even from the War of Independence It had already begun to do this, and of course the British army did the same at that time. However, if the troops were stationed at remote outposts or during combat, the only meat available was cured meat stored in oak barrels.

In the late 19th century, canned meat began to enter the ration list of American people and the military, but it was not popular. In addition to the high price due to the production technology at that time, it was also because people still preferred to eat fresh meat after all. Canned meat was okay to eat occasionally, but it felt like something was missing after eating it all the time. Canned meat at this time was mainly pure meat, whether it was chicken, beef or pork. It was basically cooked using various cooking methods and then sealed and packed into galvanized iron cans (I want to lament the lackluster cooking methods in the United States here. It is really not the case). Our rival in a big gourmet country),

When using it, open it and eat it directly or heat it, so that it tastes better.

In the 1930s, the economic crisis sweeping the world caused a large number of people to lose their jobs. Many of them had to rely on government relief funds to survive. Long queues lined up at the door of charitable organizations that distributed food all day long. The worst offenders were probably the Germans. A later German soldier recalled that among the seven members of the family, only his father worked, and he was often unemployed. The daily food at home only consisted of black bread and potatoes, and the mother made mashed potatoes. , eaten on bread with salt, and very few other vegetables, let alone meat.

Hitler won the hearts of the people by building military industry, highways and other projects to bring a stable life to the bottom workers. Before the start of World War II, the living standards of the Germans had ranked among the top of European countries

As the largest industrial country in the world at the time, the living standards of the American people had also dropped a lot, but American food manufacturers sensed business opportunities during the Great Depression - if they could develop a product that was delicious enough, Food that can take care of low purchasing power at the same time will definitely become a hot commodity. I have to lament here that the sensitivities of the market and government departments are really different. In 1929, not long after the economic crisis broke out, a company called Hormel Foods, LLC I began to think that since the common people cannot afford to eat high-priced meat, then the relatively cheap meat should be processed to make it more delicious to satisfy the hungry bellies of the common people, and the pigs, which Americans traditionally do not eat much and are therefore cheap, should be processed. The shoulder meat was processed into cheap cans and sold in cheap cans. The cans were named "Hormel Spiced Ham" and were immediately put on the market after successful development.

At the beginning, the market response was mediocre and not as popular as expected. Hormel had to hold an American version of the Little Zhuge Meeting to make several improvements based on market feedback. The first was in canned food. A large amount of starch is added to reduce the pork content, further reducing the price. A 340-gram can of delicious Hormel spiced ham only costs 40 cents. The second is the addition of nitrite, which not only extends the shelf life, but also gives canned meat an attractive pink color. Today we all know that nitrite is a carcinogen, but there was no such concept at that time.

The third is to rename it SPAM, which is the abbreviation of pork shoulder and ham (shoulder

of

Pork And ham). It is also catchy when called, and the so-called wine aroma I am also afraid of deep alleys, even in the United States.

As a result, this version of SPAM cans became very popular after being launched on the market. Not only did the common people buy it in large quantities, but the US government also purchased a large amount to relieve the poor. By 1940, the vast majority of Americans had eaten this delicious "canned meat," and many people were grateful for this valuable meat substitute in difficult times. Holland America also made a lot of money from this, and overnight it jumped from a small company to one of the most important large-scale food companies in the United States.

With the gradual implementation of measures to save the U.S. economy after President Roosevelt came to power, most Americans have found jobs again and have begun to have enough economic strength to allow themselves and their families to eat real meat, SPAM cans Sales volume is not what it used to be. After all, canned SPAM is a real emergency food. People still like to eat pure meat, not canned food that has more starch than meat. As for why canned food like SPAM is called luncheon meat in China, it is because most Chinese people eat such canned food with Western food, and at that time, Chinese people mostly ate Western food for lunch, so it was also called luncheon meat. It's called lunch meat.

After the outbreak of World War II, luncheon meat became popular again. Of course, this is also related to the inhumanity of the U.S. government. The U.S. military’s logistics department still remembers the history of starvation during the Revolutionary War. The importance of filling one’s stomach is ranked higher than the taste. Although the U.S. military’s logistics department also ordered a lot of pork, Pure canned meats such as beef and turkey, but the most popular ones are cheap canned luncheon meats. You have to eat them when you order them. From generals to soldiers, no one can escape, especially the army. The Navy has always been known for its good food. During World War II, the best steaks in the United States were given priority to the Navy, while the Army stood aside.

During World War II, supplies were scarce and the United States had to cut back on various expenditures. In order to reduce costs, Holland America had to reduce the meat content in lunch meat and increase a large amount of starch, inferior oils and preservatives, resulting in a poor taste. It's getting worse and worse, and even the SPAM lunch meat produced in the later period is salty. Soldiers complain about eating this every day. However, due to the low price and large quantity, the U.S. logistics department still resisted the pressure and purchased large quantities. Eisenhower once confessed to the president of Holland America: "In the past four years, like all the officers and soldiers, I have eaten countless luncheon meats produced by you. I must also admit that under the pressure of the war at that time, I had a taste for these meats. A lot of unkind comments. But I still want to thank you, because it was luncheon meat that helped us win the war. Of course, your crimes can be forgiven. You produced too much luncheon meat.”

Don’t call it lunch meat. Even if you eat the best steak every day, you can’t stand it every time. This is why the US military complains that lunch meat is as disgusting as syphilis. However, according to the photos of World War II that we see now, During breaks in battles, American soldiers still took out the canned luncheon meat they carried with them and munched on it. After all, this stuff is high in calories. Who cares about the appearance and taste of the food at this time?

In addition to the U.S. military, canned luncheon meat also provided a large amount of aid to its allies. During the war, it mainly provided aid to the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and Free France. In the UK, the German submarine warfare put the UK into a meat shortage situation. The limited merchant ship carrying capacity must be prioritized for transporting war-related materials. Fighters undoubtedly have a higher priority than meat, and the UK also had a wartime crisis. There was not much money to buy high-quality beef. Canned luncheon meat produced in the United States became the main source of meat protein in Britain during the war. Not only the British army, but also ordinary people and the royal family ate this stuff. Mrs. Thatcher ate it when she was a child. Field Marshal Montgomery ate it, and so did the current Queen Elizabeth and the then George VI. I don’t know how the Queen and the King felt about it. Anyway, the later Mrs. Thatcher was very excited about being able to eat canned luncheon meat during the war. You can even feel the joy and excitement in his memoirs.

As soon as the Soviet-German war broke out, the Soviet Red Army retreated all the way. Not only did it lose large granaries like Ukraine, but a large amount of food stored before the war was either taken away by the German army or burned by itself. Although the harsh economic policies during the war requisitioned almost all the food from farmers and distributed it to the army first, the Soviet Union was still unable to meet the needs of its "brown livestock", especially in cold high latitudes where it was impossible not to eat meat. Carrying out high-intensity operations, the Soviet Union tried its best to collect all edible meat and send it to the front line. Even Mongolia contributed a large number of cattle and sheep.

Even so, it was still not enough. Thanks to the Lend-Lease Act, a large amount of canned meat produced in the United States was distributed to the Soviet Red Army officers and soldiers. Of course, the Soviet people could not eat it. All the food sent under the Lend-Lease Act , not almost, but all were sent to the hands of the army. Among the meat products sent to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act, the most popular ones for the Soviet Red Army were canned pork and canned luncheon meat. Canned luncheon meat was something that the American soldiers really had no recruits to eat, but it became an endless supply to the Soviet Red Army. delicious. Scoop out the lard from the canned pork and smear it on the black bread mixed with sawdust. If you sprinkle it with chopped onions, you will be promoted even if you are promoted. Canned luncheon meat is burned into powder and smeared on the black bread. Or just eat it with brown bread.