Tuesday, May 22, 2018

The Pilgrimage to SPAM


SPAM Museum?? Really?? In a rural town in SE Minnesota also! But....in Austin, Minnesota, you'll find the SPAM Museum.

So....as we got out of our coach, the people next to us, getting out of their car, remarked, "Making the pilgrimage to SPAM eh?" We grinned, said "Yes" and went in.


If you didn't know....SPAM is made from pork, hence the pigs in the foreground.

What a cool place! SPAM cans, history, exhibits, and someone walking around with Bacon SPAM samples ! Even a SPAM Train travelling above.





How it's made....we always wondered....even though we ate it anyway.

After they combine all the ingredients, they seal the cans and then cook them in a large oven for 3 hours....in the can! Then they cool them, label them and ship them off to your local store. The factory, one of four (?) in the world is outside of town.


For all you Monty Python fans!



Kim is almost 20 cans tall.


Here's the SPAM Train above with every type of SPAM made


Hormel started, years ago, putting hams in cans....canned ham...remember?


SPAM musical instruments

"Life with Father is a lot more fun since we found SPAM". Too funny.

"I see a lot more of my wife since she found SPAM" Interesting ad campaign.

Here's all the SPAM varieties. Turns out they make a few of these only for the foreign markets, like the Philippines, South America, Japan.

SPAM sent millions of cans to the troops in WWII.

SPAM is owned by Hormel who used to be in the meat packing business.

Some of the original Hormel products from way back.

You can make your own SPAM can here and time it to see how fast you need to be. Obviously, this is Kim having a go at it.

Ok, we all have wondered: How SPAM got its name. Turns out the owner's son came up with the product and here's how the name came about.

Some of Hormel Foods' brands that they own.
...and then there's the Gift Shop. Anything you could want with SPAM on it.




You can buy all the varieties here....which we did !

And we bought some souvenirs!

You should see people's reactions when they see me in my SPAM gear!

They have SPAM singles and even SPAM Lite. We bought one of each and gobbled them down in the coach afterwards. Don't go here hungry. Katie loves SPAM....surprise, surprise.

Speaking of Katie....

She likes to keep me company when I do the blogs...even working the keyboard.

Katie says, "Hi fans ! Aren't I cute?"

Fun tourist stop on our way to Minneapolis.

Steve/Kim/Katie


Oh, if you're tired of these blog entries, please let me know and I'll take you off the list.

3 comments:

  1. SPAM is highly nutritious with few additives. They tried to stop the use of spam on internet.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't remember if I ever told you all about this place but since you are "up North" maybe you can fit it into your itinerary (if you haven't been already). The House on the Rock in WI - truly one of the most amazing "museums" (word doesn't give it justice) I've ever been to! Ian and I were positively blown away. If you go, just plan on the day there as there is so much to see (and wear very comfy shoes). :-) Website for location pdf brochure that doesn't even come close to describing the weird, funky, fantasticness (we only went to the "attraction" portion - not the lodging or resort):
    http://www.thehouseontherock.com/HOTR_AttractionMain.htm

    Deb Baillie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a strange looking place. We'll be in Madison so we might fit it in. Thanks!

      Delete

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