Canned ham gets a bad rap. Sure, thinking about it for too long inspires a lot of questions, like: What's with the pale pink color and congealed texture? Why is its sodium content so high? And, most pressingly, how the heck is its shelf life so long? Still, prepared properly and served up in the right dishes, canned ham can prove a highly versatile — and shockingly tasty — meal enhancer. While putting it to use seems like a no-brainer (pop the can and plop it out, right?), there are quite a few tidbits you should commit to memory before hamming it up with the canned stuff. Here's the truth about canned ham.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00What happens if you freeze canned ham? Does it really expire? Is it good for you? What
00:05are some things to avoid doing when you buy it? Keep watching to find out the truth about canned
00:10ham.
00:11Canned ham was the invention of none other than George Hormel. If that name instantly
00:16sounds familiar, that's because you've been seeing the brand all over your grocery store
00:20your entire life. The same goes for your parents. The man who launched the company behind so many
00:25of our favorite food brands started it all with pork products near the turn of the 20th century.
00:30According to the company's official history, in 1926, Hormel invented the world's first canned
00:36ham. And from there, Hormel went on to develop a slew of other products that have been beloved
00:40for generations and are still recognized today, like Dinty Moore Beef Stew, Canned Chili,
00:46and the famous — or infamous, depending on how you look at it — Spam.
00:51This hearty meal is a real big deal, Dinty Moore is the beer of meals."
00:57Almost 100 years later, appetites may have changed, but nostalgia persists,
01:01and you can still get canned ham from a variety of brands today.
01:06When you think of canned ham, there's a good chance that a little tin can of Spam
01:10comes to mind, which makes sense. Hormel introduced the iconic product in 1937,
01:15just a few years after inventing the concept of canned ham. According to Eater,
01:19the two are very similar, as they're both salty canned pork products. However, it's worth noting
01:24that Spam and canned ham aren't technically the same thing, because according to the Spam website,
01:30the product actually contains a blend of pork and ham. Heard the information on Walmart's website?
01:35Hormel's canned ham is just ham with some water added. Cook's Info says that canned ham is usually
01:41a few pieces of ham compressed together into one solid piece. However, larger containers of canned
01:46ham may be one single cut of meat. This is different from Spam, which is made from ground
01:51meat. Of course, for the majority of us who don't happen to be canned meat connoisseurs,
01:55the difference probably doesn't matter too much.
02:05A large part of the draw of canned ham, both back then and now, is that you can open it right up
02:10and eat it immediately. Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't also plenty of delicious ways
02:15to prepare canned ham on the stove, on the grill, and in the oven. But the point is that you don't
02:20have to cook it beforehand because of the way it's prepared and packaged. Back in the day,
02:24this meant that meat could be enjoyed without the luxury of refrigeration.
02:28Today, it makes for probably one of the easiest snacks or meals you can find.
02:32Canned ham is cured, a preserving process where ham is infused with salt,
02:36sugar, and sodium nitrate, which draws out the moisture while enhancing the meat's flavor.
02:40It is also fully cooked and vacuum-sealed to lock out air before being packaged,
02:45according to Good Housekeeping. Gelatin is often added as well,
02:48which mixes with juices from the ham during the cooking process.
02:53The biggest draw of canned ham, of course, is its shelf life. A can of pantry-stable ham,
02:58if unopened, will last for around two years, according to the USDA. Other sources say a
03:03canned ham will keep in the pantry for up to five years, according to Good Housekeeping.
03:07It's worth noting that even if it doesn't go bad, canned ham, like any canned food,
03:12can start to lose its quality of flavor and texture after three years as well,
03:16according to Hormel. So needless to say, maybe think twice before buying a can of ham you don't
03:21plan to eat within the next several years. The canned hams that are meant to be kept in the
03:25refrigerator will keep for a pretty long time as well, though not nearly as long as their shelf-
03:30stable counterparts. The USDA estimates that you can keep these canned hams in the fridge
03:35for about six to nine months, if they're kept sealed.
03:38A closed tin of canned ham will last years. Once you open a canned ham, however,
03:43you better be prepared to eat it pretty quickly. After unsealing any can of ham,
03:47the USDA says it must be refrigerated after that, and it needs to be eaten or thrown away
03:52within three to five days, unless you freeze it. While it might seem strange that canned ham has
03:56such a short shelf life after opening, it's due to the fact that the main thing preserving the ham
04:01was the anaerobic environment inside the closed can. As Reader's Digest explains,
04:06canned food is shelf-stable because the canning process kills the bacteria and other microorganisms
04:11that can make food rot. Once the seal is broken, those microorganisms can start invading the food
04:16once again. And as most of us have learned the hard way a time or two, consuming food-borne
04:21bacteria can quickly lead to getting sick. If, for whatever reason, you decide you need
04:26to hang on to some canned ham past its two-year expiration date, you might want to think again.
04:31While going the freezer route seems like the go-to move for extending the shelf life of most foods,
04:36it will likely have the opposite effect for canned ham. The University of Arizona explains
04:41that with any type of canned food, freezing temps may cause the contents of the can to expand,
04:46damaging the airtight seal that keeps the ham or whatever fresh. And in fact,
04:50Cook's Info says that freezing may cause the ham to rot inside the can.
04:54There is one workaround. The USDA says that if ham is removed from the can first,
04:59it can be frozen, but hardly long enough to make it worth it. It will stay good in the freezer for
05:04another month or two tops, and must be wrapped tightly in an airtight container.
05:09Canned ham's reputation as a salty staple of the culinary underbelly
05:13might lead one to think that it's worse for you than it is. And don't get us wrong,
05:17it's canned, processed meat, and therefore not a great source of nutritional value.
05:22But it turns out that canned ham isn't quite as unhealthy as it might seem,
05:26mostly because there's not much to it, nothing more than ham, water, salt, sugar,
05:31and some preservatives. A recommended serving of canned ham only has about 100 calories and
05:364 grams of fat, based on a package of Hormel. There's no sugar and no carbs in canned ham,
05:41and it's actually a great source of protein. The biggest health concern to keep in mind
05:45when it comes to canned ham is the sodium content. One package can have anywhere from
05:49600 to more than 1,000 grams of sodium. That's nearly half a person's daily recommended salt
05:55intake, according to the CDC.