I guess growing up back in the 50’s meant that we were somehow immune to all the things out there that would do us harm. We would drink from the water hose and sometimes even an underground spring if it seemed clear and wasn’t surrounded by mounds of dead animals. We would eat Spam and Scrapple and other meat-like products containing unknown ingredients. Hey, fry those guys up and no one’s the wiser.
But one of my favorite sandwiches was something called deviled ham, always on white bread. I am reasonably certain that deviled ham contained some ham, but after that I am at a loss. Onion, pepper, salt, jasmine, mustard and caraway seeds are all possibilities, but at this point does it matter? Judging from the small size of the Underwood Deviled Ham cans, I have wondered in retrospect if deviled ham was not intended to be a MEAL but a light fare prior to dining; an hors d’oeuvre or perhaps a condiment. We kids consuming piles of Wonder Bread deviled ham sandwiches might have been akin to eating an entire 12 ounce jar of shrimp cocktail, or loading up on those yummy ketchup muffins.
In any case (upper, lower, court…I could go on) I can still imagine the taste of deviled ham sandwiches lo these many years later, a testament to their unusual wonderfulness.
whoisfenton 