What happens if you freeze canned ham?
Does it really expire?
Is it good for you?
What are some things to avoid doing when you buy it?
Keep watching to find out the truth about canned ham!
Canned ham was the invention of none other than George Hormel.
If that name instantly sounds familiar, that's because you've been seeing the brand all over
your grocery store your entire life.
The same goes for your parents.
The man who launched the company behind so many of our favorite food brands started it
all with pork products near the turn of the 20th century.
According to the company's official history, in 1926, Hormel invented the world's first
canned ham.
And from there, Hormel went on to develop a slew of other products that have been beloved
for generations and are still recognized today, like Dinty Moore beef stew, canned chili,
and the famous, or infamous, depending on how you look at it, Spam.
"This hearty meal is a real big dealz.
Dinty Moore is the beer of meals."
Almost 100 years later, appetites may have changed, but nostalgia persists, and you can
still get canned ham from a variety of brands today.
When you think of canned ham, there's a good chance that a little tin can of Spam comes
to mind, which makes sense.
Hormel introduced the iconic product in 1937, just a few years after inventing the concept
of canned ham, according to Eater.
The two are very similar, as they're both salty canned pork products.
However, it's worth noting that Spam and canned ham aren't technically the same thing because
according to the Spam website, the product actually contains a blend of pork and ham.
Per the information on Walmart's website, Hormel's canned ham is just ham with some
water added.
Cook's Info says that canned ham is usually a few pieces of ham compressed together into
one solid piece.
However, larger containers of canned ham may be one single cut of meat.
This is different from Spam, which is made from ground meat.
Of course, for the majority of us who don't happen to be canned meat connoisseurs, the
difference probably doesn't matter too much.
"Yeah!"
A large part of the draw of canned ham, both back then and now, is that you can open it
right up and eat it immediately.
Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't also plenty of delicious ways to prepare canned
ham on the stove, on the grill, and in the oven, but the point is that you don't have
to cook it beforehand because of the way it's prepared and packaged.
Back in the day, this meant that meat could be enjoyed without the luxury of refrigeration.
Today, it makes for probably one of the easiest snacks or meals you can find.
Canned ham is cured, a preserving process where ham is infused with salt, sugar, and
sodium nitrate which draws out the moisture while enhancing the meat's flavor.
It is also fully cooked and vacuum-sealed to lock out air before being packaged, according
to Good Housekeeping.
Gelatin is often added as well, which mixes with juices from the ham during the cooking process.
The biggest draw of canned ham, of course, is its shelf life.
A can of pantry-stable ham, if unopened, will last for around two years, according to the
USDA.
Other sources say a canned ham will keep in the pantry for up to five years, according
to Good Housekeeping.
It's worth noting that even if it doesn't go bad, canned ham, like any canned food,
can start to lose its quality of flavor and texture after three years as well, according
to Hormel.
So needless to say, maybe think twice before buying a can of ham you don't plan to eat
within the next several years.
The canned hams that are meant to be kept in the refrigerator will keep for a pretty
long time as well, though not nearly as long as their shelf-stable counterparts.
The USDA estimates that you can keep these canned hams in the fridge for about six to
nine months if they're kept sealed.
A closed tin of canned ham will last years.
Once you open a canned ham, however, you better be prepared to eat it pretty quickly.
After unsealing any can of ham, the USDA says it must be refrigerated after that and it
needs to be eaten or thrown away within three to five days unless you freeze it.
While it might seem strange that canned ham has such a short shelf life after opening,
it's due to the fact that the main thing preserving the ham was the anaerobic environment inside
the closed can.
As Reader's Digest explains, canned food is shelf-stable because the canning process kills
the bacteria and other microorganisms that can make food rot.
Once the seal is broken, those microorganisms can start invading the food once again.
And as most of us have learned the hard way a time or two, consuming food-borne bacteria
can quickly lead to getting sick.
If, for whatever reason, you decide you need to hang on to some canned ham past its two
year expiration date, you might want to think again.
While going the freezer route seems like the go-to move for extending the shelf life of
most foods, it will likely have the opposite effect for canned ham.
The University of Arizona explains that with any type of canned food, freezing temps may
cause the contents of the can to expand, damaging the airtight seal that keeps the ham or whatever fresh.
And in fact, Cook's Info says that freezing may cause the ham to rot inside the can.
There is one workaround.
The USDA says that if ham is removed from the can first, it can be frozen, but hardly
long enough to make it worth it.
It will stay good in the freezer for another month or two tops and must be wrapped tightly
in an airtight container.
Canned ham's reputation as a salty staple of the culinary underbelly might lead one
to think that it's worse for you than it is.
And don't get us wrong, it's canned, processed meat, and therefore not a great source of
nutritional value.
But it turns out that canned ham isn't quite as unhealthy as it might seem, mostly because
there's not much to it – nothing more than ham, water, salt, sugar, and some preservatives.
A recommended serving of canned ham only has about 100 calories and 4 grams of fat, based
on a package of Hormel.
There's no sugar and no carbs in canned ham, and it's actually a great source of protein.
The biggest health concern to keep in mind when it comes to canned ham is the sodium content.
One package can have anywhere from 600 to more than 1,000 grams of sodium.
That's nearly half a person's daily recommended salt intake, according to the CDC.
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