Goteborg musubi
 3-pack Goteborg sausage musubi | |
| Alternative names | UFO |
|---|---|
| Course | Snack |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Kauai (Hawaii) |
| Serving temperature | Hot or room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Göteborg sausage, rice |
| Variations | SPAM musubi |
Göteborg musubi (Hawaii pronunciation: /ˈɡuːtjəbʊrɡˈmuːsjuːbiː/) (anglicized as Goteborg) or UFOs, is a food that combines a slice of Goteborg sausage with a ball of rice in the tradition of Japanese onigiri.[1] The Goteborg musubi is commonly associated with the island of Kauai. However, they are made and sold throughout Hawaii in more recent years.
History
[edit]German connection
[edit]Often forgotten is the influential German immigration to Hawaii. Three Germans were among the sailors and crew aboard Captain James Cook first visit to the islands in 1778.[2] Occasional visits by Germans would continue. German immigrant Hermann A. Widemann established one of the first sugar plantations in Hawaii in 1854, Grove Farms. Rather than relying on the indentured laborers from Asia—unlike fellow German Claus Spreckles who would own the largest sugar plantation in the world on Maui at one point— German sugar plantation owners on Kauai, including Paul Isenberg and Widemann, relied on fellow countrymen instead.[3][4] Around 1,337 German immigrants arrived between 1881 and 1884, of which 560 men came to work on the plantations. Kauai had the largest German population at 922 where three plantations were operated by Germans.[3]
Germans would bring their culture and foods with them, especially on Kauai where they celebrated German victories in wars leading up to World War I with suppers of "boiled ham, potato salad, Swiss cheese, German sausage, bread, cakes, and cigars."[3] One of these German salami-like sausages may have been mettwurst such as Holsteiner Mettwurst, which closely resembles in ingredients, preparation, and appearance to the Goteborg sausage known today.[5]
Göteborg sausages
[edit]Goteborg sausages, named after the second largest city in Sweden, is a type of summer sausage of beef and pork. Being a cured, dried, and smoked sausage, cooking it is not necessary, and like other summer sausages, it historically could be kept without refrigeration.[6] This was especially desirable during periods of high temperatures where fresh meats would otherwise spoil and where refrigeration was not available.[6] Most Goteborg sausages sold in Hawaii today are made by Hormel, the same makers of the popular SPAM.[7][8][9]
Despite the Swedish name, the sausage itself is of German origin. However, World War I would end up leaving a bitter taste. The nativism and anti-German sentiment would be felt across the globe. Every German sounding name would be renamed, from food, dog breeds, family names, even to entire towns[10][11][12][13][14][15] H. Hackfeld & Co., which would be later known as American Factors and one of the Hawaii "Big Five" companies formed by Germans Heinrich Hackfeld and Paul Isenberg, was seized by the US government during World War I.[2]
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George A. Hormel, who created Hormel Foods Corporation in 1891, himself was of German origin and specialized in sausage making.[16][17][18] In 1915, Hormel began selling dry sausages under the names of Cedar Cervelat, Holsteiner and Noxall Salami.[19] Hormel, at one time, featured a roundel of the Danish flag (instead of a Swedish flag) on its Goteborg sausage labels.[8][20] Denmark borders one of the northernmost regions of Germany, Holstein.
Rice
[edit]Rice was an important food for plantation workers in Hawaii, many of whom were from China, Japan, and the Philippines. Rice provided the carbohydrates essential for the harsh labor involved.[21] In 1907, Chinese long-grain rice would be the second largest crop after sugar, displacing taro pondfields for rice paddies instead.[22] However, as Japanese immigration began outpacing the Chinese population, their preference for short-grain rice (which could be molded into onigiri) imported from California would end the Hawaii rice industry.[23][24]
Today
[edit]By the 1920s, many of the German plantation workers moved to California after their contracts expired and the few that remained eventually became plantation overseers known as lunas.[3] One unverified source credit a "German stonewall builder" for introducing the sausage to the non-German plantation laborers.[25] Pairing salty food with a neutralizing starchy food is common throughout the world.[26] Nor is it uncommon that foods were made in a compact form to bring into the blue-collar workplace, such as ham sandwiches, Cornish pasties, onigiri. At this time, the exact creator of the Goteborg musubi is unknown or who first retailed them.[a]
Preparation
[edit]
Goteborg sausage are cut into between 1/8 to 1/4 inches (3-6mm) thick slices and are grilled (without oil) to preferred doneness. Cooking creates a crispier and more pronounced lenticular shape–giving the nickname "UFO" (not to be confused with "Flying Saucers," another Kauai delicacy)–which provides a natural bowl. Rice balls are formed–sometimes with the help of an ice cream scoop–and are placed on the grilled sausage slices. The sausage slice traditionally sits under the rice, but occasionally sits on top. The rice balls are usually sprinkled with furikake or optionally wrapped with nori.[27] Goteborg musubis can be made into a snack, a light lunch or accompaniment to poke, or as a canapé for pūpū.[28]
See also
[edit]
- Cuisine of Hawaii – Food and drinks from Hawaii
- Onigiri – Japanese rice ball
- SPAM musubi – Spam and rice wrapped with nori
References
[edit]- ^ It may have even existed before the more widely known SPAM musubi, as SPAM was created in 1937 by Hormel.
- ^ Gee, Pat (16 May 2018). "'Flying saucers,' 'UFOs' help raise money for Kauai flood victims". Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
- ^ a b Young, Peter T. (21 September 2019). "Germans". Images of Old Hawaiʻi. Hoʻokuleana LLC.
- ^ a b c d Wagner-Seavey, Sandra E (1980). The Effect of World War I on the German Community in Hawaii.
- ^ Miller, Char (2010). Cities and Nature in the American West. University of Nevada Press. pp. 18–23. ISBN 9780874178241. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Holsteiner Katenmettwurst". www.katenschinken-petersen.de (in German).
- ^ a b Wessley, Daniel F. (1960). The Role of Microorganisms in the Manufacture of Summer Sausage. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin.
- ^ Tom, Lynette L. (10 October 2018). "Easy-Kine Cooking: Goteborg UFOs a longtime favorite on Kauai". Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
- ^ a b "HORMEL® Goteberg". Hormel.
- ^ Braiotta, Kelli S (27 July 2022). "Musubi madness". Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
- ^ Fouka, Vasiliki (May 2019). "How Do Immigrants Respond to Discrimination? The Case of Germans in the US During World War I". American Political Science Review. 113 (2): 405–422. doi:10.1017/S0003055419000017. ISSN 0003-0554.
- ^ "How WWI changed how and what Americans eat at mealtimes". We Are The Mighty. 5 January 2023.
- ^ "War Hysteria & the Persecution of German-Americans". www.historyonthenet.com.
- ^ "When German Immigrants Were America's Undesirables". HISTORY. 2 April 2019.
- ^ "Britain's King George V changes royal surname | June 19, 1917". HISTORY.
- ^ "German Marylanders – Family Name Changes". www.germanmarylanders.org.
- ^ Gaul, Anita T (27 December 2021). "Hormel, George A. (1860–1946) | MNopedia". MNopedia.org. Minnesota Historical Society.
- ^ "George A. Hormel". Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "George A. Hormel". City of Austin Minnesota.
- ^ Dougherty, Richard (1966). In quest of quality; Hormel's first 75 years. St Paul: North Central Pub. Co. p. 79.
- ^ "Hormel GÖTEBORG Kauai LabelDesign – Tasty Island". Tasty Island Hawaii. 26 February 2011.
- ^ Harada, Wayne (1989-04-25). "Musubi madness". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. p. 15. Retrieved 2022-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "History of Agriculture in Hawaii" (PDF). Hawaii Department of Agriculture. 28 Dec 1999. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ Monet, Angelica (18 December 2020). "History of Food In Hawaii: A Journey Through Hawaii's Foodways". Digital Humanities Studio. Loyola University, New Orleans Department of History.
- ^ Young, Peter T. (19 July 2019). "Rice". Images of Old Hawaiʻi. Hoʻokuleana LLC.
- ^ "HIKI NŌ 2|6|20: Mele Murals and Other Stories | Program". PBS Hawai‘i. 17 March 2020.
- ^ Breslin, Paul A. S. (6 May 2013). "An Evolutionary Perspective on Food and Human Taste". Current Biology. pp. R409–R418. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.010.
- ^ "The "BES" Goteborg Musubi". Grove Farm.
- ^ Marketing, HSFCU (31 May 2019). "Goteborg Musubi Recipe". Hawaii State FCU. Retrieved 11 October 2023.