State Sausage of Hawaii - Vienna Sausage

This is the state sausage of Hawaii. Vienna sausage is as Steff calls it, "wiggly sausage". Let's not focus on what it is made out of but rather, what it means for the people of Hawaii. Vienna sausage, like corned beef and spam, is basically what people from the mainland (i.e. I believe they refer to it as the continental United States) call dog food and poor people's food. I know some of the people I went to school with would never admit to eating vienna sausage, corned beef, spam, even hot dogs. Those stuck up pompous pricks had something against processed meat, I swear. But I am proud to say that I am really one local girl at heart. I love my vienna sausage, corned beef, spam, hot dogs, portuguese sausage. My grandma makes it the best. It's always got this thin crispy shell (even though vienna sausage technically doesn't have casing like portuguese sausage) on the outside, peppery, and soft on the inside. Whoo, wit' da hot rice and shoyu shuga scramble egg, broke da mout man!

Anyway, there was a point to this post. Notice that this box is blue. The cans are also blue. This box was bought on Yokota base by my coworker for me while I was still in Tokyo. This is what vienna sausage sold all over the world looks like, everywhere except Hawaii. In Hawaii, vienna sausage cans are yellow. The cans and the box for the 18 pack are yellow. Apparently, Hawaii people really like the color yellow and the color yellow is significant as vienna sausage is synonymous with yellow, as well as Hinode and Diamond G medium-short grain rice. I am not sure if it's because it's eye catching or if Hawaii people are just more attracted in things in yellow packaging, but we're apparently a special market. Well in terms of the color, yellow is the official color of Oahu (as opposed to say Maui, which I think is pink) and the state flower is the yellow hibiscus, which is native to the Hawaiian islands. Any ideas on why Hawaii packaging is unique?

One final note, Hawaii people are known to be a lot of things--naive, stupid, nice, scary, country bumpkins, hoarders, but one thing is for certain, they know their brands when it comes to food. When it comes to luncheon meat, there is only one--Hormel Spam. When you make spam musubi, it's called SPAM musubi, not luncheon meat rice ball. Only Hormel Spam will do it for most people. None of this TULIP brand. Vienna sausage, while not as big as spam is pretty much the same. You gotta buy Libby's, which is under the manufacturer ConAgra. Vienna sausage does not taste the same if you buy any other brand. Unlike when they do those blind tests for cola and wine, I am sure most Hawaii people could point out the brand in a blind taste. There is no substitute. So next time Longs or Daiei (presently Don Quijote) runs the 18 pack on ad for $5.99, go out and buy yourself a case. (Hawaii is also probably the only state where there are LIMIT 5 or LIMIT 10 signs on ad items at the supermarkets. I told you, Hawaii people hoard like there's no tomorrow--it's like the war-rationing mentality got rolled up with the frugality of the East Asian mother.)