A staple of pre-War American cuisine, cram is a type of precooked meat, spiced and preserved to last centuries even in the most adverse of conditions. Although the resulting foodstuff struggles to be classified as proper meat,[1] it is an excellent source of protein.[2] Although it's popular with wastelanders, it has a tendency to cause major constipation among those who overindulge in too many of the characteristic blue cans.[3][4] While cram can be consumed straight from the tin, it is also an ingredient in more complex dishes, such as fire ant fricassée.[5]
Characteristics[]
Cram restores +5 Hit Points, but also gives you a small does of radiation in the form of 3 rads.
Cram is, of course, a reference to spam, which was sold in both cartons (up to the 70s) and cans (ongoing). An unrelated foodstuff of the same name also appears in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, where it's a nutritious, hardy biscuit that can keep travelers fed on long journeys. It was later popularized by NetHack.
Italics denote consumables items available through add-ons.
↑Clarke's log: "Five more crates today: three Cram, one mac & cheese, and some kind of dried meat. Judging from the stench, probably mole rat. The Ghouls didn't touch the mac, but they almost came to blows over the mole rat jerky. They even ate the Cram. I think they're starting to get used to it by now."
↑Piper Wright: "Wow. Someone's been eating their Cram." ^Entering combat with a Super Mutant Behemoth. / Surprised
↑The Sole Survivor: "What's a dead drop?" Robert MacCready: "I had one of those once after I ate a bad batch of Cram. Spent eight hours on the can." Carrington: "Oh, dear lord. A dead drop is a mailbox with a railsign on it.It's a common means of communication for us, so keep an eye out for them.When you make contact with Stockton he won't give you the time of day unless you give him the proper countersign.The current sign is, "Do you have a geiger counter?" And the counter is, "Mine is in the shop." Please tell me Deacon taught you that, at least?" (Robert MacCready's and Carrington's dialogue)
↑The Sole Survivor: "I have what it takes." Rowdy: "We'll see. I've been putting off hauling myself over the pond to Warwick for this, but now you get to do it. This here's something I've been fixing up, part of the pump system at Warwick. Thing was clogged up like Zeke after one too many cans of cram. I want you to go to the pump shed there and install it." (Rowdy's dialogue)
