Spam (stylized SPAM) is a brand of canned
cooked meat made by Hormel Foods Corporation.
It was first introduced in 1937 and gained
popularity worldwide after its use during
World War II.
By 2003, Spam was sold in 41 countries on
six continents and trademarked in over 100
countries (not including the Middle East and
North Africa).According to its label, Spam's
basic ingredients are pork, with ham meat
added, salt, water, modified potato starch
as a binder, sugar, and sodium nitrite as
a preservative.
Natural gelatin is formed during cooking in
its tins on the production line.
Many have raised concerns over Spam's nutritional
attributes, in large part due to its high
content of fat, sodium, and preservatives.By
the early 1970s the name "Spam" became a genericized
trademark, used to describe any canned meat
product containing pork, such as pork luncheon
meat.
With expansion in communications technology,
it became the subject of urban legends about
mystery meat and other appearances in pop
culture.
Most notable was a Monty Python sketch which
led to its name being borrowed for unsolicited
electronic messages, especially spam email.
== History ==
Spam was introduced by Hormel on July 5, 1937.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink
in America states that the product was intended
to increase the sale of pork shoulder which
was not a very popular cut.
Ken Daigneau, brother of a company executive,
won a $100 prize that year in a competition
to name the new item.
Hormel claims that the meaning of the name
"is known by only a small circle of former
Hormel Foods executives", but popular beliefs
are that the name is an abbreviation of "spiced
ham".
The difficulty of delivering fresh meat to
the front during World War II saw Spam become
a ubiquitous part of the U.S. soldier's diet.
It became variously referred to as "ham that
didn't pass its physical", "meatloaf without
basic training", and "Special Army Meat".
Over 150 million pounds of Spam were purchased
by the military before the war's end.During
World War II and the occupations which followed,
Spam was introduced into Guam, Hawaii, Okinawa,
the Philippines, and other islands in the
Pacific.
Immediately absorbed into native diets, it
has become a unique part of the history and
effects of U.S. influence in the Pacific.As
a consequence of World War II rationing and
the Lend-Lease Act, Spam also gained prominence
in the United Kingdom.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher later
referred to it as a "wartime delicacy".
In addition to increasing production for the
U.K., Hormel expanded Spam output as part
of Allied aid to the similarly beleaguered
Soviet Union.
Nikita Khrushchev declared: "Without Spam
we wouldn't have been able to feed our army".
Throughout the war, countries ravaged by the
conflict and faced with strict food rations
came to appreciate Spam.The billionth can
was sold in 1959, and in 2007, the seven billionth
can of Spam was sold.In 2012, the eight billionth
can of Spam was sold.
== International usage ==
=== 
United States and territories ===
Domestically, Spam's chief advantages were
affordability, accessibility, and extended
shelf life.
At the time it was introduced, it was the
only canned meat product on the market that
needed no refrigeration.
Statistics from the 1990s say that 3.8 cans
of Spam are consumed every second in the United
States, totaling nearly 122 million cans annually.
It became part of the diet of almost 30% of
American households, perceived differently
in various regions of the country.
It is also sometimes associated with economic
hardship because of its relatively low cost.Spam
that is sold in North America, South America,
and Australia is produced in Austin, Minnesota
(also known as "Spam Town USA") and in Fremont,
Nebraska.
Austin, Minnesota also has a restaurant with
a menu devoted exclusively to Spam, called
"Johnny's SPAMarama Menu".In 1963, Spam was
introduced to various private and public schools
in South Florida as cheap food and even for
art sculptures.
Due to the success of the introduction, Hormel
Foods also introduced school "color-themed"
spam, the first being a blue and green variety
which is still traditionally used in some
private schools of South Florida.
==== Hawaii ====
Spam is especially popular in the state of
Hawaii, where residents have the highest per
capita consumption in the United States.
Its perception there is very different from
on the mainland.
Hawaiians sometimes call it "Portagee Steak".A
popular local dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi,
where cooked Spam is placed atop rice and
wrapped in a band of nori, a form of onigiri.
Varieties of Spam are found in Hawaii that
are unavailable in other markets, including
Honey Spam, Spam with Bacon, and Hot and Spicy
Spam.Hawaiian Burger King restaurants began
serving Spam in 2007 to compete with the local
McDonald's chains.
In Hawaii, Spam is so popular that it is sometimes
referred to as "The Hawaiian Steak".
There is even an annual Spam-themed festival
on the island of Oahu that takes place every
spring, known as the "Waikiki Spam Jam.
Local chefs and restaurants compete to create
new Spam-themed dishes, which are then sold
in a massive street fair on Kalakaua Avenue
in Waikiki.
In 2017, Hawaii was plagued by a rash of thefts
of Spam.
Spam had long been a target of thieves in
Hawaii, but the magnitude of the thefts ramped
up, with incidents in which multiple cases
of Spam were stolen at once.
Local retailers believe organized crime was
involved.
This came alongside increases in thefts of
some other retail goods, such as corned beef
and liquor.
The president of the retail merchants of Hawaii
attributed the rise in retail thefts to a
recent change in criminal law, which raised
the threshold at which a theft would lead
to felony charges by approximately $400.
==== Guam and the Northern Marianas ====
In Guam, average per capita consumption is
16 tins (cans) per year.
It is also found on McDonald's menus there.
The Spam Games also takes place in Guam, where
locals sample and honor the best original,
homemade Spam recipes.In the Northern Mariana
Islands, lawyers from Hormel have threatened
to sue the local press for publishing articles
alleging ill-effects of high Spam consumption
on the health of the local population.
==== Puerto Rico ====
Sandwich de Mezcla is a party staple in Puerto
Rico containing Spam, Velveeta, and pimientos
between two slices of sandwich bread.
=== United Kingdom ===
After World War II, Newforge Foods, part of
the Fitch Lovell group, was awarded the license
to produce the product in the UK at its Gateacre
factory, Liverpool, where it stayed until
production switched to the Danish Crown Group
(owners of the Tulip Food Company) in 1998.The
United Kingdom has adopted Spam into various
recipes.
For example, recipes include Spam Yorkshire
Breakfast, Spamish Omelette, and Spam Hash.
Spam can also be sliced, battered and deep-fried
into Spam fritters.
=== East and Southeast Asia ===
In China, Hormel decided to adopt a different
strategy to market Spam, promoting it as a
foreign, premium food product and changing
the Spam formula to be meatier in order to
accommodate local Chinese tastes.In Okinawa,
Japan, the product is added into onigiri alongside
eggs and used as a staple ingredient in the
traditional Okinawan dish chanpurū, and a
Spam burger is sold by local fast food chain
Jef.
For the 70th anniversary of Spam in 2007,
cans with special designs were sold in Japan
due to its popularity, primarily in Okinawa.
Following the March 2011 earthquake, Spam
sales in Japan declined and Hormel shifted
its focus to China although Hormel did pledge
to donate $100,000 along with cans of Spam
for relief efforts.
In the summer of 2011, Burger King introduced
its own version of a burger made of Spam,
called 'BK Shot' Spam Burgers.
These small burgers are filled with slices
of the canned meat and were an attempt by
Burger King to capitalize on Spam's popularity
in Japan.
In early 2014, Burger King also introduced
the Spam and Cheese burger as a breakfast
menu item.In Hong Kong after World War II,
meat was scarce and expensive, so Spam was
an accessible, affordable alternative.
The luncheon meat has been incorporated into
dishes such as macaroni with fried egg and
spam in chicken soup, as well as ramen.In
the Philippines, Spam is a popular food item
and seen as a cultural symbol.
It is prepared and used in a variety of ways,
including being fried, served alongside condiments,
or used in sandwiches.
The canned meat's popularity transcends economic
class, and Spam gift sets are even used as
homecoming gifts.
There are at least ten different varieties
of Spam currently available in the country
and an estimated 1.25 million kilos of the
meat is sold every year in the Philippines.
During the rescue efforts after Typhoon Ondoy
(Ketsana) in 2009, Hormel Foods donated over
30,000 pounds of Spam to the Philippine National
Red Cross.In later years, the surfeit of Spam
in both North and South Korea during the Korean
War led to the establishment of the Spam kimbap
(rice and vegetable filled seaweed roll).
Because of a scarcity of fish and other traditional
kimbap products such as kimchi or fermented
cabbage, Spam was added to a rice roll with
kimchi and cucumber and wrapped in seaweed.
Spam was also used by US soldiers in Korea
as a means of trading for items, services
or information around their bases.In South
Korea, Spam (Hangul: 스팸; RR: seupaem,
licensed from Hormel by CJ CheilJedang) is
popular with a majority of the population,
and outranks Coca-Cola and KFC in status as
a foodstuff.
Today, South Korea produces and consumes more
Spam than any other country except the United
States.Spam is also an original ingredient
in budae jjigae ("army base stew"), a spicy
stew with different types of preserved meat.
=== Middle East ===
==== 
Israel ====
In Mandatory Palestine, demand for kosher
canned meats increased as Spam became more
popular during World War II.
Canned meat was briefly mentioned during wartime
from 1939–43, but the true boom in kosher
canned meat came in 1945.
This is when kosher canned meat became the
key item in Europe's Jewish war victim relief
packages.
Then in 1946, the Chicago Kosher Sausage Manufacturing
Company registered a patent for a kosher canned
meat product called Breef.
Made of beef, Breef has a similar texture
to Spam but tastes like corned beef.
Also, a kosher variant of Spam, known as Loof
(Hebrew: לוף‎, a Hebrew linguistic play
on meatloaf), was produced by Richard Levi,
and mostly used as part of field rations by
the Israel Defense Forces.
A Glatt kosher version was also produced.
It was phased out of field rations during
the early 2000s and was finally removed from
rations when production ceased in 2009.
== In popular culture ==
Beginning in 1940, Spam sponsored George Burns
and Gracie Allen on their radio program.During
WWII, Spam was not only eaten but was also
incorporated into many other aspects of the
war (grease for guns, cans for scrap metal,
etc.); it was so prominent that Uncle Sam
was nicknamed "Uncle Spam".
Other terms influenced by the product’s
name include the European invasion fleet,
or the "Spam Fleet".
Furthermore, the United Service Organizations
(USO) toured the "Spam Circuit".In the United
States in the aftermath of World War II, a
troupe of former servicewomen was assembled
by Hormel Foods to promote Spam from coast
to coast.
The group was known as the Hormel Girls and
associated the food with being patriotic.
In 1948, two years after its formation, the
troupe had grown to 60 women with 16 forming
an orchestra.
The show went on to become a radio program
where the main selling point was Spam.
The Hormel Girls were disbanded in 1953.Spam
has long had a somewhat dubious reputation
in the United States and (to a lesser degree)
United Kingdom as a poverty food.
The image of Spam as a low cost meat product
gave rise to the Scottish colloquial term
"Spam valley" to describe certain affluent
housing areas where residents appear to be
wealthy but in reality may be living at poverty
levels.Spam was featured in an iconic 1970
Monty Python sketch called "Spam".
Set in a café which mostly served dishes
containing Spam, including "egg and Spam,
egg bacon and Spam, Spam egg sausage and Spam,
Spam egg Spam Spam bacon and Spam ", the piece
also featured a companion song.
By the 1990s, Spam's perceived ubiquity led
to its name being adopted for unsolicited
electronic messages, especially spam email.
Because of its use in a line of a song in
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the title
of the musical version of the film became
Spamalot.
Spam is the subject of the "Weird Al" Yankovic
song "Spam", which is a parody of the R.E.M.
song "Stand".Other offshoots of Spam in popular
culture include a book of haikus about Spam
titled Spam-Ku: Tranquil Reflections on Luncheon
Loaf.
There is also a mock Church of Spam, and a
Spam Cam which is a webcam trained on a can
of decaying Spam.In the 1982 film Sophie's
Choice, the character Stingo brings a carton
of Spam to his newly-rented room.Spam is referenced
in Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher
Moore, where SPAM is explained as Shaped Pork
Approximating Man, which was used to explain
its popularity amongst Pacific Island Cannibals.Spam
has also been mentioned in the online point
and click game "Escape from Plastic Beach"
from 2010 on gorillaz.com.
In the game it's used as bait for a talking
fish.
=== Spam celebrations ===
Spam is celebrated in Austin, Minnesota, home
to the Spam Museum.
The museum tells the history of the Hormel
company, the origin of Spam, and its place
in world culture, including Hawaii where Spam
is eaten daily by locals.
Austin is also the location of final judging
in the national Spam recipe competition.
Competing recipes are collected from winning
submissions at the top 40 state fairs in the
nation.
The Spamettes are a quartet from Austin who
only sing about Spam in parodies of popular
songs.
They first performed at the first Spam Jam
in 1990 and continue to perform at various
events.Hawaii holds an annual Spam Jam in
Waikiki during the last week of April.
The small town of Shady Cove, Oregon is home
to the annual Spam Parade and Festival, with
the city allocating US$1,500 for it.Spamarama
was a yearly festival held around April Fool's
Day in Austin, Texas.
The theme of Spamarama was a gentle parody
of Spam, rather than a straightforward celebration:
the event at the heart of the festival was
a Spam cook-off that originated as a challenge
to produce the most appetizing recipe for
the meat.
A rule of the event was that contestants had
to be prepared to eat the Spam dish if requested
by a judge.
The festival included light sporting activities
and musical acts, in addition to the cook-off.
== Nutritional data ==
The ingredients of Spam vary according to
variety and market; those of variety "Spam
Classic" are: pork, ham, salt, water, potato
starch, sugar, and sodium nitrite.
== Varieties ==
As listed on the official Spam website, there
are numerous different flavors of Spam products,
including:
Spam Classic – original flavor
Spam Hot & Spicy – with Tabasco flavor
Jalapeño Spam
Spam with Black Pepper
Spam Low Sodium – "25% less sodium"
Spam Lite – "33% fewer calories, 25% less
sodium, and 50% less fat" – made from pork
with ham, and mechanically separated chicken
Spam Oven Roasted Turkey
Spam Hickory Smoked
Spam Spread – "if you're a spreader, not
a slicer ... just like Spam Classic, but in
a spreadable form"
Spam Bacon
Spam Cheese
Spam Garlic
Spam Teriyaki
Spam Chorizo
Spam Boricua – seasoned Puerto Rican-style
flavor
Spam Macadamia Nuts – Partnered with Hamakua
Plantation
Spam Turkey
Spam Tocino
Spam Portuguese Sausage
In addition to the variety of flavors, Spam
is sold in tins smaller than the twelve-ounce
standard size.
Spam Singles are also available, which are
single sandwich-sized slices of Spam Classic
or Lite, sealed in retort pouches.
== See also
