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Spam (food)

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Spam is a famous brand of canned meat made by the Hormel Foods Corporation.

Sliced Spam
Sliced Spam

It is a type of lunch meat made from a mixture of pork and ham. To make it, companies add salt, water, sugar, and starch to help hold it together. They also add sodium nitrite to keep it fresh. During the cooking process inside the cans, a natural gelatin forms.

Spam Can Nutritional Label
Spam Can Nutritional Label

This meat is pre-cooked, so it is safe to eat straight from the can. Many people prefer to cook it more to improve the taste. It is now sold in 48 different countries across six continents.

Creating Spam involves a specific way of making food that lasts a long time. The ingredients are mixed together and then cooked right inside the metal cans.

. This method makes the meat very easy to store and carry. Because it stays good for a long time, it is very affordable and easy to find. In the United States, people used to eat nearly 122 million cans every year during the 1990s. This means about 3.8 cans were eaten every single second!

SPAM on a shelf
SPAM on a shelf

The history of Spam began on July 5, 1937.

1936canHormelSpicedHam
1936canHormelSpicedHam

A man named Ken Daigneau won a $100 prize for naming the product. Some people think the name is short for "spiced ham." It became very important during World War II. It was easy for the military to send to soldiers in far away places. Because it was everywhere, some soldiers even gave it funny nicknames. They called it "Special army meat" or "meatloaf without basic training."

Spam Museum Sign
Spam Museum Sign

Spam has traveled all over the world and changed how people eat. In the United Kingdom, it was called a "wartime delicacy" because meat was hard to find. In South Korea, people used it to trade for other goods during the war.

Spam served with rice
Spam served with rice

It is even a popular gift for the Korean New Year. In the Philippines, it is a cultural symbol often eaten for breakfast. People there eat a meal called Spamsilog, which has Spam, eggs, and garlic rice.

Spam Meal
Spam Meal

In China, the recipe was even changed to be meatier to fit local tastes.

Today, Spam is part of many different cultures and even popular stories. In Hawaii, it is so loved that people call it "The Hawaiian Steak."

Spam musubi at Ninja Sushi
Spam musubi at Ninja Sushi

They make a tasty snack called Spam musubi by putting meat on rice with seaweed. There is even a big festival called the "Waikiki Spam Jam" held every spring. The name has also moved into the world of computers. A famous comedy group called Monty Python used the name many times in a sketch. This led people to use the word "spam" to describe unwanted emails.

Baked Spam with Cloves
Baked Spam with Cloves
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🖼️ Images & Media (13)
File:1936canHormelSpicedHam.jpg
1936canHormelSpicedHam.jpg
File:Sliced Spam.JPG
Sliced Spam.JPG
File:SPAM_on_a_shelf.jpg
SPAM_on_a_shelf.jpg
File:Baked Spam with Cloves.jpg
Baked Spam with Cloves.jpg
File:Spam musubi at Ninja Sushi.jpg
Spam musubi at Ninja Sushi.jpg
File:Spam Meal.jpg
Spam Meal.jpg
File:Spam served with rice.jpg
Spam served with rice.jpg
File:Spam Treet and Great Value Luncheon Meat.jpg
Spam Treet and Great Value Luncheon Meat.jpg
File:SpamMuseumAustinMN2006-05-20.JPG
SpamMuseumAustinMN2006-05-20.JPG
File:Spam Museum Sign.JPG
Spam Museum Sign.JPG
File:Spam 2.jpg
Spam 2.jpg
File:Spam Can Nutritional Label.jpg
Spam Can Nutritional Label.jpg

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