Spam (food)

Spam (stylized as SPAM) is a brand of salty processed canned pork made by Hormel Foods Corporation. It was introduced by Hormel in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. By 2003, Spam was sold in 41 countries (and trademarked in over 100) on six continents. In the U.S., Hawaii is the state with the highest per capita consumption of Spam. It has become an ingredient in Hawaiian cuisine. The generic form of Spam may be sold in cans as "pork luncheon meat". Since its invention, it is now available in different flavours and using different meats. Like most hotdogs, Spam is precooked, making it safe and edible to eat straight from the can, but it is often cooked further to improve some characteristics of its palatability. Spam's basic ingredients are primarily pork shoulder and ham, with 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. Concerns about Spam's nutritional attributes have been raised, in large part due to its high content of fat, sodium, and preservatives. Spam has become part of popular culture, including a Monty Python sketch, which repeated the name many times, leading to its name being borrowed to describe unsolicited electronic messages, especially email. It is occasionally celebrated in festivals such as Austin's Spamarama. Hormel introduced Spam 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, a cut which did not sell well. Ken Daigneau, the brother of a company executive, won a $100 prize that year in a competition to name the new item. Hormel states that the meaning of the name "is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives," but a popular belief is that the name is a contraction of "spiced ham." It has also been speculated to be an acronym for "Shoulder of Pork And Ham.