Spam

 By Bruce Shawkey

There are probably few products more maligned and simultaneously praised than Hormel's Spam. It has come to mean junk email in the Internet parlance. It was famously spoofed in the Kevin Costner movie "Waterworld," where it was renamed "Smeat," after Hormel was rumored to cite copyright infringement. Of course, we all knew what the movie was talking about! 

Hormel introduced Spam in 1937 and it gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. It requires no refrigeration until it's opened.  As of 2023, Hawaii is the number-one consumer of Spam, eating about 7 million cans of Spam per year, or about five cans per person annually. Spam is so ingrained in Hawaiian culture that it's considered part of the island's history and heritage. The popularity of Spam in Hawaii can be traced back to World War II, when it was served to GIs and became a popular meal with fried Spam and rice. Spam can be found in many Hawaiian dishes, including Spam musubi, fried rice, saimin soup, and breakfast with eggs and rice.

Spam's chief ingredient is a mixture of pork and ham meat, which initially makes it seem not so bad. But then salt, water, potato starch, sugar are added, along with sodium nitrite, a food preservative added to bacon, hot dogs, cured meats, sausage, and smoked fish, and some have linked to cancer.

There is debate as to what, if anything, Spam actually stands for.  The Hormel Foods Corporation once said that it means "Shoulder of Pork and Ham", but in some dictionaries "Spam" means "spiced ham". Members of staff at the SPAM museum say it stands for Specially Produced American Meat.

Whatever the debate over what it stands for, Spam is now offered in 15 varieties, including the original flavor,; teriyaki (created for the Hawaii market); Spam Lite, (with less fat, sodium, and calories);  Spam Tocino (Inspired by Filipino bacon); Spam Chorizo (made for all consumers); Spam Hot and Spicy (flavored with Tabasco's red pepper mixture); Spam Hickory Smoke; Spam w=ith cheese; Golden Honey Grail; Stinky French Garlic; and Spam with regular (presumably not stinky) garlic. You can even buy a single slice of original Spam if you just need it for a recipe and don't want to buy a whole can.

That is probably the way I should have bought it a while ago when I bought a whole can of the original to try in different recipes, mainly Spam and eggs. Here's a variation on that concoction:

Take a potato peeler and shave off very thin strips of spam, and fry it in a pan like bacon. When it gets to desired crispness, add two beaten eggs, Scape with a rubber spatula to scramble the eggs. Turn out onto a plate. Add pepper to taste. No need to add salt because there's plenty in the Spam.

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