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| | style="font-size: large;" colspan="2" align="center" | '''SPAM''' | |||
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| | colspan="2" align="center"| ] | |||
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| | || <small>'''Two small cans of SPAM.'''<small> | |||
| |- | |||
| | '''Created by''' || ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | '''Time created''' || ] | |||
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| | '''Type of Food''' || Processed meat | |||
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| | '''Website''' || | |||
| |} | |||
| {{portal|Food}} | |||
| {{This|the canned meat product|Spam}} | |||
| '''SPAM''' luncheon meat is a ] precooked ] product made by the ]. The labeled ingredients in the Classic variety of SPAM are: chopped ] shoulder meat with ] meat added, ], ], ], and ] to help "keep its color". The product has become part of many jokes and ]s about ], which has made it part of pop culture and ]. | |||
| Varieties of SPAM vary by region and include SPAM Black Pepper, SPAM Less Sodium, SPAM Garlic, SPAM and Cheese, SPAM with Bacon (Hormel bacon), SPAM Spread, SPAM Fritters, SPAM Lite (containing pork and ]), SPAM Golden Honey Grail, SPAM Hot and Spicy (with ]), SPAM Hickory Smoked, and SPAM Oven Roasted ]<ref></ref> - the latter is a ] food, meaning that it is permissible under ]ic law, and is especially popular in Muslim markets. | |||
| SPAM is produced in (among other places) ], ], ] (also known as ''SPAM Town USA''). In 2002, the six billionth can of SPAM was sold.<ref></ref>. SPAM for the UK market is produced in Denmark by Tulip under licence from Hormel. | |||
| ==Name origin== | |||
| Introduced on ] ], the name "SPAM" was chosen in the 1930s when the product, whose original name was far less memorable (Hormel '''Sp'''iced H'''am'''), began to lose ]. The name was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest. A Hormel official once stated that the original meaning of the name ''SPAM'' was "'''S'''houlder of '''P'''ork and h'''AM'''". According to writer ] in ''SPAM – The Cookbook'', the name was suggested by Kenneth Daigneau, an actor and the brother of a Hormel ]. At one time, the official explanation may have been that the name was a ] of "SPiced hAM", but on their official website, Hormel denies this and states that "SPAM is just that. SPAM." The fact that the originator was given a $100 prize for coming up with the name, however, still appears on the site's SPAM FAQs. <ref></ref> | |||
| <!--NOTE: Please do not add backronyms without a source...We could spend days coming up with thousands of new meanings--> | |||
| Many jocular ] have been devised, such as "Something Posing As Meat" and "Spare Parts Animal Meat."<ref>{{cite book|title=Dear Ruby Ann: Down Home Advice about Lovin', Livin', and the Whole Shebang|first=Ruby Ann|last=Boxcar|publisher=Citadel Press|year=2004|id=ISBN 0-8065-2560-6}}, </ref> "'''S'''pecial '''P'''urpose '''A'''rmy '''M'''eat" has been suggested as another apocryphal backronym referring to the product's WWII roots. | |||
| According to Hormel's trademark guidelines, SPAM should be spelled with all capital letters and treated as an adjective, as in the phrase "SPAM ]". As with many other trademarks, such as ] or ], people often refer to similar meat products as "SPAM". Regardless, in practice, "SPAM" is generally spelled and used as a ]. | |||
| ==Nutritional Data== | |||
| A 56 gram (approximately 2 ounce) serving of original SPAM provides 7 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of fat (23% US Daily Value) including 6 grams of saturated fat (28% US Daily Value), and over 170 calories. A serving contains nearly a third of the recommended daily intake of sodium (salt). SPAM provides very little in terms of vitamins and minerals (0% vitamin A, 1% vitamin C, 1% calcium, 3% iron). It has been listed as a food that is a poor choice for weight loss (or weight gain) and optimum health and as a food that "is high in saturated fat and sodium". <ref> </ref> | |||
| ==International usage== | |||
| ] magazine on ],].]] | |||
| As of 2003, SPAM is sold in 41 countries worldwide. The largest consumers of SPAM after the United States are stated as being the ] and ].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| ===United States and territories=== | |||
| In the United States, the residents of the state of ] and the territories of ] and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (]) consume the most SPAM per capita. On average, each person on Guam consumes 16 tins of SPAM each year and the numbers at least equal this in the CNMI. Guam, Hawaii, and ], the CNMI's principal island, have the only ] restaurants that feature SPAM on the menu; ] now offers SPAM on their breakfast menu as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=254168|title=Land of 10,000 Stories - SPAM in Paradise|publisher=KARE11 News|author=Boyd Huppert|date=May 17, 2007}}</ref> One popular SPAM dish in Hawaii is ], in which cooked SPAM is combined with ] and ] seaweed and classified as ].<ref></ref> | |||
| In Hawaii, SPAM is traditionally reheated (cooked), resulting in a different taste than SPAM eaten by many Americans on the mainland, who may eat SPAM cold.<ref> http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2002/06/10/daily22.html </ref> Burger King, in Hawaii, began serving SPAM in 2007 on its menu to compete with the local McDonald's chains.<ref></ref> | |||
| SPAM was introduced into these areas, in addition to other islands in the Pacific such as ] and the ], during the U.S. military occupation in ]. Since fresh meat was difficult to get to the soldiers on the front, World War II saw the largest use of SPAM. GIs started eating SPAM for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Some soldiers referred to SPAM as "ham that didn't pass its physical" and "] without basic training.")<ref>American Eats, History Channel Programme</ref> Surpluses of SPAM from the soldiers' supplies made their way into native diets. Consequently, SPAM is a unique part of the history and effects of U.S. influence in the Pacific.<ref name=Star/> | |||
| In these locales, varieties of SPAM unavailable in other markets are sold. These include Honey SPAM, SPAM with Bacon, and Hot and Spicy SPAM.<ref name=Star>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com/News/article/223937|author=Jaymes Song|date=June 11, 2007|publisher=The Star|title=Burger giants wage SPAM war}}</ref> | |||
| In the CNMI, lawyers from Hormel have threatened legal action against the local press for running articles decrying the ill-effects of high SPAM consumption on the health of the local population. | |||
| ===Europe=== | |||
| In the ] SPAM was a popular addition to the menu of ] shops, where slices are battered and deep-fried and are known as ']s', However this tradition has faded out in recent decades. It gained popularity in the 1940s during World War II, during the ]. | |||
| ===Asia=== | |||
| {{refimprove|section|date=July 2007}} | |||
| In Okinawa, SPAM has become very popular for much the same reason as in Hawaii. SPAM is even used in the traditional Okinawan dish ], and there is also a ] sold by local fast food chain ]. | |||
| In ], SPAM is also a rather popular food item, being served as a sort of Western cuisine. It is often used in sandwiches. | |||
| In Hong Kong, SPAM is commonly used to serve with instant noodles and fried eggs, and is a popular item in ]. | |||
| In ], SPAM is popular in households as an accompaniment to rice. A television ad claimed that it is the most tasty when consumed with white rice and gim (] or black seaweed used for some type of handrolls). It is also an original ingredient for ] (lit. "army base stew"), a spicy stew with different types of preserved meat. | |||
| ] | |||
| ==SPAM celebrations== | |||
| SPAM is celebrated in a small local ] in ], where Hormel corporate headquarters are located. The event, known as ], is a ]-type celebration which coincides with local ] festivities, featuring parades and ] which often relate to the popular luncheon meat. Austin is also home to the SPAM Museum, and the plant that produces SPAM for most of North America and Europe. | |||
| Hawaii also holds their own version of 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, celebrating its 8th year in 2007. | |||
| The SPAM Jam is not to be confused with ], which is a yearly festival held on ] in ]. The theme of SPAMarama is gentle parody of SPAM, rather than straightforward celebration: the event at the heart of the festival is a SPAM ] that originated as a challenge to produce an appetizing recipe for the meat. The festival includes light sporting activities and numerous Christian musical acts, in addition to the cook-off.<ref name="SPAMarama">{{cite web | |||
| |title=SPAMarama website | |||
| |url=http://www.SPAMarama.org/ | |||
| |accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref> | |||
| ==Cultural references== | |||
| ===Monty Python sketch=== | |||
| {{main|Spam (Monty Python)}} | |||
| SPAM was one of the few meat products excluded from the ] food ] that began in ] (and continued for a number of years after the war), and the British grew heartily tired of it. The ] comedy troupe used this as the context for their ], in which the menu at a ] cafe consists entirely of dishes containing one or more portions of SPAM. | |||
| "egg and SPAM, egg bacon and SPAM, egg bacon sausage and SPAM, SPAM bacon sausage and SPAM, SPAM egg SPAM SPAM bacon and SPAM" | |||
| <!-- Commented out because image was deleted: ] --> | |||
| The Monty Python ] '']'' opened on ] in ] in early ]. It combines themes of the quest for the ] -- previously explored in the film '']'' -- and SPAM. Hormel released a collector's edition "honey" SPAM in connection with the musical, and a "Stinky French Garlic" edition for the London opening of the show.<ref> | |||
| {{cite news | |||
| | author = Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent | |||
| | title = SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM... and garlic? | |||
| | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/04/nSPAM04.xml | |||
| | publisher = Telegraph.co.uk | |||
| | date = ], ] | |||
| | accessdate = 2007-03-17 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| ===Email SPAM=== | |||
| {{main|SPAM (electronic)}} | |||
| The repetitious nature of the Monty Python sketch, in which the customer becomes more and more exasperated by the appearances of "SPAM" in every menu item, gave rise to the term ''SPAM'' as the common term for ]. Earlier, the term was used as a verb to describe widespread dissemination of derogatory (and often untrue) postings and messages about a person ("She was getting SPAMmed all over the Internet."). | |||
| Hormel does not object to the term, but insists that it be spelled in lower case so as to distinguish it from its capitalized SPAM ]. Hormel objects to SPAM's "product identity" (for example, images of SPAM cans) being used in relation to Spamming, and has filed lawsuits against companies which have attempted to trademark words containing "SPAM". | |||
| In 1998, the ], which had previously only defined "SPAM" in relation to the trademarked food product, added a second definition to its entry for "Spam": "Irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of newsgroups or users."<Ref></Ref> | |||
| <!--temporary break--><br style="clear:both"><!--/temporary break--> | |||
| ===Smeat=== | |||
| Several films have used 'Smeat' as a prop food, including ], ], ]'s ']' music video, ], and ]. A tin of 'Smeat' also features in the US drama series '']'', in the season 1 episode "]"<ref name="smeatnet">{{cite web | |||
| |title=Screen captures of Smeat in movies and video | |||
| |url=http://www.smeat.net/ | |||
| |accessdate=2007-05-27}}</ref>. | |||
| ==="Weird Al" Yankovic=== | |||
| The American parody singer ] often references SPAM in his songs, including a song entitled "]" (a parody of the ] song "]"), the lyrics of which explore the vocalist's obsession with the product. The song is included on the ] for Yankovic's film '']''.<ref></ref> | |||
| ===Other references=== | |||
| Since its introduction in 1937, SPAM has been the subject of intense advertising. Featured in the major publications of the day, SPAM's spokesmen included many contemporary film and radio stars, including ]. | |||
| The ] movie '']'' featured a character who was a chieftain islander pig named "Spa'am". Hormel Foods Corporation sued ] over the name in a court case that Hormel Foods eventually lost before the film was released.<ref></ref> On '']'', there was another pig character named "SPAMela Hamderson".<Ref></Ref> | |||
| The television series ] frequently made fun of the many uses of the product.<ref>], ] ]</ref><ref></ref> | |||
| In a suite of short songs on ] called "An Hour In The Shower" (the part called a ''Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast'') the singer (Terry Kath) mentions having breakfast "which consists of tasty SPAM."<ref>], ] ]</ref> | |||
| In the 2004 movie '']'', a SPAM delivery truck is shown, Nick and Sue at the diner offer Henry "SPAM and Eggs", and when Henry leaves he is given a box containing SPAM and ]s. | |||
| The TV series '']'' had an episode about a fictional food called CHAM, which was derived from chicken instead of pork. (SPAM was mentioned by name in the episode, when Grandpa explained the difference between the two). | |||
| Comedian ] has jokingly referred to SPAM as Stuff Posing As Meat. | |||
| In the early days of SPAM, there was a photograph of a handmade knife from Randall Made Knives featured on the can's label. Such items are now sort of a campy collector's item among knife enthusiasts. | |||
| The band ]' ] first album, '']'' have a song, simply called ''Spam'', wherein the product is referred to as "the government substitute for meat". | |||
| ==Trivia== | |||
| {{Trivia|date=June 2007}} | |||
| *A SPAMmobile travels around the US.<ref></ref> | |||
| *The perfect wine to drink with SPAM is supposedly a white ] | |||
| *Two ] drivers have driven cars with SPAM sponsorship: ], #9, in 1995-1996, and ], #91, for several races in 1997. <ref></ref> | |||
| *There is a SPAM restaurant in the Philippines called SPAM Jam, named after the annual festival that Hormel Foods holds in its corporate headquarters. This restaurant was approved and licensed by Hormel Foods. The only items not containing SPAM are the ] and the ], which use Hormel's "Wrangler" brand instead.<ref> </ref> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * | |||
| * According to ], ] is involved in a multi-million dollar trademark dispute with ''Spam Arrest'', a company which blocks obnoxious emails. | |||
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