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Tuesday 20 March 2018

Spam (food)

George A Hormel first set up a butcher’s shop in Austin, Minnesota on May 16, 1891. His business developed into the Hormel Foods Corporation.

The American Hormel Foods Corporation started marketing their most famous product Hormel Spiced Ham, made from pork shoulder meat and ham, on July 5, 1937. At first it didn't stand out from other brands, so Jay C Hormel asked his New Year's Eve party guests to help and a Kenneth Daigneau came up with the succinct "spam."

The Hormel Foods Corporation once said that it means "Shoulder of Pork and Ham", but in some dictionaries "Spam" stands for "SPiced hAM".
By Qwertyxp2000 - Own work

Spam was used a lot in World War II, as meat was scare and it became a ubiquitous part of the U.S. soldier's diet. Over 150 million pounds of Spam were purchased by the military before the war's end.

In World War II, some soldiers used Spam to lubricate their guns or waterproof their boots.

The last U.S. Marine killed during World War II was a prisoner of war in Japan. He died when rescue flights dropped food and supplies, and a package came open during descent, its contents fell out, and he was killed by a can of Spam that hit him in the head.

Shortly after the Korean War, there were few refrigerators or protein-dense foods in South Korea. Koreans would barter with American troops for Spam. As South Korea continued to develop, Spam turned into a staple food and it is often a common gift given during Korean Thanksgiving.

The American Hormel Foods Corporation sued Jim Henson Productions for using the name "Spa'am" for one of Miss Piggy's tribal guards in the Muppet Treasure Island movie. A judge dismissed the trademark infringement suit, and noted that "one might think Hormel would welcome the association with a genuine source of pork."

The billionth can of Spam was sold in 1959, the seven billionth can in 2007 and the eight billionth can five years later.

There are only seven ingredients in the classic Spam: pork, ham, salt, water, sugar, sodium nitrite and potato starch. There are numerous other Spam products bfeaturing different flavors and ingredients.

A popular native sushi dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, where cooked Spam is placed atop rice and wrapped in a band of nori, It is eaten there both as a snack and a lunch dish.

Spam musubi by Janine from Mililani, Hawaii, United States 

The people of Hawaii consume more Spam per capita than any other US state. Residents eat on average five cans per person per year—about 7 million cans in total.

More Spam is eaten on the island of Guam than anywhere else. The average per capita consumption there is 16 tins per year.

Competitive eater Richard LeFevre holds the world record for eating six pounds of Spam direct from the can downing it in 12 minutes.

The Spam Museum at Austin, Minnesota first opened in September 2001. The museum tells the history of the Hormel company, the origin of Spam, and its place in world culture. Volunteer guides - known as Spambassadors - offer visitors small bits of Spam on a toothpick or pretzel stick, commonly known as Spamples.

Can Central Exhibit at the Spam Museum. By Darb02.

The term spam for unsolicited emails comes from the 1970 Monty Python sketch set in a cafe (see below) where nearly every item on the menu includes the canned pre-cooked meat.

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