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SPAM®, wonderful SPAM® . . .
Food of the gods? Or scourge of the earth? It was dinner for me tonight, served with macaroni and cheese it is considered a ‘comfort food’ in my household. The ingredients are pretty simple, as listed on the official website, without a lot of chemical additives:
“Pork with Ham, Salt, Water, Modified Potato Starch, Sugar, and Sodium Nitrate.”
Yes, SPAM® even has its own website! The site features information on all 17 varieties of the popular meat product and recipes to die for. There is a complete history of the product, done slideshow style, with little-known facts about the meat. I was surprised that SPAM is a gluten-free product, as I thought it must surely be laced with tons of fillers. Unless you’re on a salt-restricted diet, it is actually pretty nutritional as pre-packaged food goes.
The early years . . .
SPAM® was developed in 1937 by Hormel foods. Ken Daigneau won a contest to name the brand, netting a whopping contest prize of $100. Daigneau was the brother of then Hormel Foods vice president. The luncheon meat quickly became a staple for the US military with World War II raging and more than 100 million pounds was shipped overseas between 1941-1945.
In 1947, with demand from the military ebbing a bit, Hormel sought ways to promote the luncheon meat here at home. Enter “The Hormel Girls,” a group of 60 women that traveled the country promoting SPAM® and other Hormel products. In 12 short years, Hormel had produced one billion cans of SPAM®. In 1962, Hormel produced the mini can, a 7 ounce size for small families or singles.
They passed the two billion mark in 1970, 33 years after introducing SPAM to the world. That year also marked the first appearance of SPAM in a skit on Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The skit is linked below just in case you haven’t seen it for awhile. It still makes me laugh 34 years later. I like the Vikings . . .
SPAM passed the three billion mark in 1980, following the introduction of Hickory Smoke Flavored SPAM and SPAM with Cheese Chunks (1971). In 1986, Hormel introduced the first low-sodium SPAM product – boasting 25% less sodium. In 1991 the first recipe contest was held at a State Fair and the first SPAM merchandise catalog made its debut. In 1992, Hormel cut the fat by 25% and introduced SPAM Lite® and the SPAMBURGER®.
In 1995, they passed the 5 billion mark, sponsored the No. 9 SPAM race car on NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series, and introduced SPAM Lite with 50% less fat. In 1998, SPAM packaging was placed in the Smithsonian and Hormel launched the official SPAM website and “The Official SPAM Fan Club.” In 2001, Hormel opened the SPAM® Museum, but don’t make your trip reservations just yet — it is currently closed and being remodeled for an early spring 2016 opening.
SPAM marches onward . . .
Hormel continues to expand their SPAM® brand, adding new products regularly, including SPAM with bacon and SPAM singles in 2004. The company passed the seven billion mark in 2007 and celebrated its 70 year anniversary in 2012 with the introduction of the first ever SPAM Spokes-character, Sir Can-A-Lot.
For those of you that read this article expecting more, I apologize. I made a bet with my daughter that I could write a 500 word article about anything and make it an interesting read. Please leave your comments on the Liberal America Facebook page. Oh – and watch the Monty Python skit below so you can at least get a laugh out of this. (word count 587 – yay me!)
