Spam Spam Spam Spam

• The epicenter of the Spam universe is Austin, Minnesota, home of a spam factory and a remarkable museum dedicated to the town’s most famous product. Spam has such a worldwide following that Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia—to whom Rastafarians would dedicate many a song—once toured the plant.

• Hormel invented Spam in 1937 and still makes it today. At first, the product had a less-than-charismatic name: “Hormel Spiced Ham.”

• If you think there’s just one flavor of Spam, you’re missing out on a world of flavor. There is also hickory-smoked Spam, hot and spicy Spam, garlic Spam, and—for the dieting Spam-lovers among us —“light” Spam. There’s even a collector’s edition Spam Golden Honey Grail.

• Hormel sponsors an annual recipe contest called the “Great American Spam Championship,” with cooks developing new recipes for this product. Some of the 2006 winners state by state: philly cheesesteak spamwich with garlic mayo (California), a-spam-agus risotto (Alabama), and a “romantic country salad for two” with pecan-crusted spam and sweet-and-sour dressing (Tennessee). Extra points, it seems, are given for creative puns.

• Speaking of puns, author Tamar Myers has developed a series of punny murder-mysteries that feature recipes (The Crepes of Wrath, Between a Wok and a Hard Place, The Hand that Rocks the Ladle). The 2005 installment in her series: Play It Again, Spam.

• In South Korea, Spam is considered an appropriate gift for a guest to give a host or vice versa—which beats the hell out of trying to choose a bottle of wine, doesn’t it? In fact, Costco carries a Spam gift pack that will make a perfect holiday gift.

• Hawaii consumes about 7 million cans of Spam per year, which comes out to 5 or 6 cans for every man, woman and child. That’s a lot of sodium and gelatinous fat, which in turn is thought to contribute to Hawaii’s obesity problem. One very popular snack item is the Spam musubi, as shown on the front of this collector’s Spam can…

• It’s a traditional Japanese rice ball with a slice of Spam on top, wrapped in a belt of seaweed to keep that sodium-laden delicacy safely attached – a SEAtbelt, if you will.

• Since 1997, Hormel has sponsored the Waikiki Spam Jam, where it crowns a Mr. or Miss Spam! The 2006 Mr. Spam, a Mr. Wade Balidoy, won a PlayStation and a year’s supply of a certain canned meat product.

• Spam is so popular in some communities that it’s infiltrated big chain restaurants. The McDonald’s breakfast platter in Hawaii includes Spam. In San Francisco’s Japan Town, Denny’s serves a breakfast combo with Spam, two eggs, steamed rice, and kimchee. You can also substitute Vienna sausages for the Spam – or probably negotiate with the waitress to have both.