<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spam (food)</span>

Spam (food)

<p><b>Spam</b> (stylized as <b>SPAM</b>) is a <a href="/en/Brand" title="Brand" class="wl">brand</a> of salty <a href="/en/Processed_meat" title="Processed meat" class="wl">processed</a> <a href="/en/Canning" title="Canning" class="wl">canned</a> <a href="/en/Pork" title="Pork" class="wl">pork</a> made by <a href="/en/Hormel_Foods_Corporation" title="Hormel Foods Corporation" class="mw-redirect wl">Hormel Foods Corporation</a>. It was introduced by Hormel in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during <a href="/en/World_War_II" title="World War II" class="wl">World War II</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-SeriousSpam_1-0"><a href="#cite_note-SeriousSpam-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> By 2003, Spam was sold in 41 countries (and trademarked in over 100) on six continents .<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-hormelgoddess_2-0"><a href="#cite_note-hormelgoddess-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span> In the U.S., <a href="/en/Hawaii" title="Hawaii" class="wl">Hawaii</a> is the state with the highest per capita consumption of Spam, which has become an ingredient in <a href="/en/Cuisine_of_Hawaii" title="Cuisine of Hawaii" class="wl">Hawaiian cuisine</a> (like <a href="/en/Sushi" title="Sushi" class="wl">sushi</a>). </p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Canned cooked pork meat product</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Course, Place of origin, Region or state, Cre...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox hrecipe adr mobile-collapse-element"><caption class="infobox-title fn"><span>Spam</span></caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:Logo_SPAM.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Logo_SPAM.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Logo_SPAM.svg/220px-Logo_SPAM.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="518" data-file-height="152" data-file-type="drawing" height="65" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Logo_SPAM.svg/330px-Logo_SPAM.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Logo_SPAM.svg/440px-Logo_SPAM.svg.png 2x" alt="Logo_SPAM.svg"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption" style="padding-bottom:0.25em;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;">Spam logo</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Course</th><td class="infobox-data">Main course or ingredient</td></tr><tr class="note"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Place of origin</th><td class="infobox-data country-name"><a href="/en/United_States" title="United States" class="wl">United States</a></td></tr><tr class="note"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Region or state</th><td class="infobox-data region"><a href="/en/Minnesota" title="Minnesota" class="wl">Minnesota</a></td></tr><tr class="note"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Created by</th><td class="infobox-data author"><a href="/en/Hormel_Foods_Corporation" title="Hormel Foods Corporation" class="mw-redirect wl">Hormel Foods Corporation</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Invented</th><td class="infobox-data">1937</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Serving temperature</th><td class="infobox-data">Hot or cold</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Main ingredients</th><td class="infobox-data ingredient"><a href="/en/Pork" title="Pork" class="wl">Pork</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.15em;
               padding-right:0.65em;">Other information</th><td class="infobox-data">A precooked <a href="/en/Canning" title="Canning" class="wl">canned</a> meat product</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-below" style="border-top:1px solid #aaa;padding-top:0.25em;"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span>&nbsp;</span><span class="noviewer"><a href="/en/File:Commons-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description image wl"><img loading="lazy" alt="Commons-logo.svg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" data-file-type="drawing" height="16" width="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/24px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x"></a></span> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Spam%20(food)" title="commons:Category:Spam (food)" class="extiw" target="_blank">Media<span>:</span> Spam</a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>

<p>The generic form of Spam may be sold in cans as "pork <a href="/en/Luncheon_meat" title="Luncheon meat" class="mw-redirect wl">luncheon meat</a>". Since its invention, it is now available in different flavours and using different meats. Like most hotdogs, Spam is precooked, making it safe and edible to eat straight from the can, but it is often cooked further to improve some characteristics of its palatability. </p>

<p>Spam's basic ingredients are primarily <a href="/en/Pork_shoulder" title="Pork shoulder" class="mw-redirect wl">pork shoulder</a> and <a href="/en/Ham" title="Ham" class="wl">ham</a>,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span> with salt, water, <a href="/en/Modified_potato_starch" title="Modified potato starch" class="mw-redirect wl">modified potato starch</a> (as a <a href="/en/Binder_(material)" title="Binder (material)" class="wl">binder</a>), sugar, and <a href="/en/Sodium_nitrite" title="Sodium nitrite" class="wl">sodium nitrite</a> (as a <a href="/en/Preservative" title="Preservative" class="wl">preservative</a>). Natural <a href="/en/Gelatin" title="Gelatin" class="wl">gelatin</a> is formed during cooking in its <a href="/en/Tin_can" title="Tin can" class="mw-redirect wl">tins</a> on the <a href="/en/Production_line" title="Production line" class="wl">production line</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span> Concerns about Spam's <a href="/en/Nutritional" title="Nutritional" class="mw-redirect wl">nutritional</a> attributes have been raised, in large part due to its high content of fat, <a href="/en/Health_effects_of_salt" title="Health effects of salt" class="wl">sodium</a>, and preservatives.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-5"><a href="#cite_note-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[5]</span></a></span></p>

<p>Spam has affected popular culture, including <a href="/en/Spam_(Monty_Python)" title="Spam (Monty Python)" class="mw-redirect wl">a Monty Python skit</a>, which repeated the name many times, leading to its name being borrowed to describe <a href="/en/Spamming" title="Spamming" class="wl">unsolicited electronic messages</a>, especially <a href="/en/Email_spam" title="Email spam" class="wl">email</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-tools.ietf.org_6-0"><a href="#cite_note-tools.ietf.org-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[6]</span></a></span>  It is occasionally celebrated in festivals such as <a href="/en/Austin,_Texas" title="Austin, Texas" class="wl">Austin</a>'s <a href="/en/Spamarama" title="Spamarama" class="wl">Spamarama</a>.</p>



Spam is a brand of salty processed canned pork made by Hormel Foods Corporation. It was introduced by Hormel in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. In the U.S., Hawaii is the state with the highest per capita consumption of Spam, which has become an ingredient in Hawaiian cuisine .  The generic form of Spam may be sold in cans as "pork luncheon meat". Since its invention, it is now available in different flavours and using different meats. Like most hotdogs, Spam is precooked, making it safe and edible to eat straight from the can, but it is often cooked further to improve some characteristics of its palatability.  Spam's basic ingredients are primarily pork shoulder and ham, 