We’ve been having a heated discussion in the office, and we need to know how Spam luncheon meat is really made. Also, how come they never released a chicken or turkey version (i.e., Spurkey or Spicken)? Finally, what is Monty Python’s true relationship with Spam? –Steve Tolin, Sudbury, Ontario
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I bought a tin and popped it open, fully expecting to be bowled over by who knows what awful aroma. Didn’t happen. The smell was…surprisingly mild. Moreover, the stuff was edible, if salty. Granted, I ate Circus Peanuts without ill effects, and I’ve had a couple of airline meals that I considered tasty, so maybe I just have a high threshold of disgust. Still, if I were in a foxhole fighting for my country, and it was either Spam or starvation, I would take Spam every time.
On to your questions. The common assumption is that Spam is made of stuff even pigs would be ashamed to admit they’ve got. Not so, says the nice lady at Hormel Foods, which manufactures Spam. It contains a mixture of ham and chopped pork shoulder. (Ham is the pig’s thigh; pork is everything else.) Ham is Hormel’s top-of-the-line product, and Spam was created in 1937 partly to use up what was left of the pig after the ham had been removed. But only the wholesome leftovers. The name Spam, dreamed up by the actor brother of a Hormel vice president, is short for “spiced ham.” It should be recognized that Hormel is in Austin, Minnesota, so these are Minnesota spices: sugar and salt. If you want to go crazy and use pepper, well, as far as Hormel is concerned, it’ll be on your head.
Pink tender morsel
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