History of Sorts

On this day, July 5, 1937, Hormel Foods Corporation, headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, USA, first introduced the product SPAM, a square can of pork, salt, water, sugar, potato starch, and sodium nitrite that rolled off the assembly lines 82 years ago during the late Depression era. Hormel created SPAM to capitalize on the previously unprofitable pork shoulder.

According to Hormel, SPAM stands for ‘spiced ham’ and not “something posing as meat.”

The product gained significant popularity during World War II.

IThe Allies often credited SPAM with helping to win the war. It gained widespread popularity during World War II when the United States shipped over 100 million cans to the Pacific. SPAM provided an inexpensive yet filling meal for the US troops. Additionally, the US shipped millions of cans to the Soviets, who also enjoyed them.

Khrushchev once said, “SPAM was a godsend for another hungry group—Russian soldiers in World War II.”

How did SPAM get such a bad name when it comes to SPAM?

We have Monty Python to thank for that. In the 1970s, Monty Python’s Flying Circus featured a sketch that is the pop culture reference to SPAM most people will remember.

The sketch is about a customer in a restaurant who desperately tries to order something that doesn’t contain SPAM, only to find that everything on the menu features it. In the course of his disastrous dinner, a nearby party of Vikings( It is Monty Python) breaks into song: “SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, lovely SPAM! Wonderful SPAM!”

 

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food)

https://web.archive.org/web/20071215030819/http://www.hormelfoods.com/brands/spam/

https://www.livescience.com/32813-hormel-spam-no-mystery-meat.html