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Join Date: May 2002
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08-17-2002, 02:02 PM
SPAM, possibly a contraction of "spiced ham", was named by actor KennethDaigneau, the brother of R. H. Daigneau, a former Hormel Foods vicepresident. When other meatpackers started introducing similar products,Jay C. Hormel decided to create a catchy brand name to give his spicedham an unforgettable identity, offering a $100 prize to the person whocame up with a new name. At a New Year's Eve Party in 1936, Daigneau,suggested the name SPAM.
Jay C. Hormel, son of the company's founder, was determined to find ause for several thousand pounds of surplus pork shoulder. He developeda distinctive canned blend of chopped pork and ham known as Hormelspiced ham that didn't require refrigeration.
SPAM luncheon meat was hailed as the "miracle meat," and itsshelf-stable attributes attracted the attention of the United Statesmilitary during World War II. By 1940, 70 percent of Americans hadtried it, and Hormel hired George Burns and Gracie Allen to advertiseSPAM on their radio show.
On March 22, 1994, Hormel Foods Corporation celebrated the productionof its five billionth can of SPAM.
If laid end to end, five billion cans of SPAM would circle the earth12.5 times.
Five billion cans of SPAM would feed a family of four, three meals aday for 4,566,210 years.
100 million pounds of SPAM were issued as a Lend-Lease staple in therations to American, Russian, and European troops during World War II,fueling the Normandy Invasion. GIs called SPAM "ham that failed thephysical." General Dwight D. Eisenhower confessed to "a few unkindwords about it - uttered during the strain of battle."
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as a young woman of18 working in her family's grocery store, remembers SPAM as a "wartimedelicacy."
In Khrushchev Remembers, Nikita Khrushchev credited SPAM for keepingthe Soviet Army alive during World War II. "We had lost our mostfertile, food-bearing lands, the Ukraine and the Northern Caucasians. Without SPAM, we wouldn't have been able to feed our army."
In the 1980s, David Letterman suggested SPAM-On-A-Rope for his LateNight audience "in case you get hungry in the shower."
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When Vernon Tejas made his solo winter ascent of Mount McKinley in1988, he took a picture of himself with a can of SPAM at the summit.
Hormel Foods Board Chairman R. L. Knowlton presented with a can ofSPAM to Mikhail Gorbachev in June 1990 and another can of SPAM to BorisYeltsin in June 1992.
The Pentagon sent approximately $2 million worth of SPAM to UnitedStates troops during the Gulf War.
South Koreans consider SPAM an upscale food. The Wall Street Journalreported that a Seoul executive in search of the perfect present boughtSPAM, explaining, "It is an impressive gift."
Anthropologist Jane Goodall and her mother once made 2,000 SPAMsandwiches for Belgian troops fleeing from their African colony.
SPAM can be grilled, pan-fried, broiled, sauteed, and baked, or addedto ethnic dishes, sandwiches, pasta salads, pizzas, casseroles, stir-frydishes, appetizers, and soups.
The Ala Moana Poi Bow in Honolulu serves SPAM musubi and SPAM, eggs,and rice.
The Green Midget Cafe, created by Monty Python's Flying Circus, serves"egg and SPAM; egg, bacon and SPAM; egg, bacon, sausage and SPAM; SPAM,bacon, sausage and SPAM; SPAM, egg, SPAM, SPAM, bacon and SPAM; SPAM,SPAM, SPAM, egg and SPAM; SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, bakedbeans, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, and SPAM; or lobster thermidor aux crevetteswith a mornay sauce garnished with truffle paté, brandy and a fried eggon top and SPAM."
Mr. Whitekeys' Fly By Night Club in Spenard, Alaska, offers Cajun SPAM,SPAM nachos, and pasta with SPAM and sun-dried tomatoes in cream sauce.
The winning recipes from the 1992 State Fair Best of SPAM RecipeCompetition included SPAM Mousse, SPAM Golden Harvest Clam Chowder, andSPAM Cheesecake.
A SPAMBURGER, "the only hamburger actually made with ham," can be madeby grilling, pan frying, or broiling a slice of SPAM, and then layeringthe slice with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and cheese on a hamburgerbun.
Hormel Foods' cookbook, "The Great Taste of SPAM," includes recipesfor SPAM Stew with Buttermilk Topping, SPAM Fajitas, and SPAM Strudelswith Mustard Sauce.
68 state and regional fairs hold Hormel Foods-sanctioned SPAM recipecontests each year.
In Hawaii, Maui Mall hosts an annual SPAM cookoff.
Austin, Texas, has been home to the Spamorama barbecue and cookingcontest since 1974.
Seattle, Washington, hosts a yearly SPAM luncheon meat celebration.
The SPAM Jamboree, held every Fourth of July weekend in Austin,Minnesota, is the only SPAM event Hormel officially sponsors.
At the 1983 Spamposium, 33 self-proclaimed Spamophiles gathered fromacross the nation to deliver scholarly papers and demonstrations,including making explosives from SPAM.
Americans consume 113 million cans of SPAM a year.
The average Hawaiian eats twelve cans of SPAM a year, followed by theaverage Alaskan with six cans, and Texans, Alabamians, and Arkansanswith three cans a piece.
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"SPAM" and "SPAMBURGER" are registered trademarks of Hormel FoodsCorporation.
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