SPAM: Mystery Meat or Simple Recipe?

SPAM has earned a reputation as “mystery meat,” but its recipe is surprisingly simple. Despite its association with unsolicited emails, SPAM is far from a complicated product.

What Is SPAM?

Introduced in 1937, SPAM is a canned lunch meat produced by Hormel Foods in Austin, Minnesota. During the Great Depression, SPAM filled a need for affordable meat. Its fame grew further during World War II due to its long shelf life and ease of transport. Today, SPAM is sold in 44 countries and comes in 15 varieties, including Teriyaki, Jalapeño, and Classic. With over eight billion units sold globally, it’s clear that SPAM has become a staple in many households. In fact, Austin, Minnesota, the birthplace of SPAM, opened a museum dedicated to the product in 2016.

What’s Inside SPAM?

SPAM isn’t the preservative-filled mystery meat you might think. In fact, it contains just six ingredients: water, salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, potato starch, and a mix of ham meat and pork. Most of these ingredients are simple and basic, with sodium nitrite included as a preservative to maintain freshness and quality.

How Is SPAM Made?

To make SPAM, ground pork and ham are combined with the other ingredients and left for 20 minutes to blend. The mixture is then vacuum-sealed into cans. After boiling and cooling for three hours, the cans are labeled and ready for sale. And that’s the whole process!