Spam

Happy Birthday, America! And Happy Birthday, Spam! For clarification purposes, the Spam I am referring to has nothing to do with the evil tidings often found sabotaging our inboxes. Rather, the little birthday boy is the iconic meat product called Spam. On July 5, Spam turned 80 years old and is still going strong.

Our little pink friend has certainly grown up over the years. What was once just one choice of meat product in all its gelatinous glory, has morphed into several varieties and packaging options. Available now are selections such as oven roasted turkey Spam, jalapeno Spam, Spam spread and Teriyaki Spam (receiving an 874 yum rating on the official Spam site).  Garnering the highest yum rating, however, is still the Classic Spam (3067 yums, in case you are wondering).

Spam usually elicits one of two responses, love or repulsion. It is often derided as a scourge upon the culinary world. And, yet, billions of cans are sold in 44 countries around the world. So there is still a lot of love going on for our porky friend. History buffs are quick to remind us that some of the infatuation is a result of World War II. Spam was the perfect food product for our troops abroad. It was portable, sturdy and best of all, shelf stable. Pacific island residents tend to be high volume customers of Spam due to their historical involvement in the war.  

I don't remember a lot of Spam meals growing up. We were on a farm with chickens, pigs and cows so our meat requirements were primarily being met without the blue can. Occasionally, however, my mother would fry up slices of Spam for a meal and we all felt like we just had a special treat. The key on the can was also a fascination for us. No can opener needed, if all went well with the key. The schlurp of the brick of meat plopping out of the can was an interesting process. Our homegrown meat was usually wrapped in white freezer paper and needed to stay chilled until time for cooking. Spam could sit on our pantry shelf for long periods of time just waiting to be called into action for a quick meal.

Spam had an aggressive marketing department. They created snappy ads in the 50's and 60's extolling their product's benefits. Their slogan was, "Cold or hot, Spam hits the spot." They released a recipe book and also included serving ideas in their magazine ads. My favorite was a well dressed gentleman suggesting Spam with salads. Chef's salad, perhaps? Not quite. The photo is a plate of sliced cold Spam nestled next to a lime green jello mold and a couple sprigs of parsley and a few radish slices. Gotta love the days of my youth. Salad usually meant something with jello or pudding and fruit cocktail.

Spam does not hold a spot on my pantry shelf but I still admire its tenacity and the lessons we can learn from a pork product in a can.

1) Be useful to others.
2) Support your troops.
3) Don't worry about the naysayers.
4) And above all, don't take yourself too seriously and maybe others will like you for 80 years and beyond.