03-14-2013, 02:26 PM
#3728
SPAM
Spam (shortened from spiced ham) is a canned precooked meat product made by the Hormel Foods Corporation, first introduced in 1937. The labeled ingredients in the classic variety of Spam are chopped pork shoulder meat, with ham meat added, salt, water, modified potato starch as a binder, and sodium nitrite as a preservative. Spam's gelatinous glaze, or aspic, forms from the cooling of meat stock.
The product has become part of many jokes and urban legends about mystery meat, which has made it part of pop culture and folklore. Through a Monty Python sketch, in which Spam is portrayed as ubiquitous and inescapable, its name has come to be given to electronic spam, especially spam email.
In 2007, the seven billionth can of Spam was sold.
Spam is typically sold in cans with a net weight of 340 grams (12 ounces). A 100-gram (3.5-ounce) serving of original Spam provides 1,300kJ (310 Calories or kilocalories), 13 grams of protein (26% DV), 3 grams of carbohydrates (1% DV), 27 grams of total fat (41% DV), including 10 grams of saturated fat (49% DV). The cholesterol content of Spam is 70 milligrams (23% DV). A serving also contains 57% of the recommended daily intake of sodium (1369 milligrams). Spam provides the following vitamins and minerals: 0% vitamin A, 1% vitamin C, 1% calcium, 5% iron, 3% magnesium, 9% potassium, 12% zinc, and 5% copper.
There are several different flavors of Spam products, including:
Spam Classic – original flavor
Spam Hot & Spicy – with Tabasco flavor
Spam Jalapeño
Spam Less Sodium – "25% less sodium"
Spam Lite – "33% less calories, 25% less sodium, and 50% less fat" – made from pork shoulder meat, ham, and mechanically separated chicken
Spam Oven Roasted Turkey
Spam Hickory Smoke flavor
Spam Spread – "if you're a spreader, not a slicer ... just like Spam Classic, but in a spreadable form"
Spam with Bacon
Spam with Cheese
Spam Garlic
In addition to the variety of flavors, Spam is sold in tins smaller than the twelve-ounce standard size. Spam Singles are also available, which are single sandwich-sized slices of Spam Classic or Lite, sealed in retort pouches.