The History of SPAM: What’s in It and Where It Comes From

The annual SPAM Jam Festival in Waikiki, Hawaii, draws thousands of visitors each year, showcasing creative SPAM dishes ranging from burgers to sushi rolls.

Specialty cookbooks offer recipes for SPAM fried rice, SPAM sliders, SPAM tacos, and more, reflecting the product’s versatility and the creativity it inspires among home cooks and professional chefs alike.

The name “SPAM” has also entered the broader lexicon in unexpected ways. In computing, “spam” has come to refer to unsolicited electronic messages, a term inspired by a comedic Monty Python sketch in which SPAM was repeated ad nauseam.

This linguistic crossover highlights the product’s permeation into cultural consciousness, making it recognizable even to those who have never tasted it.