What do spam and ham have in common? Where did this term come from?

The word SPAM can long ago be called the word of the year and even the decade. But where did it come from?

The story is interesting. In 1937, the American company Hormel Foods began producing special canned food. The base was spicy minced pork. The canned food was called Spiced ham, abbreviated as SPAM.

These canned foods gained enormous popularity during World War II. The US began supplying them to its allies in large quantities. Very quickly, American canned meats became truly iconic. It was one of the best meat products supplied to the soldiers.

They usually ate this canned food with buckwheat and other cereals. And the opening technology with a key attached to the can was convenient. Many soldiers later even kept these jars as souvenirs. Including the poet Joseph Brodsky, he recalled that when he was in elementary school, he had two cans of spam at home. He considered it "children's wealth."

During the war, the United States sent billions of cans to the allies as part of Lend-Lease!

Hawaiian chef Bruce Ronaldson writes in his column: “This is actually an excellent product, based on the Italian Mortadella (a cross between ham and boiled sausage). Contrary to urban myths, Mortadella and SPAM are made only from pork feet and shoulders, not fat. These are no worse than classic Italian cuts.”

After the war, the United States was left with gigantic reserves of canned food. They were prepared for the years ahead. The shelf life was coming to an end. And the company staged a massive advertising campaign around the world to sell out the remaining stock.

SPAM advertisements were visible on every corner. Shop signs, poles, shop windows and vehicles were all covered in SPAM advertising. There was a commercial about these canned goods on the radio every 30 minutes.

British comedians from the Monty Python group made fun of SPAM in their sketch. And since then the word has become ubiquitous. This is what they call any intrusive advertising.

During and after the Korean War, SPAM stew was supplied in huge quantities to South Korea, and gained such popularity there that the word SPAM became a slang expression in the Korean language. Today, any packaged ham is called SPAM in South Korea.

By the way, SPAM is still being produced. Moreover, from 1945 to 2020, the company sold the same number of cans as during the Second World War. There has never been another such rise in sales in their history.