What's in it?

I don't think I had ever eaten SPAM in my life - until our trip out west. Think about it - meat preserved in a can doesn't exactly sound appetizing. And Spam is one of those foods with a bit of a social stigma here in the US. When my mom was growing up, my grandfather warned my grandmother to never buy Spam. He felt that by buying Spam, other people would get the impression that the family did not have enough money to buy decent food. Pretty harsh!

But as we drove through rural Minnesota on our recent trip to Yellowstone, billboards advertising the Spam Museum attracted our attention - and one main question reeled us in: What exactly is in Spam?

Believe it or not, the Spam Museum was actually quite fascinating. Opened just a few years ago by Hormel, the museum features interactive, multi-media exhibits describing the history of the world's most famous meat in a can. My favorite section was the video wall showing clips on how to make a variety of (delicious?) recipes using Spam, including the Okinawa specialty Spam musubi as demonstrated by an iron chef.

And across the street from the museum is a classic American diner, featuring Johnny's SPAMarama menu which includes Spam in all forms imaginable. And I tried Spam for the first time, in an Spam and cheese omlette. It wasn't half bad!

But my question was never answered. Maybe I'll never really know what exactly is in Spam.

Spam Museum
1937 SPAM Boulevard
Austin, Minnesota 55912



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