Lunch meat, or Spam as it's famously known, has a rich and interesting history.
Origins
In 1936, the George A. Hormel & Company in Austin, Minnesota, was looking for a way to boost the sales of pork shoulder, which was considered an off - cut at that time. They came up with the idea of combining it with water, sugar, sodium nitrate (for color), and a significant amount of salt, creating 'Hormel Spiced Ham.
Name Change
A year later, in 1937, during a brainstorming meeting, the name was shortened to 'Spam'. The most commonly accepted explanation is that it's short for'spiced ham. However, there's also a theory that it might be related to the phrase'shoulder of Pork And haM. Initially, sales of Spam were slow. The product's original name, 'Hormel Spiced Ham', was not very appealing, and it didn't sell well in the market.
Popularity During War
The situation changed dramatically with the outbreak of World War II2. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States entered the war2. Feeding millions of troops became a huge logistical challenge, and fresh meat was difficult to transport and store. Canned meat like Spam, on the other hand, was easy to package, ship in large quantities, and had a long shelf life. It could be issued to troops in various environments, from the tropical jungles to the frozen foxholes in northern Europe. As a result, Spam became an important part of the military rations for American servicemen and was also shipped to allies such as Britain and the Soviet Union under the lend - lease agreement. In fact, Nikita Khrushchev once said, "Without spam, we wouldn't have been able to feed our army..
Post - War Spread
After the war, the popularity of Spam waned in the United States because many returning soldiers didn't want to eat it anymore after having it for four years during the war2. However, in Asia and the Pacific, it had a different fate. The United States occupied many islands and territories in the Pacific after the war, and Spam was used to feed the local population. It was incorporated into local cuisines, especially in Hawaii, where it became very popular and is now an important part of Hawaiian cuisine.
Every year on July 4th (Independence Day), people in Austin, Minnesota hold a grand celebration for Spam luncheon meat, and they also build a museum for their food and clothing parents. But people's resentment for the overwhelming Spam never dissipated into the 1990s. A new word "Spam" has popped up in Internet technology to refer to meaningless but widespread spam. Gu guesses that the person who first used the word to call spam, or his parents, probably got tired of eating this kind of "slaughter meat" in some corner of Europe or the Pacific.
Nitrite. It is often used as a colorant and preservative in processed cooked meats, especially canned meat products. Excessive intake of nitrite can lead to food poisoning, headache, dizziness, chest tightness, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Long-term consumption can even cause cancer.
In fact, in addition to the problem of nitrite, excessive salt and fat content, and loss of nutrients such as vitamin B1 are all disadvantages of cooked meat products. Therefore, it is recommended to try not to buy canned meat products, buy less cooked meat, and eat more fresh, home-cooked meat.
