In the United States, Spam is quite popular, but is sometimes associated with economic hardship, due to its relatively low cost.[11]
The residents of the state of Hawaii and the territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) consume the most Spam per capita in the United States. On average, each person on Guam consumes 16 tins of Spam each year and the numbers at least equal this in the CNMI. Guam, Hawaii, and Saipan, the CNMI's principal island, have the only McDonald's restaurants that feature Spam on the menu. Burger King, in Hawaii, began serving Spam in 2007 on its menu to compete with the local McDonald's chains.[12][13]
In Hawaii, Spam is so popular it is sometimes dubbed "The Hawaiian Steak".[14] It is traditionally reheated (cooked), resulting in a different taste from Spam eaten by many Americans on the mainland, who may eat Spam cold.[15] One popular Spam dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, in which cooked Spam is combined with rice and nori seaweed and classified as onigiri.[16]
Spam was introduced into the aforementioned areas, in addition to other islands in the Pacific such as Okinawa and the Philippine Islands, during the U.S. military occupation in World War II. Since fresh meat was difficult to get to the soldiers on the front, World War II saw the largest use of Spam. GIs started eating Spam for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Some soldiers referred to Spam as "ham that didn't pass its physical" and "meatloaf without basic training".)[17] Surpluses of Spam from the soldiers' supplies made their way into native diets. Consequently, Spam is a unique part of the history and effects of U.S. influence in the Pacific.[18]
The perception of Spam in Hawaii is very different from that on the mainland. Despite the large number of mainlanders who eat Spam, and the various recipes that have been made from it, Spam, along with most canned food, is often stigmatized on the mainland as "poor people food". In Hawaii, similar canned meat products such as Treet are referred to as "poor people Spam".
Four different types of Spam. Clockwise from top left: Garlic, Oven Roasted Turkey, Hot and Spicy, and the Japanese released version(Spam Less Sodium) of Spam.
In these locales, varieties of Spam unavailable in other markets are sold. These include Honey Spam, Spam with Bacon, and Hot and Spicy Spam.[18]
In the CNMI, lawyers from Hormel have threatened legal action against the local press for running articles decrying the ill-effects of high Spam consumption on the health of the local population.[19][20]
Austin, Minnesota has a restaurant with a menu devoted exclusively to Spam, called "Johnny's SPAMarama Menu".[21]
[edit] Europe
In the United Kingdom Spam was a popular addition to the menu of fish and chip shops[citation needed], where slices are battered and deep-fried and are known as 'spam fritters', However this tradition has faded out in recent decades. It gained popularity in the 1940s during World War II, as a consequence of the Lend-Lease Act.
After World War II, Newforge Foods, part of the Fitch Lovell group, were awarded the license to produce the product in the UK (doing so at its Gateacre factory, Liverpool),[22] where it stayed until production switched to the Danish Crown Group (owners of the Tulip Food Company[23]) in 1998, forcing the closure of the Liverpool factory and the loss of 140 jobs.[24] By the early 1970s the name Spam was often misused to describe any tinned meat product containing pork, such as pork luncheon meat.
The image of Spam as a low cost meat product gave rise to the British colloquial term "Spam valley" to describe certain affluent housing areas where residents appear to be wealthy but in reality may be living at poverty levels.
Asia
In Okinawa, Japan, Spam has become very popular. The product is an ingredient in the traditional Okinawan dish chanpurū, and a Spam burger is sold by local fast food chain Jef.
In China, Spam is a popular food item and often used in sandwiches.
In Hong Kong, Spam is commonly served with instant noodles and fried eggs, and is a popular item in cha chaan teng.
In the Philippines, Spam is a popular meal, especially when eaten with eggs and fried rice. It is often eaten for breakfast.
In South Korea, Spam (Hangul: 스팸; RR: seupaem) is popular in households as an accompaniment to rice. A local television advertisement claims that it is the most tasty when consumed with white rice and gim (laver seaweed used for some types of handrolls). Spam is also an original ingredient in budae jjigae ("army base stew"), a spicy stew with different types of preserved meat.
Spam and similar meat preserves can be bought in gift sets that may contain nothing but the meat preserve[25] or include other products such as food oil or tuna. When invited to another person's home, guests may present their hosts with such a set, or with other food gifts such as fresh fruit, beverages or tteok.
The surfeit of Spam in both North and South Korea during the Korean War led to the establishment of the Spam kimbap (sushi roll). With no more fish or other traditional kimbap products,[clarification needed] Spam was added to a rice roll together with pickle and cucumber and wrapped in seaweed. In Australia, Korean shops sell these as "sushi rolls", as an alternative to the traditional style of Japanese sushi rolls.
In Israel, especially in the Israel Defense Forces, Luf (Hebrew: לוף) is a corned beef product made and packaged similarly to spam, although it is not made of pork.
became popular to Asians especially Koreans
