What is SPAM And What Is It Made of, Anyway?

SPAM has been sitting on pantry shelves for nearly a century, wrapped in that unmistakable blue-and-yellow label, daring people to either love it, mock it, or try it “just once.” It’s one of those foods everyone recognizes instantly, yet most people can’t fully explain. What is it, really? What’s in it? Why did it become such a phenomenon? And why does a simple little can inspire so much curiosity?

To understand SPAM, you have to go back to the late 1930s, a time when convenience foods were still in their infancy. Hormel Foods, based in Austin, Minnesota, was looking for a way to create a shelf-stable, affordable meat product that could survive long storage, long transport, and long winters. They wanted something that opened easily, cooked quickly, and didn’t require refrigeration — a big deal at the time.

In 1937, they introduced a small rectangular can that would end up shaping food culture for generations. Inside it was a pink, salty, oddly addictive mixture of pork shoulder and ham. It was cheap. It was filling. It lasted practically forever. And it came with a name that — to this day — remains a mystery.

People have been arguing for decades about what “SPAM” actually stands for. Some swear it means “Shoulder of Pork and Ham.” Others claim it’s “Specially Processed American Meat,” or even “Spiced Ham.” Hormel has never confirmed any of it. In fact, the company seems to enjoy keeping the guessing game alive. What we do know is this: the name came from a contest. Hormel offered a $100 prize — a serious chunk of money in the 1930s — to whoever could come up with the perfect brand name. An actor named Ken Daigneau submitted “SPAM,” won the prize, and unknowingly created one of the most recognizable food names in the world. Nobody remembers his acting career, but his four-letter idea never faded.