Love it or hate it, Spam is everywhere—but what is Spam, exactly? We have the answers.
What Is Spam Made of, Anyway?
Updated on Feb. 18, 2025
It shares its name with those annoying emails nobody wants. It comes in a can and is made of … some sort of spongy meat? Whether you grew up eating it and still love it or you’ve merely eyed it suspiciously in a supermarket aisle, at some point you’ve probably wondered, What is Spam made of?
Now that Spam is popular again—it’s popping up on everything from TikTok cooking demos to five-star tasting menus—it seems like it’s high time to answer that question. It’s one of those food facts that you might think you know the answer to but probably don’t. Well, Reader’s Digest spoke with three culinary experts, including a food scientist, to find out what this mystery meat really is and why it fits our modern taste buds.
Read on to learn everything you ever wondered about Spam—and more.
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What is Spam?
Spam is a canned lunch meat from Hormel Foods that first hit shelves in 1937. So where did Spam originate, and why did it become so popular? Created in Austin, Minnesota, toward the end of the Great Depression, Spam helped fill a huge need for inexpensive and shelf-stable meat products. “The key technological innovation was pressure canning, which enabled consistent, safe preservation while maintaining what food scientists call protein bioavailability,” says Donovan Conley, PhD, the co-editor of Cookery: Food Rhetorics & Social Production and an expert in how cultural influences shape food habits.
For that reason, the lunch meat’s popularity skyrocketed during World War II. “Millions of cans of Spam were sent to soldiers every week,” says Seattle-based food scientist Bryan Quoc Le, PhD, author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered.
And here’s a fun fact: Dwight Eisenhower, who would later become president, was one of the many American soldiers who dined on Spam. In a letter to Hormel’s president, Ike later quipped: “During World War II, of course, I ate my share of SPAM, along with millions of other soldiers. I’ll even confess to a few unkind remarks about it—uttered under the strain of battle, you understand.”
With all that history behind Spam, there’s naturally a museum in its honor. It opened in 2016 in—where else?—Austin, Minnesota.
What is Spam made of?
It may come as a happy surprise to learn that Spam is not packed with a long list of preservatives and gross mystery meats. In fact, Classic Spam contains only six simple ingredients: pork with ham meat added (that counts as one), salt, water, potato starch (a binder that keeps the liquid in the meat, so you get less gelatinous goo on top), sugar and sodium nitrite (a preservative).
So now that you know what’s in Spam, you’re probably wondering how it all comes together into that lovable loaf. Here’s the deal: Pork shoulder is chopped, ground and mixed with ham. (About 90% is pork shoulder, and 10% is ham meat.) They are then mixed with salt, sodium nitrate and flavorings. “The mixture is placed into tin containers, vacuum-sealed and cooked,” Quoc Le says. After cooling for three hours, they’re ready for their labels.
As crucial as what Hormel puts into Spam is what the brand (wisely) leaves out—namely, pig tail! “While competitors used other parts of the pig, such as snout and tail, Hormel refused to include these,” says Quoc Le. In fact, the original Spam contained only pork shoulder; the ham came later.
What does the name Spam mean?
While Spam’s ingredients are pretty straightforward, its name is more of a mystery. In 1937, Hormel held a competition, with a $100 cash prize, to name the company’s prized pork creation. The winning choice, Spam, came from Ken Daigneau, whose brother was a vice president at Hormel, so it seems like this naming competition may have been something of an inside job.
As for what the name Spam means, it is anyone’s guess. In fact, “What does the Spam brand name mean?” is one of the frequently asked questions on the brand’s website, but the answer is vague, at best. “The significance of the Spam brand name has long been a subject of speculation,” the page says. “The real answer is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives.” So basically, they’re not spilling the (pork and) beans.
While Hormel has never divulged what those four letters mean, leading theories include “spiced ham” (a portmanteau) or “shoulders of pork and ham” (an acronym), according to Conley. “The name itself reflects early 20th-century marketing innovation,” he adds. “The naming represents early efforts at brand simplification, taking a complex industrial food process and making it accessible through an almost meme-like brand name.”
But hey, if there’s going to be a mystery surrounding what Spam is, we’d rather it be about the meaning of its name than its ingredients.
Is Spam good for you?
It may be highly processed, but Spam is actually nutritious. This porkapalooza packs 16 grams of complete protein, making it a solid protein source. “The processing technology actually maintains protein bioavailability better than some might expect,” Conley says. It also delivers essential nutrients, like iron, zinc and B vitamins, plus a minimal amount of carbohydrates in the potato starch. Alas, Spam is high in sodium and saturated fat (as are most processed meats).
But make no mistake: This brick o’ pork is filling—in a good way. “Spam’s nutritional density made it valuable during wartime and continues to make it useful in food-insecure contexts, providing concentrated protein and calories in a shelf-stable form,” Conley notes.
Why is Spam so popular in the Pacific?
During World War II, Spam caught on in the overseas spots where soldiers were stationed, including the Philippines and Guam, as well as in Hawaii, Quoc Le says.
And the shelf-stable meat is still big abroad: You can snap up Spam in 50 countries, including the United Kingdom, China and Japan. More than 8 billion tins of Spam have been sold worldwide since it was created. Given its history, it’s truly fitting that there are now global flavors in Spam’s line: The 15 varieties range from classic to jalapeño to teriyaki to gochujang, a brand-new Korean-inspired flavor that launched in 2024.
Meanwhile, these cultures made the American-made meat their own. In Hong Kong and Macau, Spam is used in ramen, sandwiches and macaroni-soup breakfasts, while Japanese cuisine incorporates it into onigiri, pasta dishes and Spam tempura, Conley notes.
Why Is Spam big right now?
It isn’t your imagination: Spam is trending and has been for the past five years. “Spam has undergone a reputation makeover,” says Ji-Song (Robert) Ku, PhD, an associate professor of Asian and Asian American studies at Binghamton University and the author of Dubious Gastronomy: Eating Asian in the USA. “A lot of celebrity chefs have been Asian and Asian American, and they reintroduced Spam to a new audience.”
These famous foodies are reinventing the pantry staple. “Michelin-star Korean chef Chris Oh is known for his affection for Spam and even created a Spam sushi roll for the 2021 Olympics,” Quoc Le says. You can also find Spam tasting menus at high-end restaurants in Hawaii and variations on Spam Musubi (Grilled Spam on rice wrapped in nori, often glazed with teriyaki sauce) at trendy Asian-fusion spots.
Food influencers on TikTok and Reels are also bringing fresh fans to this old-school delicacy. “Social media has spawned endless creative variations,” says Conley. They include TikTok’s Spam slicing techniques and Spam ramen hacks, as well as Spam bento boxes on Instagram.
It makes total sense that millennials and Gen Z would be all-in on the versatile meat. After all, Spam utilizes a part of pork not traditionally loved (pork shoulder), so it satisfies the younger generations’ waste-nothing ethos. “It fits very neatly into the current trend in food to achieve circularity and sustainability,” says Quoc Le.
Plus, it’s just plain delicious, according to processed-pork aficionados. “Those of us who love Spam,” says Ku, “do so not despite but precisely because of what it is.”
Additional reporting by Meghan Jones.
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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on what Spam is, Lisa Lombardi tapped her experience as a longtime reporter and the author of What the Yuck?! The Freaky and Fabulous Truth About Your Body to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Donovan Conley, PhD, associate professor of communications at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and co-editor of Cookery: Food Rhetorics & Social Production; interviewed, February 2025
- Bryan Quoc Le, PhD, food scientist and author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered; interviewed, February 2025
- Ji-Song (Robert) Ku, PhD, associate professor of Asian and Asian American studies at Binghamton University and author of Dubious Gastronomy: Eating Asian in the USA; interviewed, February 2025
- Spam.com
- Hormel: “Spam the Wonder Food”
- National Archives: “Eisenhower Letter About Spam”
