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[MUSIC PLAYING] Thrice it

Dice it

Fry it

Bake it

Cold or hot

SPAM hits the spot

JIM BICKAL: That SPAM jingle was heard on the radio around 1939. In the 1940s, Hormel didn't need to do much advertising because they were getting so much free publicity. During World War II, the US government purchased huge quantities of SPAM to feed soldiers stationed overseas.

It was perfect food for the war, because it was already cooked. It didn't need refrigeration. And it had an infinite shelf life.

Although other canned meats were served to the GIs, it was SPAM that everybody picked on. One popular line was that SPAM was meat that didn't pass the physical. Mike Hickey fought in World War II and Don [? Hisdall ?] in Korea. They remember joking about SPAM. But they were glad they had it.

SPEAKER 1: I liked SPAM. I like--

SPEAKER 2: He used to punch holes in it and put it on the manifold of the truck and warm it up. We used to like it. Yeah, we used to like it. Yeah, no problem. And--

SPEAKER 1: SPAM is hard to beat.

SPEAKER 2: We-- I know we used to heat it up on the manifold. And we used to set it on the railroad tracks and shoot it with the rifles. And it exploded like zoom, it'll go. No. It's always been good stuff.

JIM BICKAL: During World War II, SPAM was also shipped to civilians around the world. British journalist John Tidmarsh remembers eating SPAM when he was a boy during the war.

JOHN TIDMARSH: We used to have rather a lot of SPAM fritters for school dinners or lunches, as they were the midday meal.

JIM BICKAL: Was there a lot of fun poked at SPAM in Great Britain?

JOHN TIDMARSH: No, I don't think so. I think we were jolly glad to be able to eat it because the meat ration during the war was infinitesimal. It was practically a forkful a week by Midwest standards.

JIM BICKAL: The jokes about SPAM didn't end with the war. For some reason, people liked to laugh at that pink jelly-covered hunk of meat in the little can. Each year on April Fool's Day, Austin, Texas sponsors a Spamarama cooking contest.

There have been sculptures made of SPAM. A woman in San Francisco turned 10 cans of SPAM into a dress. And comedian David Letterman invented Spam-On-A-Rope for people who get hungry in the shower. One of the most famous SPAM spoofs is a sketch by Britain's Monty Python comedy troupe. Apparently SPAM is often found on the menu in English roadside restaurants.

SPEAKER 3: Morning.

SPEAKER 4: Well, what have you got?

SPEAKER 3: SPAM eggs. SPAM, SPAM bacon and SPAM. SPAM sausage. SPAM, SPAM, SPAM bacon. SPAM tomato and SPAM. SPAM, SPAM, SPAM egg and spam. SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, baked beans SPAM, SPAM, SPAM.

[MUSIC PLAYING] SPAM

Lovely SPAM

SPEAKER 3: Or Lobster Thermidor and crevettes with a Mornay sauce served in the Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle paté, brandy, and a fried egg on top and SPAM.

JIM BICKAL: Despite all the jokes, SPAM is enormously popular. According to Hormel, people in this country consume 3.6 cans of SPAM every second. And it's sold in over 50 countries around the world. But why? Why is SPAM the luncheon meat of millions?

HAZEL BALDNER: You can either slice it, chop it, grind it.

JIM BICKAL: Hazel Baldner lives on a farm just outside Austin, Minnesota.

HAZEL BALDNER: The way I like it the best is to fry it. And then, make it like bacon lettuce and tomato, whether it be SPAM lettuce and tomato sandwiches. That's the way I like it.

JIM BICKAL: Mrs. Baldner is a veteran cook and a finalist in a SPAM cook-off that will be judged today in Austin. Her recipe demonstrates the versatility of SPAM. It's called SPAM Italian spaghetti, or Sloppy Joe hotdish. It's a mixture of tomato sauce, onions, macaroni, and SPAM. She says she's been cooking with SPAM for years.

HAZEL BALDNER: I go for the simpler recipes because I have to-- on a farm, you cook fast and you run fast. And then, raising three boys that were-- they were over 6 foot tall by the time they were just in their early teens. And I always told them they had both hollow legs.

He was filling one up. He's filling the other. So it's always been-- I've always looked for things that I could do simpler and fast.

JIM BICKAL: A bit like SPAM?

HAZEL BALDNER: Yeah. They do what they like and the grandchildren will like it. In fact, they're hoping that grandma, you win, you get all that SPAM. And then, we can have lots of SPAM.

JIM BICKAL: The winner of the SPAM cook-off will get a trip for two to Las Vegas and a year's supply of SPAM. Contest organizers aren't sure how much SPAM that is. But they say they're prepared to supply up to 24 cans a week. I'm Jim Bickal reporting.