Spam - Edible by Kelly A Spring Hardcover

Book Synopsis

A cultural history of the celebrated (and derided) canned protein.

2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a conflict that solidified SPAM's place in global food culture. Created by Hormel Foods in 1937 to utilize surplus pork during the Great Depression, SPAM became an essential resource (and marker of American food culture) during the war. This book explores SPAM's complex history, highlighting its enduring legacy in places like Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, Okinawa, and South Korea. Kelly A. Spring demonstrates how the enduring proteins in SPAM played a crucial role during wartime and continues to influence global diets.

Review Quotes

"This is an engagingly written but professionally conducted historical study of SPAM's extensive socio-cultural significance: a protein source of last resort in hard times; an extraordinarily successful instance of industrialised, long-shelf-lived foodstuff that helped extend the reach of American 'soft' power worldwide, and, most strikingly, by the 2000s in South Korea, a prime feature of gift sets marking special festivals."--Anne Murcott, author of 'The (Not So) Secret Lives of Food Packaging'

"Spring skillfully chronicles the story of this humble industrial food product, which has delivered crucial sustenance to struggling peoples across the globe and embodies aspects of American culture writ large. This volume, complete with striking visuals and recipes, also reminds us that SPAM is funny and has long tickled our global funny bone."--Amy Bentley, author of 'Inventing Baby Food'

About the Author

Kelly A. Spring is a food historian, owner of The Fork Front, and convenor of the IHR Food History Seminar. She is based in Washington, DC.