THE REAL BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS.

I was emptying my spam folder on gmail and whatever tool they have to generate link options thought I might be interested in this:

http://www.recipesource.com/main-dishes/meat/pork/spam/00/rec0017.html

Yes, it's the SPAM breakfast burrito. And while my family was very middle-class growing up, having been raised on a healthy diet of Spaghettios, Hamburger Helper (it makes a great meal), fish sticks and hot dogs, we never got into SPAM. Not only that, but our non-SPAM lifestyle coupled with all the SPAM jokes left me with an unfair anti-SPAM feeling. So to be fair, I felt I should do some research. I found out that SPAM stands for "Spiced Ham."

"SPAM is a canned precooked meat product made by the Hormel Foods Corporation. The labeled ingredients in the variety of SPAM are chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added, salt, water, sugar, and sodium nitrite." "The ingredients are ground to a medium-coarse texture. Spices are then added to enhance the product's natural flavor. After the blending process is completed, the meat is mechanically filled into cans, sealed, and cooked in a retort oven."

Doesn't sound half bad. Why all of the negative press? To get a better frame of reference, I had to find out what another mystery meat was made from; a mystery meat that I've enjoyed from time to time.

"Bologna is a cooked, smoked sausage made of cured beef, pork, or a mixture of the two. A typical recipe for this sausage uses seasonings such as salt, sugar, pepper, and spices, plus a curing mixture that includes sodium nitrite to prevent botulism...large manufacturers may use almost any part of the carcass, including organ meats, trimmings, and end pieces from other meat processing...it's pureed so the machines can pour into casings. Like other sausages, bologna is covered in either a natural casing made from the gastrointestinal tracts of cattle, sheep, and hogs, or a synthetic casing made of collagen, fibrous materials, or even plastic. All bologna is cooked and smoked to pasteurize it, so it's ready to eat when you buy it."

Sounds like Bologna and SPAM have a lot in common. The main difference being that SPAM is cooked after it's in the can, while Bologna is cooked before it's packaged. A good reading of the book "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair, would tell you that all processed meats should be avoided. But health standards have improved and based on experience I trust my processed meats. And I just remembered that hot dogs are made from similar questionable ingredients in the same puree, pour and cook manner as SPAM and bologna. And I love hot dogs.

The verdict: I'm going to give SPAM a try. I'll let you know.