Spam, spam, spam, spam.....

As a child growing up in the 1970s, spam came to represent the worst which life had to offer. It is now the sort of thing which occupies a tin in the darkest reaches of a long forgotten cupboard. Covered in dust, it is for me a grim reminder of the less desirable aspects of my childhood. It was the great Monty Python team who immortalised this tinned nightmare with their "spam" sketch in the Green Midget cafe in Bromley. Although steeped in mirth, the sketch also contained a frightening amount of truth because spam really did predominate our catering industry at that time. The list of possibilities was seemingly endless with the most popular version being the spam fritter. Here, the amount of fat used to fry the spam served to disguise its taste and texture to a level bordering on palatable. Of course, foods such as spam come in to their own during periods of conflict when rationing is often introduced. People of a certain age will have less than fond memories of its ubiquitous presence at the dinner table during those war years. One man's trash is another man's treasure though and it is with a mixture of disbelief and incredultiy that I read of the esteem with which spam is held by the South Koreans. It has apparently been revered since the dark days of the Korean War and occupies a rather more focal profile in their shops and supermarkets. But they don't just have one type of spam. No, their lust and obsession is such that varieties include classic, mild, bacon and garlic! As though classic didn't fill me with enough dread, they have embraced it as nobody else. One prominent advertisement in South Korea proclaims, "If you've got spam, you've got it all"! No offence to the advertisers but they're welcome. I would put spam just below corned beef in the annals of culinary excellence. Both claim to contain meat but we just don't know. It is faith alone which convinces us to keep eating it because logic would not permit us. I can safely say I haven't had the pleasure for many years and fully intend to keep it that way. But back to the spam sketch by the Pythons. To read the menu is to bring the hilarity flooding back. Although the first three options are without the dreaded S word, it is the last item on the menu which will finish you off though:- 1.Egg and Bacon 2.Egg, Sausage and Bacon 3.Egg and Spam 4.Egg, Bacon and Spam 5.Egg, Bacon, Sausage and Spam 6.Spam, Bacon, Sausage and Spam 7.Spam, Egg, Spam, Spam, Bacon and Spam 8.Spam, Spam, Spam, Egg and Spam 9.Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Baked Beans, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam 10.Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top of Spam