Spamtastic
Spam, the combination of processed shoulder pork and ham immortalised in song by the Monty Python team, is making a comeback in Japanese Burger King restaurants.
The fast-food chain is launching its new Spam ‘sliders’ this month – small bite-sized burgers priced at ¥330 (£2.50), marketed directly at Japanese women under the tagline ‘What women want, women get’.
The sliders are in direct contrast to another item on sale on menus in Japanese Burger Kings, the Meat Monster, which includes a whole chicken breast, two beefburgers and an egg and contains a waistband-expanding 1160 calories. The Spam slider will come paired with a BLT sandwich. Burger King is the third-largest burger chain in Japan, behind MacDonalds and the local Mos Burger.
Spam first appeared in shops in 1937, growing in popularity in Britain in the 1940s as a staple of military diets before falling from favour. It is still taken very seriously in some parts of the world, however: Austin, Minnesota, where the manufacturers of Spam have their headquarters, boasts both a museum and annual parade devoted to the foodstuff.
