Spam, lovely spam

Call it a different kind of Spam war of a different color.  While most of us in the high-tech industry concern ourselves with the unwanted e-mail scourge that is Spam, the rest of the world is enjoying eating the edible ham product  known as Spam.  And in Hawaii anyway, Spam means war – well more of a food fight between McDonalds and Burger King. You see recently  Burger King started featuring  Spam for breakfast in Hawaii where the food is a delicacy — an item McDonald’s has offered for a number of years. Published reports says Hawaiians have a love affair with Spam, adding it to soups and stews, treating it as a side dish for breakfast, and enjoying it as the main event for lunch and dinner. Residents of Hawaii consume more Spam than populations anywhere else in the world: More than four million cans every year, or an average twelve cans of Spam per person per year. Hawaii is so well associated with Spam that Hormel even introduced a limited edition “Hawaii” can in 2003. There are also more varieties of Spam sold in Hawaii than anywhere else. There’s Spam Garlic, Spam Bacon, Spam with Cheese, Spam with Tabasco, Spam Turkey and Spam Lite, which featured less sodium and less fat.    According to an Associated Press story Burger King and McDonalds are offering the processed meat with eggs and rice for breakfast in Hawaii only. Burger King is offering the Spam Platter — two slices of Spam huddled between white rice and scrambled eggs. The fast-food giant also offers the Croissanwich or Biscuit Sandwich with Spam. At a Burger King near downtown Honolulu, where a poster in the window proudly advertises “Spam in the A.M.,” the Spam Platter was selling for $3.49 over the weekend. The nearly identical Spam, Eggs and Rice plate across the street at McDonald’s was $3.39.While the Spam battle is only starting, there’s no denying Hawaii’s fascination with the meat product. Spam “musubi” — a slice of Spam atop a block of rice and wrapped in seaweed — is an island favorite sold at nearly every convenience store, including 7-Eleven. The state holds a Spam Jam every year and features “the gonzo musubi” —which requires more than 275 pounds of rice, 1,650 slices of Spam, and 600 feet of the dried seaweed called nori.  Spam fried rice is a local classic.