SPAM fans are a passionate bunch, and right now they're fighting each other. Hormel just dropped a new canned meat flavor, and per the New York Post, reactions run from "adding it to my cart immediately" to an all-caps "Absolutely NOT," which is about the most SPAM-fan reaction possible.

If you've never spent time in the SPAM aisle, and I say this lovingly, it's a whole universe now. The classic blue can is just the beginning. Hormel keeps putting out limited editions that poke at the edges of what people will accept from canned meat. Some land beautifully. Some become lore. The new flavor is doing exactly what a new SPAM flavor is supposed to do, which is start arguments.

Per the Post, the split runs right down the middle: fans who will buy the can on sight, and purists who treat any deviation from the original like a personal insult. Nobody is neutral. The comments are a full-contact sport.

My own position, for the record, pure opinion: I don't judge a canned meat by its label. I once ate SPAM fries at a night market in Honolulu that I still think about, and I've also had a limited edition flavor that tasted like a scented candle's idea of food. The odds are roughly even. The only way to know is to buy the can, slice it thick, get a pan hot, and let the crispy edges decide for you.

The fun part of these fights is watching a canned meat product still generate the kind of comment-section chaos usually reserved for pop stars. I can't speak to why Hormel keeps the flavor machine running, but from where I sit, a brand that can start a genuine argument in 2026 is doing something right.

So which camp are you in? Would you try the new flavor, or is your blue can sacred? I'd fry a slice before ruling it out. But I've been wrong before, usually with a mouthful of something regrettable.