If I told you that this American product was named after shoes...contained petroleum derived products...and was claimed as responsible for driving a man to murder, what would you guess?
Well, it is the Twinkie, that seemingly harmless, cowboy clad, four inch long cake filled with vanilla cream. I shared Twinkies in the class "Producing Food, Producing Difference" as part of a food presentation.
In the 1920s and 30s, Continental Bakeries sold baked snacks under the Hostess brand name. Many of the snacks were seasonal, with fruit filling. Hostess Little Shortbread Fingers were made with strawberries, so for several months of the year the equipment used to make them sat idle because strawberries weren't available. On the way to a marketing meeting in 1930, the company vice president saw a billboard advertising Twinkle-Toe Shoes. This was the conception of what we now know as the Twinkie.
The original recipe from 1930 included basic ingredients like eggs, milk and butter. Other ingredients include bleached wheat flour and sugar derived from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sugar in addition to sweetness, in crystal form, holds air and makes the cake lighter. The combination of sugar and proteins make the cake tender, holds moisture and gives the Twinkie its color. Inevitably the needs for longer shelf life lead to the inclusion of chemical ingredients for preservative purposes. Eight out of the 39 ingredients are derived from corn as corn starch, glucose, fructose and high fructose corn syrup are essential in the Twinkie making process.
Chemical additives to Twinkies include monoglycerides and diglycerides which replace eggs and emulsify the recipe by stabilizing the cake batter, enhancing flavor and shelf life. Only a small amount of egg is used to leaven the cake batter. Polysorbate 60 keeps the cream filling creamy without using real fat. (Fellow classmate Caitlyn Krzywiecki also noted the cream filling was "intense" when tasting it, that it irregularly coated the inside of her mouth) Furthermore, hydrogenated shortening replaces butter. Artificial butter and vanilla are used, disturbingly derived from petroleum. Sorbic acid is used specifically to deter the onset of mold.
Contrary to popular belief and urban myth, a Twinkie's shelf life is officially 25 days and they are not chemically preserved. Replacing eggs, butter and fats is what keeps Twinkies from going rancid and is a much shorter list than other products sold today.
In 1979, accused murderer Dan White from San Francisco claimed the act was brought on by severe depression. Evidence of his depression was provided by White's overblown consumption of junk food, including Twinkies. The "Twinkie Defense" became infamous in popular culture. Also, the T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. (Test with Inorganic Noxious Kakes in Extreme Situations) Project is a series of experiments conducted during finals week in 1995 at Rice University. Students subjected Twinkies to a battery of scientific tests to determine the electrical resistance, water solubility and whether or not they are sentient. Different forms of Twinkies in circulation today include fried ones at state fairs, wedding cakes comprised entirely of them, Twinkie pie, tiramisu and even sushi (http://www.recipezaar.com/Twinkie-Sushi-120476). By the end of my presentation in class there were two plates still full of the Twinkie appetizer- and I must admit I couldn't eat a bite either.
Did you notice that the sushi were not made of "real" Twinkies???????
ReplyDeleteI just don't know why Twinkies in particular are so scary. Sometimes these other snacks called Tastycakes manage to find their way into my house (not brought there by me) because they remind someone of their childhood. These are also bizarrely resilient, but not nearly as creepy as Twinkies. I don't think these would bounce, whereas Twinkies look like they should...