03/26/2008

The Twinkie Turns 78
By Bob Lassahn

The craving for a snack might take one in many directions to find that perfect delicacy to tickle the taste buds. For many a cellophane package with two golden colored, finger shaped cakes might be just the ticket. Hostess Twinkies have been a staple of the snack food junkie for more than three quarters of a century and their lure is sometimes difficult to resist.

Jimmy Dewar, manager of the Hostess bakery in Schiller Park, IL created Twinkies on April 6, 1930. Dewar noticed the pans for Hostess' Little Shortbread Fingers were only used during summer months and decided to make use of the pans throughout the year. The result was a finger shaped sponge cake with a creamy banana filling. A billboard advertising Twinkle Toe Shoes inspired the name. Two Twinkies sold for a nickel in the 1930s. The vanilla cream filling similar to cake frosting as used today resulted from disruption of the banana trade during World War II.

Contrary to some of the urban legends involving Twinkies they are baked, are not the result of a chemical reaction and do not have an almost infinite self life (sometimes touted as from 50 to 100 years). Twinkies actually have a shelf life of about 25 days which is an unusually long time for a baked product to stay fresh. The secret to their longevity is that dairy products are not included in the recipe.

Twinkies deliver about 160 calories per cake (320 calories per package) and are loaded with "trans fats," a form of fat that medical science says raises levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and decreases levels of good cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. But in spite of questionable nutritional value Twinkies remain a popular snack across the America. Hostess estimates they use eight million pounds of sugar, seven million pounds of flour and one million eggs to produce the 500 million Twinkies baked each year.

On September 22, 2004, Kansas City based Interstate Bakeries, the largest wholesale baker and distributor of fresh bakery products in the United States and owner of Hostess, Wonder Bread, Dolly Madison, Butternut Breads, and Drake's brands filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. They are still in the process of reorganization, but there seems no impending doom for Twinkies at the present time.

Twinkies have become something of an American icon and were selected for inclusion in the White House Millennium Time Capsule, representing "an object of enduring American symbolism." Stored in a controlled environment at the National Archives and records Administration, the capsule was sealed by President Bill Clinton in the year 2000 and will be opened at the dawn of the year 2100. On the downside Twinkies have sometimes been maligned as epitomizing the junk food genre.

In 1978 Dan White, a former San Francisco city supervisor shot and killed Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. At his trial a psychiatrist testified that White had been depressed, which led to eating junk food (specifically Twinkies) and drinking Coca-Cola. This further deepened his depression since he was a former athlete and knew that the food was not good for him. White's depression was successfully used to avoid a murder conviction and he was found guilty on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. The plea became known among journalists as the "Twinkie defense."

Twinkies have also been the focal point in the passage of a law. In 1985 Minneapolis city council candidate George Belair served Twinkies and other refreshments to two senior citizens' groups and was subsequently indicted for bribery in what the newspapers dubbed "Twinkiegate." Although the charges were eventually dropped, the case led to a Minnesota fair campaign act popularly known as the "Twinkie law." The law was repealed in 1988.

From the White House to the courtroom Twinkies have become deeply entwined in the American lifestyle and are instantly recognizable to several generations of Americans. As for their reported longevity, it will be interesting to discover just how well Twinkies fared after being stored for 100 years as the Millennium Time Capsule is opened in the year 2100.

They even have their own planet, "Planet Twinkie" located at www.twinkies.com, where there is a recipe for Twinkie sushi for those who might want to add a special touch when serving the tasty treats.

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