Twinkie

This article is about the cake. For the Charles Bronson movie "Twinky", see Lola (1969 film).

Twinkies

A Twinkie is a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling" popular in North America. It is distributed by Continental Baking Co., which is owned by Kansas City-based Interstate Bakeries Corporation.

Twinkies measure 4" x 1.5" (10 cm x 3.75 cm) and are usually sold in packages of two (though they can be sold in packages of three) or boxed in groups of ten individually-wrapped cakes. Each Twinkie contains about 150 calories (627 kilojoules). Five hundred million are produced each year.

"Twinkie the Kid" is the advertising mascot for Twinkies and can be found on packaging and related merchandise.

In Latin America and Mexico, Twinkies are sold under the name "Submarinos" ("submarines" in Spanish due to their shape roughly resembling said vessel) by the Bimbo brand of products in both traditional and strawberry-flavored filling versions; in Spanish America, under their Wonder brand, in packages of three; in Brazil, under Ana Maria brand, typically in packages of two.

Additionally, Singaporean company Gardenia also produces a variation of the Twinkie, known as Twiggies. These are available in vanilla or chocolate flavors in Singapore and Malaysia, while two additional flavors, choco-vanilla and strawberry, are available in the Philippines.

Twinkie production

Ingredients

• Enriched Wheat Flour (enriched with ferrous sulfate (iron), B vitamins (niacin, thiamine mononitrate [B1], riboflavin [B2] and folic acid))
• Sugar
• Corn syrup
• Water
• High fructose corn syrup
• Vegetable and/or animal shortening (containing one or more of partially hydrogenated soybean, cottonseed or canola oil, and beef fat)
• Dextrose
• Whole eggs

2% or less of:

• Modified corn starch
• Cellulose gum
• Whey
• Leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate)
• Salt
• Cornstarch
• Corn flour
• Corn syrup solids
• Mono and diglycerides
• Soy lecithin
• Polysorbate 60
• Dextrin
• Calcium caseinate
• Sodium stearol lactylate
• Wheat gluten
• Calcium sulfate
• Natural and artificial flavors
• Caramel color
• Sorbic acid (to retain freshness)
• Artificial color (yellow 5, red 40)

The Twinkie was invented on April 6,1930 by bakery manager James Dewar, making thrifty use of shortcake pans that were used only during the strawberry season. Twinkies originally contained a banana cream filling, but this was replaced with a vanilla cream filling during a banana shortage, caused by World War II. The original flavor would be revisited more than half a century later as an alternative flavor.

In June 2007, Hostess announced the return of the banana-creme Twinkie. In the past the banana-flavored version was offered as a limited-time promotion. Due in part to sales increasing by 20% when the banana version was offered, the banana Twinkie will now be produced permanently.

Continental Foods admitted on a 2006 episode of television's How It's Made that Twinkies are, in fact, baked, ending years of speculation. The Washington Post reported on April 13, 2005 that "the cakes are baked for 10 minutes, then the cream filling is injected through three holes in the top, which is browned from baking. The cake is flipped before packaging, so the rounded yellow bottom becomes the top." Hostess was the implied source of this information. A 2007 book, Twinkie, Deconstructed, examines where all the ingredients come from and how they are made.

Fried twinkies

Main article: Deep fried Twinkie

According to the Hostess website, Christopher Sell invented the "fried Twinkie" at the Chip Shop, his restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. It was described by the New York Times in this way: "Something magical occurs when the pastry hits the hot oil. The creamy white vegetable shortening filling liquefies, impregnating the sponge cake with its luscious vanilla flavor. . . The cake itself softens and warms, nearly melting, contrasting with the crisp, deep-fried crust in a buttery and suave way. The shop adds its own ruby-hued berry sauce, which provides a bit of tart sophistication."

By 2000, the Arkansas State Fair had introduced the fried Twinkie to great popular acclaim, and the notion spread to other state fairs across the U.S., as well as some establishments that specialize in fried delicacies.

Twinkie defense

The Twinkie defense is a derogatory term for a criminal defendant's claim that some unusual factor (such as allergies, coffee, nicotine, or sugar) diminished the defendant's responsibility for the alleged crime. The term arose from Herb Caen's description of the trial of Dan White, who was convicted in the fatal shootings of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk. During the trial, psychiatrist Martin Blinder testified that White had suffered from depression, causing diminished capacity; as an example of this, he mentioned that White, formerly a health food advocate, had begun eating Twinkies. Caen misrepresented Blinder's statement as alleging that White's depression had been caused by eating Twinkies.

Other

The Minnesota Twins baseball team is sometimes called the "Twinkies" by its fans.

The 1975-1976 novelty song "Junk Food Junkie", written and recorded by Larry Groce, mentions the Hostess Twinkie in its opening lines.

See also

• Twink (gay slang)
• Twinkie defense

External links

• Official site
• The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S Project
• Twinkies at 75: munch 'em, fry 'em, save 'em for years, The Christian Science Monitor
• Twinkie ingredients