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A Twinkie is a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling" popular in the United States. It is distributed by Hostess, which is owned by Dallas-based Interstate Bakeries Corporation.
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History
Twinkies are the brainchild of James A. Dewar, one of Continental's bakers. Realizing that several machines used to make cream-filled strawberry shortcake sat idle when strawberries were out of season, Dewar conceived a snack cake filled with banana cream, which would be dubbed the Twinkie. During World War II, bananas were rationed and Hostess was forced to switch to vanilla cream. This change proved so popular that Hostess never switched back to banana and still uses vanilla cream in Twinkies today.[1] The Twinkie was invented in Schiller Park, Illinois. Twinkies are also mostly found in the USA area and a product in USA areas
Deep-fried Twinkies
A deep-fried Twinkie involves freezing the popular cake, dipping it into batter, and deep frying it to create a variation on the traditional snack cake. According to the Hostess website, Shea Apple, from Rugby, England, invented the "fried Twinkie" in 1992 at the ChipShop, his restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.[2]
It was described by a The New York Times story 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 piece de resistance, however, is a ruby-hued berry sauce, adding a tart sophistication to all that airy sugary goodness".[3]
The deep-fried Twinkie was a runaway success after Chris Mullen and his brother started selling it at county fairs in mid-August. "We sold 26,000 Twinkies in 18 days," By 2002, 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 foods.[4] Fried Twinkies are sold throughout the U.S. in state fairs, as well as ball park games.
Preparation
Although variations exist in the form, the deep-fried Twinkie is usually prepared with a batter intended for fish, typically consisting of flour, egg, and vinegar. Prior to dipping, a wooden or plastic stick is often inserted through one end (to allow the consumer to hold it), and the Twinkie is then frozen overnight to prevent melting while being deep fried. After coating, conventional cooking oil is typically used, although beef suet or tallow is sometimes used to give a "meaty" flavor.
When prepared formally, the deep-fried Twinkie is usually topped with powdered sugar and accompanied by a fruit dipping sauce. Raspberry sauce is frequently utilized in recipes, although some restaurants may use chocolate or caramel sauce. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is sometimes added.[5]
Cultural references
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 junk food. Twinkies, specifically, were never actually mentioned in the case.
Twinking
In Role-playing games, the term "twink" is used to describe someone who, within the confines and restrictions that a game provides, attempts to maximize the effectiveness of his character in one or more categories. The process is called twinking and a character made in this fashion is considered "twinked" or "twinked out". The term "Twinkie" was used in Everquest in 1999, where players could acquire a bronze plate armor that could be equipped by lower level characters. The low level characters were completely clad in golden bronze armor with a high armor value but still only had a handful of hitpoints, hence the referral to a "Hostess Twinkie" - bright golden outside, soft and squishy inside. Prior to this, the term was used in the mid-1990s on MUCKs and MUDs for a player who would not concede to defeat or play fairly with others.
Film
In the 1984 film Ghostbusters, Egon Spengler relates the psychokinetic energy level of New York City to a Twinkie 35 ft. long and weighing 600 lbs.
In the film UHF,
A centuries-old Twinkie-like parody - a Kremie[6] - is briefly seen in the 2008 animated film WALL-E by Pixar Studios. In an early scene, the robot WALL-E sets the Kremie out as food for his cockroach companion on one of the rotating shelves inside WALL-E's makeshift abode.
In the 2009 film Zombieland the character Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is obsessed with finding Twinkies while crossing the now zombie-filled United States, and references the urban legend concerning their shelf life, saying, "believe it or not, Twinkies do have an expiration date."
Television
Archie Bunker, on the popular 1970s television series All in the Family liked Twinkies and became irate whenever his wife, Edith, forgot to put one into his lunchbox.[7]
In the Family Guy episode "Da Boom," when the Millennium Bug wipes out society, Peter Griffin leads his family to a Twinkie factory in Natick, Massachusetts, a reference to the urban legend that Twinkies have a indefinite shelf life (see below). In another episode "Sibling Rivalry," Morgan Freeman is heard narrating the fictional film "The Narrator", in which he describes the soft substance on the walls as being "Like a twinkie, like a twinkie".
In Man vs. Wild a Man vs. Wild special featuring Bear Grylls and Will Ferrell as a special guest. Will eats a Twinkie, their lone survival ration, after only being on the ground for a matter of minutes while Bear was off in the distance collecting sticks. Upon Bear's return to Will he finds out that the Twinkie has been eaten already, by finding the wrapper in Will's bag.
In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "To Save A Squirrel", Patrick tells SpongeBob that "he was so hungry he could eat anything" and he also told him that "he could eat an entire sponge... cake." After Patrick said the word "sponge", SpongeBob ran because he thought Patrick was referring to a sea sponge but it was really a sponge cake with a delicious cream filling similar to Twinkies.
Music
The 1975-1976 novelty song "Junk Food Junkie," written and recorded by Larry Groce, mentions the Hostess Twinkie in its opening lines.
Sports
The Minnesota Twins baseball team is sometimes called the "Twinkies" by Chicago White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson in a derogatory manner. The term originated in the Twin Cities area and gains considerable currency whenever the Twins are doing poorly.
In some ski resorts in Canada, "Twinkies" has been used as a somewhat derogatory term for ski instructors, by other mountain workers. It has been said it refers to the way they often ski in a synchronized manner.
Fans of Ring of Honor Wrestling chant "TWINKIES!" at referee Scott Armstrong during matches. This trend started at the Glory By Honor 8 event.
Shelf life
A common urban legend claims that Twinkies have a shelf life of forever, or can last for a relatively long time of ten, fifty, or one hundred years due to chemicals used in production. While this urban legend is false, they really can last a long time (25 days or so), due to the fact that Twinkies are made without dairy products and thus spoil more slowly than most bakery items.[8]
See also
Notes
- ^ http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/twinkie.htm
- ^ Commentary on product, attributing creation to Sells
- ^ "Fry That Twinkie, But Hold the Chips". The New York Times. 2002-05-15. http://www.melissaclark.net/articles/archives/000051.html.
- ^ "New junk food fad: Deep-fried Twinkies". CNN. 2002-09-18. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/West/09/18/offbeat.twinkie.reut/.
- ^ Recipe for deep-fried Twinkies and raspberry sauce
- ^ http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/17/meitus-film-trivia-with-a-side-of-vegemite/
- ^ http://www.imageonepr.com/pdf/brandBytes_julyAug2005.pdf
- ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Twinkies
External links
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