When it comes to snack cakes, the Twinkie stands alone. It's gold and white color scheme is iconic. It has been to space and back (where school kids promptly ate it). There is even a 40-year-old Twinkie, proving it is pretty much indestructible (unless eaten).
It's National #TwinkieDay! Stop in customer service, mention today's glorious food holiday, & get a free twinkie!!! pic.twitter.com/is29dhjUmR
— SLibertyPriceChopper (@SLibertyPC) April 6, 2016
5 TWINKIE QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
1. Who invented the Twinkie? Most sources agree, a baker named James A Dewar, of The Continental Baking Company, gets credit for the creation.
"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 he dubbed the Twinkie." -- Wikipedia
The cream filling made its entrance during World War II, when rationing made bananas a scarce commodity.
2. Where does the name come from? According to KitchenProject.com, inspiration came from a billboard (some say it was in St. Louis) for shoes from the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Company." Dewar shortened the name to Twinkies.
3. Can Twinkies be healthy? "Healthy" maybe stretching things a bit, but one man claims he lost weight on a Twinkie diet. In 2010, Mark Haub ate food from convenience stores (including Twinkies) and ended up losing weight over a 10-week period: 27 pounds to be exact.
4. Didn't we almost lose the Twinkie? Yes. It was a close one. When Hostess filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in early 2012, Twinkie fans worried that the end was near. But, by that summer, new owners brought the treat back to store shelves.
5. Where can I learn more about the Twinkie? A man named Steve Ettlinger literally wrote the book on this snack cake. It's called "Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eat"
Who loves Twinkies the most? Going by Google Trends, St. Louis is a hotbed of Twinkie fans.
