YUMMY LOOKING AND STILL SO VERY TEMPTINGIn 1933, Twinkies were introduced by the makers of Wonder Bread; the Continental Baking Company of Indianapolis. They were invented by baker James A. Dewar who was looking to use idle strawberry shortcake machines when strawberries weren't in season.
I had always assumed that they got their name from being packaged as twin cakes but that is not so. James Dewar was inspired by a billboard advertising the Twinkle-Toe Shoe Company.
The snack cake's originally had banana filling and cost five-cents for the two-pack. That affordability made them particularly popular during the depression.
In the 40's, to support the war effort, bananas were rationed to the general public. So, vanilla creme was substituted. The new flavored Twinkies exploded in popularity, therefore the recipe was never changed back.
Twinkies became a household name when it became a sponsor for the classic kids TV show, "HOWDY DOODY."
YOU CAN'T SEE THE STRINGS BUT HOWDY DOODY WAS ACTUALLY A PUPPET !
During the Cold-War, due to the fear of nuclear attack, many paranoid Americans built personal bomb shelters. It seems hard to believe these days, but Twinkies...due to the reputation...that they stay fresh forever...were among the survival foods that were stockpiled.
President Bill Clinton recognized their significance and included Twinkies in a time-capsule.
RELEVANT IN THE 21st CENTURY, "TWINKIE THE KID" RIDES AGAINToday, a half billion Twinkies are sold each year.
Me personally, I loved Twinkies as a kid...especially if they were refrigerated. But because I was a choco-holic and still am...I preferred Ring-Dings, Yodels and Devil-Dogs (in that order) before Twinkies.
In the summer of '74 when RBOY and I worked at *Disneyworld, we together, discovered something that satisfied our love for Twinkies with our stronger love for chocolate...behold...the Chocolate Twinkie. Chocolate Twinkies, (the cake was chocolate and creme center remained the same) never really caught-on and were discontinued in a short time. Nevertheless, he and I were their best customers. At our apartment complex, we'd go to the convenience store buy them up. For our epic 24-hour car ride back to New York, we bought every one they had.
*On October 1st, Disneyworld celebrated its 37th anniversary, RBOY and I were there, year 3.
Over the years, most of our tastes become more adult. I left Twinkies behind twenty-plus years ago for better junk food and didn't look back...until I had a child. My son Andrew is 14 (I'm not sure if he wants me to include the half because he's actually, 14 1/2). Like all kids, he has tried every conceivable snack food there is. That means...I have RE-TRIED every conceivable snack food. Unfortunately, this time around, my adult palate found Twinkies to have a chemical taste...even refrigerated.
I swore-off Twinkies for another ten years until now. What I discovered is the "Cadillac of Twinkies," however, it must be noted...that these are NOT Twinkies. What they are can be summed-up in one word; ENTEMANN'S. More specifically, Entemann's Sponge Creme Cakes. Trust me, if you ever loved Twinkies, drop everything and find them...maybe your waistline will hate me...but your tongue will love me !
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