No “Twinkies” for Lizette … 1965
In 1965 I was living in Dutchess County, New York, approx. 85 miles north of NY City. My husband and I ran a “Mom and Pop” real estate agency out of our house … the type that couldn’t exist in today’s high tech and competitive world.
One of our customers was a very attractive lady named Lizette. She and her husband were determined to leave city life behind them and they bought a secluded farmhouse with many acres set far back off a dirt road. This by no means meant they were monastic and their “hideaway” soon became known at the IN spot for social events.
My husband and I were frequent visitors, as were our children. Lizette was an excellent cook and took pride in the quality and freshness of her food … greens and veggies picked daily from her garden, eggs from her chickens and beef & pork from neighboring farms. So it was a bit of a shock when we entered the kitchen one day to find a small bag of “Twinkies” thumb-tacked to the bulletin board.
My immediate thought was that it might be displayed there as a sort of prize for one of the children; but, when I questioned Lizette she declared, in no uncertain terms, that she would never feed a “Twinkie” to her family.
“I did this to prove a point,” she said. “Look at how soft and appealing these little goodies are, but what about all the preservatives that have been added to make them that way. I bet I could leave this package up here for a year or more and they’d still be the same” … and that’s exactly what she did.
The last time I was in that kitchen was 4 years later in 1969 and the same “Twinkie” was still on display … still soft and appealing ! Here are the 37 ingredients that make it that way …
Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour [Flour, Reduced Iron, B Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid)], Corn Syrup, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable and/or Animal Shortening (Soybean, Cottonseed and/or Canola Oil, Beef Fat), Whole Eggs, Dextrose. Contains 2% or Less of: Modified Corn Starch, Glucose, Leavenings (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Sweet Dairy Whey, Soy Protein Isolate, Calcium and Sodium Caseinate, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60, Soy Lecithin, Soy Flour, Cornstarch, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid (to Retain Freshness), Yellow 5, Red 40.
…and here is a copy of a vintage ad assuring us of “Twinkies” freshness ...
… kind of tugs at your heart strings, doesn’t it???
posted by Ginnie at 2:21 PM
8 Comments:
This is a great example of progress. Old fashioned food used to spoil so quickly -- in the twinking of an eye as it were.
I never even tasted one. But I thought I really wanted a Hostess cupcake... they sponsored the Mickey Mouse club, I think. I took my allowance and blew it on a package of cupcakes... that was when I discovered things often look better on TV than they do "in person." As a result of my disappointment in the cupcakes, I passed on Twinkies.
Another permanent food - dump some cool whip outside... ants won't eat it. It will stay there until a heavy rain disperses it. Ewwww.
I never cared for Twinkies, but just loved the Ding Dongs. Haven't had one in years, but I always yearned for one when I watched "The Closer." Alas, both are gone now.
While these were nevger on my favorite snack list, apparently they were beloved by a great many people, sort of like Peeps, which also last forever.
I consider items like Twinkies as being a "non-food item". A great deal of snack food and processed foods in our society fall into this category. At best they are fillers, ie. they fill one up and put off feelings of hunger. At worst, they are delivery systems for addictive forms of sugar, fat, carbohydrates, empty calories. They need to be labels as "non foods". For something to qualify as a food it must be healthy for us.
"Non foods" are heavily marketed to make money for a corporation and not to improve the health of all of us. As we did with the most famous of "non foods". cigarettes, (the delivery system for the addictive drug nicotine, we need to limit their marketing so as to lower their impact on the health of the nation.
You know, I don't think I ever ate a Twinkie. So its demise is not something I mourn.
I was stunned to see all the people (in news stories) who made a run on stores to buy out the Twinkie stock.
Sigh--maybe someday it will be a run on bananas, or carrots, or apples. Or not.
You put it to the test. And it failed big time. Fortunately I never like any of that kind of stuff... Well maybe an occassional slice of Wonder Bread for a gooey sandwich....
They were not my favorites, but those little orange iced cupcakes were awesome.
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