Hello Candy Fans,
We’re in celebratory mood here in the Cybercandy kingdom and just because we can, we’ve slashed the price of Twinkies in an exclusive one-time online offer! America’s best known and most loved snack cakes have been tantalizing taste buds and filling lunch boxes since 1930. Since Twinkies are one of our top sellers too, we thought we’d share with you a brief history of this iconic cakey treat. It really is pretty interesting. Honest! Ready? Here we go…
The story starts in 1930 when James Dewar, a baker at the Continental Baking Company in Indianapolis, came up with the idea for the Twinkie after he saw an billboard advert for a pair of Twinkle Toe Shoes.
Originally the Twinkie was developed as a strawberry shortcake, but this was short lived as after the strawberry season, the delicious shortbread treats couldn’t be manufactured. However, the young baker made another genius twist in Twinkie tale of greatness and developed a spongy, cake-like snack filled with gooey banana filling as bananas were available at any time of year.
However, nobody could predict the Great War in the 1940′s and to Dewar’s dismay bananas were considered a luxury food and therefore rationed by the American government. Never fear though, because our baker extraordinaire had an idea – an idea that would change the world forever. He switched the banana filling to vanilla creme and never changed back – the Twinkie as we know and love it is still made to the same recipe today.
From there, this great American lunch box filler went from strength to strength. In the 1950′s the Twinkie sponsored the Howdy Doody show. Here’s how they did it back in the Old Country, in the time of cowboys and black and white TV…
Because Twinkies are so versatile and made to last, they were also a staple food in the 1960′s when America was under threat of nuclear attack and people were filling their bomb shelters with core supplies. It was thought that the Twinkie could last forever, so they were stacked high as a basic food source.
Urban legend says that Twinkies can last over 100 times longer than others in its class and have an infinite shelf life. That’s why President Clinton put it in a time capsule. We’d just like to point out that this really isn’t true. However, if stored in a cool, dry place, like a food cupboard for instance, then your Twinkie will probably be fine for a couple of weeks. They can also be frozen, which extends the shelf life considerably and can also probably be eaten straight from the freezer for a delicious Twinkie popsicle treat. How cool is that?!
Twinkies are not only famous for being delicious cakey treats, but also due to their iconic status across the world, they have appeared in countless films, including Ghostbusters, Die Hard (1 and 2), Batman, Chuck, Family Guy and last but not least the horror comedy Zombieland. For those that haven’t yet seen Zombieland, we won’t spoil the plot but the film is about two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. One of them, Tallahassee is a zombie-slayin’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. Here’s a little taster…
If all this talk of Twinkies has made you hungry, don’t forget to check out our special offier. You may also want to try the Chocolate Twinkie and the Hostess Ding Dong!
’til next week, keep being sweet!
