376023 Wed Feb 28 16:04:35 -0800 2007 10 33 Food Media and News 0 2339259 "Twinkie, Deconstructed" by Steve Etlinger will be published next week, there is a story about it in this week's Newsweek. Apparently Mr. Etlinger tracked down the source of each of the ingredients that make up a Twinkie (about 39 I recollect), including "food grade plaster of Paris". Unlike a made from scratch, at home, cake, which may have less than 10 ingredients, the chemical formulation of a Twinkie is such so that it can survive a shelf life of 25 days. How many of us have not put a Twinkie in our mouths, sometime during our life? Here is the website for the book that I found: http://www.twinkiedeconstructed.com/Twinkiewebsite/Welcome.html Check out the location shots, the author shows where the various ingredients for a Twinkie come from: http://www.twinkiedeconstructed.com/Twinkiewebsite/Location%20Shots.html If you read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and found it informative or interesting, it sounds like this might also be of interest. Wed Feb 28 16:04:36 -0800 2007 10059 ChinoWayne 1 2341559 Hmmm ... I don't know if he does so in the book, but just looking at those sites, I wished he'd make a distinction between "manufactured" and "manipulated" ingredients that are the products of modern technology and used only in processed foods, and ingredients like salt and baking powder. They're "rocks!" that come from "mines!" This is news? Thu Mar 01 09:58:39 -0800 2007 2339259 10159 Ruth Lafler 1 2341581 Sounds like fun reading--as long as he doesn't ever try to deconstruct raspberry zingers... I don't want to know! ~TDQ Thu Mar 01 10:03:49 -0800 2007 2339259 12005 The Dairy Queen 1 2341702 Looks to me like the Twinkie is a culturally diverse, fully integrated global product with both an upstream channel to reduce costs and a distribution channel to maximize sales. It has both a primary purpose of being used as a solo practioner or combined with other products (chocolate dipped or fried) to increase its attractiveness to multi-cultural applications. It combines many aspects of animal, vegetable and minerals in its life cycle, and is embellished with contact with air and water. It's a TWINKIE!!! I love these things. After I'm done with them I'm going after the partners in crime, Big Bad Ring Ding and the henchman of the gang, the Hostess Cupcake. Hard to believe someone writes a book about the genesis of a Twinkie. Harder to believe people will pay money to buy it. Hey I just spent ten minutes writing about it. Thu Mar 01 10:32:31 -0800 2007 2339259 11290 jfood 2 2344338 jfood - Methinks you must investigate this book: http://www.amazon.com/Twinkies-Cookbook-Inventive-Unexpected-Collection/dp/1580087566/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-5978507-3996960?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1172823354&sr=8-2 If you click the "Search Inside" option and then start hitting the "Surprise Me" option, you'll get a good overview. I don't think I've had a Twinkie since the mid-80s. Fri Mar 02 00:20:27 -0800 2007 2341702 58039 ElsieDee 1 2385562 http://www.twinkiesproject.com/ T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. stands for Tests With Inorganic Noxious Kakes In Extreme Situations. T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. is a series of experiments conducted during finals week, 1995, at Rice University. The tests were designed to determine the properties of that incredible food, the Twinkie. Wed Mar 14 13:13:59 -0700 2007 2339259 11032 Locutus 1 2395382 I can't help thinking of Zippy the Pinhead. Forced from his home planet due to a shortage of Polysorbate-80, landing on Earth and finding such an abundance of same, gleefully chomping on Twinkies to get his fix. I don't know if Twinkies still contain Polysorbate-80 but I still think of Zippy every time I see one. Sweet, sponge-y and squirt-y is how I remember them but I haven't had one since 1974. Sat Mar 17 13:48:33 -0700 2007 2339259 10516 MplsM ary 2 2395596 I haven't had a Twinkie since before 1978... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_White Sat Mar 17 15:42:45 -0700 2007 2395382 10059 ChinoWayne 3 2395649 I became a vegetarian in '74 when lard was the major component of the squirt-y Twinkie filling. I remember 'The Twinkie Defense.' Not being vegan I still enjoy white sugar and have yet to find need for it or any processed food as an excuse of my bad behavior. Yet. Sat Mar 17 16:14:01 -0700 2007 2395596 10516 MplsM ary 1 2395472 i think it's supposed to have a shelf like more in the decades range. anyone, for finely aged twinkies. maybe munch on it with a '61 la tour. Sat Mar 17 14:37:01 -0700 2007 2339259 10866 kevin 1 2412039 This guy was on NPR this week and I found it to be a fascinating conversation because it became clear to me how many products are in the Twinkie as longer lasting replacements for real foods. Eek. Then again, I hate Twinkies and most of the same things along the same lines. It's not really a food snob thing either, I'm just not into cakes and doughnut-like items. Give me some good homemade bread though and I'm yours... The host of the show admitted that even though knowing the contents of a Twinkie freaked her out, she still wanted to eat one right after the show was over. Thu Mar 22 14:37:34 -0700 2007 2339259 76268 newbatgirl