416485 Fri Jun 29 14:06:10 -0700 2007 8 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2707462 Let me start off by apoligizing to Chowhound for posting about Twinkies ... the anti-chowhound foodstuff. Put out by a huge corporation with one of the most shocking ingredient lists I've seen in a long time and ... well, as the Twinkie site mentions ... President Clinton put one in a time capsule ... I'm sure when it is retrieved ... whatever the date ... it will be fine. The original Twinkie was banana-flavored and Hostess just released a banana-flavored Twinkie ... to their credit it has actual banana in it ... 2 % or less banana puree. Good Morning America did a banana Twinkie tasting and people liked it. So did I. There's a nice banana flavor to it, like a banana muffin ... with creamy stuff in the middle. Someone on the GMA crew said it tasted little different than the standard Twinkie ... not true. There is no mistaking the banana flavor ... and yes I bought a regular Twinkie for comparison sake ... which I also liked. It has been a really, really ... really long time since I ate a Twinkie. They are better than I remember ... I was more of a Hostess cupcake fan. It is really just a lady finger with fake cream inside. Sometimes corporate websites put out the most insane recipes. However, Hostess actually has some decent Twinkie recipes ... not forgetting what they are ... often they tell you to use non dairy whipped topping. http://www.hostesscakes.com/recipe_list.htm I particularily liked the idea of .. Twinkie sushi http://www.hostesscakes.com/recipe_view12.htm Sunflower cake with the bonus of incorporating a Ding Dong http://www.hostesscakes.com/recipe_view24.htm Twinkie tacos http://www.hostesscakes.com/recipe_view36.htm Twinkie-misu http://www.hostesscakes.com/recipe_view42.htm Twinkie truffles http://www.hostesscakes.com/recipe_view40.htm Banana Java Twinkie Supreme ... using banana Twinkies would be excellent http://www.hostesscakes.com/recipe_view4.htm There are really amazingly lovely pictures of Twinkie wedding cakes http://www.hostesscakes.com/worldofwacky.asp The Twinkie wedding guest favors on a silver tray are hilarious ... but I'll bet a lot of people would like them more than the usual wedding drek favors ... "Twinkie Wedding Day Favors can be decorated with white and black fondant, to resemble the white wedding gown and black tux, or choose a color to compliment the wedding colors." Chow put out a recipe for a more natural recipe ... incorporating a little banana pure would be quite good. http://www.chow.com/recipes/10467 Hostess on the Twinkie http://www.hostesscakes.com/twinkies.asp Fri Jun 29 14:06:10 -0700 2007 10264 rworange 1 2707537 Hiya... That banana twinkie sounds good! Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I remember that Hostess also made another treat called, I believe, a Banana Flip? It was basically a very large banana flavored twinkie, BUT shaped like a large taco or perhaps a half-circle. They also made a chocolate version. What i really enjoyed about the Banana Flip was the large size, having probably the mass of three twinkies combined. The cake texture and the creme filling were exactly that of a twinkie, but in a huge taco shape. When buying gas at small town convenience marts, I still look for the Hostess shelf, in a mad false-hope that I'll see the Banana Flip... Fri Jun 29 14:30:05 -0700 2007 2707462 13171 silence9 2 2708024 My local store carries the banana flip, I just bought one the other day. They also had the "new" banana twinkies, but I bought the flip. I like to stick mine in the freezer to chill it and then eat it - tastes best that way! Fri Jun 29 17:07:38 -0700 2007 2707537 23423 cheri 3 2708528 The freezer trick is where it's at! Fri Jun 29 23:56:41 -0700 2007 2708024 40489 P. Punko 1 2707614 I eat Twinkies regularly. I've tried the Banana ones, and for some reason the banana flavor interferes with the intrinsic goodness of the Twinkie flavor. Maybe it's just me, but no one (not even Hostess) should mess with the basic Twinkie flavor. It's kinda like Heinz Ketchup ... you can't really improve on it, can only mess it up. Fri Jun 29 14:56:28 -0700 2007 2707462 11583 ipsedixit 2 2707625 But .. .but ... banana was the ORIGINAL Flavor. I will admit though the texture of the unflavored Twinkie is better. The banana is not as light and slightly drier. Fri Jun 29 15:00:01 -0700 2007 2707614 10264 rworange 3 2707645 Yes, banana may have been the original flavor, but all things evolve and reach their evolutionary peak, right? Cheers! Fri Jun 29 15:04:31 -0700 2007 2707625 11583 ipsedixit 4 2708149 Apparently the banana flavor was dropped during WWII when bananas were in short supply. paulj Fri Jun 29 19:32:13 -0700 2007 2707645 12139 paulj 1 2708235 They must have re-released the banana Twinkie, because I bought boxes of them regularly at the Hostess outlet store maybe 2 or 3 years ago. I never looked for in regular stores; maybe the outlet had test-market stuff. Fri Jun 29 20:15:18 -0700 2007 2707462 12123 Cathy