So, too are
recent reports of the demise of Twinkies.
Late last
week, Hostess announced that after 82 years, the company is closing.
Hostess makes Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, Sno Balls, Home Pride bread, and most
notably Wonder Bread and the iconic Twinkies. Twinkies has
been vilified by nutritionists (See, for example, the book “Twinkie,
Deconstructed” by Steve Ettlinger, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/looking-inside-the-twinkie/ for description of synthesis of
vitamins and food additives from petrochemicals), but is loved by snackers; and
has a special place in culinary history and legal precedent as the
"Twinkies defense" was used in the trial in the murder of San
Francisco Mayor Mascone and city supervisor Harvey Milk.
Then, it was
announced on Monday that "Hostess Brands Inc. and its second largest union
will go into mediation to try and resolve their differences, after all. Headlines of “Twinkies Saved” soon besieged
the media …but not before the “Save the Twinkies” page of Facebook garnered
18934 “Likes.” In the meantime, Twinkies are being sold on the Internet like
delicacies and flying off the shelves. NPR’s
Marketplace reported that the highest price paid was $7,600 on eBay. (http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/final-note/twinkies-fans-rejoice-hostess-go-mediation).
News of labor
mediation notwithstanding, the fate of Twinkies still hangs in the
balance. For those of us who like to
plan for the worst case scenario, the venerable New York Times has published
the recipe for home-made Twinkies, in case the commercial variety is no longer
available (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/dining/homemade-twinkies-recipe.html).
And, for those of us who simply lives in the moment, the internet is
replete with helpful recipes to dress up your basic Twinkies, such as deep
fried Twinkies, Valentine Twinkies, corn dog Twinkies, and Franken Twinkies (http://www.hlntv.com/slideshow/2012/11/16/best-twinkie-recipes-hostess-closing), for that one last hurrah. Our favorite is Paula Deen’s Twinkie Pie,
made with 1 ½ box of Twinkies, crushed pineapple, vanilla instant pudding,
whipped topping, bananas, chopped Pecans, and Maraschino cherries. (http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/twinkie_pie/). Serving it on the last day of the
Maya Calendar seems apt. Of course, those of us so inclined towards
post-apocalypse planning can take heart from the Twinkies’ legendary shelf
life, as illustrated by the 2008 film WALL-E (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E) where a package of Twinkie is shown
completely undecayed in its wrapper on WALL-E's truck, 700 years after the
Earth became uninhabitable.
Why are Twinkies
and other Hostess snacks such cultural icons?
Why should news about their possible demise touch our collective
consciousness? Perhaps, it is because
these foods touch memories of childhood that we cherish or bring us back to a
time when we are younger and life is simpler. They are the staples of lunch boxes or the
standard after school treat. They are
the small moments of indulgence that add light to routines of large public
schools. They are the items you can
afford to purchase from the corner store with money earned from baby-sitting,
without having to asked your mom for money or permission first. Later, for some of us, a package of Twinkie
washed down by strong coffee was the breakfast of choice after a night of
drinking, smoking and long conversations with college friends. For $1.50 (of 1970s money), it got you
through that 9 AM class when you turned up 10 minutes late and must sit at the
back of a large and darkened lecture hall.
Note: The creators of this blog do not endorce these products nor have an opinion as to the company's labor issues.
