Trust Me – Freeze Them First
The grocery store isn’t my favorite place to be. Yet it’s one of those chores which must be done every week whether I like it or not. Sort of like laundry, picking up dog poo in the backyard, and counting the reasons I don’t have time to clean out the basement. As in most homes, this is a task that usually falls to the woman of the house. On the bright side, at least I don’t find weird things like herring in cream sauce when I unpack the bags.
I try to race through the “sweets” aisle as I’m not good with temptation, but a few weeks ago something caught my eye. Strawberry filled Twinkies? This was something new. I didn’t buy them, but I did do a search, and discovered Twinkies are actually rather amazing.
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Cream-filled yumminess. (Pixabay)
The filled sponge cakes were created in 1930 by James Alexander Dewar. At first the cakes were filled with banana cream, but (thankfully in my view) he changed the filling to vanilla during the banana rationing of World War II. Dewar dubbed his creation Twinkies after seeing a billboard in St. Louis advertising Twinkle Toe Shoes, another story altogether. He put two Twinkies in an airtight package and sold them for a nickel. People couldn’t get enough of them.
Twinkies have continued to prove their popularity. When Hostess filed for bankruptcy in 2012, a near panic ensued. No more Twinkies? Impossible. Shoppers raided the remaining retail supplies while ambitious cooks attempted to recreate the recipe with little success. Fortunately, nine months later, Hostess emerged from bankruptcy, and Twinkies were back on store shelves. They’ve also undergone a number of new incarnations. Each year special limited edition flavors are introduced. These have included gems like fudge-covered Twinkies, plus the delicious fun of new fillings such as peppermint, peanut butter, cotton candy, and pumpkin spice. (Is there any food on earth that doesn’t have a fall pumpkin spice flavor?)
A particular favorite of mine is the deep-fried Twinkie. Don’t knock it til you try it, and if you decide to try it by making the treat at home, here’s a tip from me to you. Freeze the Twinkies before dipping them in batter and frying. Trust me on this. Freeze them.
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Freeze them first. (Wikipedia)
Twinkies are not just tasty little sweets. They’ve slipped into our cultural sensibility. There’s the Twinkie defense – a term for an improbable defense claim, sort of like “eating too many sweets made me do it”. Or the theological Twinkie – spiritually empty calories. And don’t forget the urban legend of Twinkie’s shelf life.
They do not, in fact, last forever. Forty-five days in an unopened package is about it.
All of this has given me a new respect for Twinkies – no matter what the dictionary says, and I quote: “Twinkie-a slang term for a person or thing who looks interesting or physically attractive but has little value or worth.” Ouch! I’m sorry, but a Twinkie is more than a valueless little snack cake.
In fact, I’m more on board with the Hostess Twinkie slogan. They’re a “a big delight in every bite”.
For your viewing pleasure, how about a vintage Twinkie commercial? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmbelzVP0x4
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Pat Wahler is an award winning writer from Missouri. Her historical fiction debut novel, I Am Mrs. Jesse James, will be released on June 12, 2018 by Blank Slate Press, an imprint of the Amphorae Publishing Group.
