4 posts tagged “candy”
Newsweek broke down the ingredients in a Twinkie. Hmm. Do you really want to eat another one again? Via way of the Consumerist.
THE FILLING
- Shortening (in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and/or beef fat) is the main ingredient.
- Polysorbate 60 is a gooey substance that helps replace cream and eggs at a fraction of the cost. It's derived from corn, palm oil and petroleum.
- Cellulose gum gives the crème filling a smooth, slippery feel.
- Artificial vanillin is synthesized in petrochemical plants. The real thing comes from finicky tropical orchids that are pollinated by hand on the one day they bloom.
THE CAKE
- Lecithin is an emulsifier made from soy. It's also used in paint to keep pigments evenly dispersed.
- Diacetyl mimics the taste of butter, since the real stuff would go rancid on a store shelf.
- Cornstarch is a common thickener. But it's more often used to make cardboard and packing peanuts.
- Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40 give the cake the golden look of eggs.
- Sorbic acid, the only actual preservative in Twinkies, comes from petroleum.
TWINKIE FACTS
- Calories: 145 each
- Shelf life: 25 days—not years, as urban legend would have it
- History: In 1930, James Dewar found a way to use idle baking pans. He named the cakes after seeing an ad for "Twinkle-Toe" shoes. Shelf life was just two to three days.
I was lame this weekend and didn't post any Christmas cheer. But I did manage to make lots of goodies over the weekend. I made my famous Mayonnaise Sugar Cookies which sound gross but omg they are wonderful! It was my grandfather's recipe, I believe.
Mayonnaise Sugar Cookies
1 cup mayonnaise (no substitutes...lowfat makes them taste and act like rubber)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking sodaMix together mayo, sugar, almond extract and vanilla. Add flour, soda and salt. Roll into balls and roll in sugar (you can use colored sugar if making around the holidays). Flatten slightly with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until crispy (they shouldn't be brown, just barely golden-barely).
Don't double these...makes the consistency sort of weird.
Also made chocolate rum balls, and two kinds of chocolate truffles--Five Spice is what I began with (anise, cinnamon, clove, fennel, pepper). While I was going to make orange chocolate truffles, Joe convinced me to experiment. I'm glad I did! He had picked me up a bottle of Chartreuse, which I have taken a bit of a liking to. He suggested that I make Chartreuse truffles, which at first had me skeptical--it's a super herbal, anise, hyssop sort of thing. But wow! They turned out great! I'll probably still make the chocolate orange ones. I wish I were one of my lucky friends to get these little treats!
This week is pure madness. Dinner with friends tonight. Tomorrow I have to run errands--even canceled my acupuncture because I was worried about all the stuff to get done. Then our company holiday party (not the corporate party but the one with the 9 of us from our division) on Wed. Then I become more beautiful on Thursday. Friday is prep for Saturday and our 7th annual holiday bash! Yay!
So to catch up on our musical countdown to Christmas, I give you some more tunes.
Billy Idol with some great, classic, Christmas cheese:
Enya, with a beautiful version of Silent Night, in Irish:
So I was reading Slashfood and how Nestle/Hershey's is releasing a dark mint chocolate KitKat bar for Christmas. And then, I saw that there are over 150 varieties of KitKat bars sold all over the world! OH MY!
I've always loved KitKat...probably my favorite candy bar along with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Butterfingers. Who knew that they had all these other crazy varieties in other countries? Then again, I had no clue that they had other kinds in the US. According to the Hershey site, they have the regular milk chocolate, and the white chocolate, both of which I'm familiar with. But they also have limited edition coffee, orange cream, milkshake and extra crispy. Who knew? I would love to try that orange cream!
The Wikipedia link lists all the crazy varieties from all over the world. The Japanese, of course, have the craziest kinds. Why do they get all the cool freaky food? I mean, really! Azuki Bean, Green Tea, Pineapple, Yubari Melon, and Apple and to name a few!
Show us something that tastes great.
