The Truth about Twinkies

July 28, 1:18 AMHealth Care ExaminerDoctor Lissa

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                          An American Icon: Secrets Revealed

I know I'm going to sound like a total nerd, but while everyone has been reading trashy novels at the beach, I' ve been reading  books about food.  But not just any food.  I've been reading about a 75 year old American icon, or as some would say, an American food experience:  The Hostess Twinkie.  Yes, that's right.  The book is entitled, "Twinkie, Deconstructed "and is written by Steve Ettlinger. 

Now, Mr. Ettlinger did not actually interview executives at the Interstate Bakeries Corporation about the contents of the Twinkie. (He did get to speak to the Vice President of Cake, which is a pretty cool title). They apparently only want to participate if the book is nostalgic and I don't really blame them.  I mean the contents of the Twinkie must be up there with the recipe for Coca Cola or Guiness beer.  Still, lack of direct contact didn't get him down.  He kept at it and discovered a wealth of information about the ingredients listed on the package, where they came from (as in country) and what they are made of.  (I'll give you a hint, not all of them are actually food items).

I'm sure many of you remember the myths surrounding Twinkies.  How about the one that says they are so full of chemicals they will last, exposed on a roof for 25 years and take 7 years to digest.  Some say they don't contain any actual food, just chemicals.  My favorite is that they are no longer baked, that they were actually all baked decades ago.  None of this is true.  I know you're relieved.

What is true is that they are as American as, say, Yoo-hoo.  They were also included in the Millennium Time Capsule by President Clinton.  So we're not talking about something insignificant here. 

I know you have many questions about Twinkies, so I'll attempt to answer a few for you here. 

1. How many are sold each year?  According to the company, 500 million Twinkies are sold annually. 
2. What is the shelf life of a Twinkie?  Unknown, but a long time.
3. How many ingredients does it take to make a Twinkie?  39.  Yes, I know you've made a cake, but these cakes are special.
4. Are all the ingredients food items?  No, some are chemical and some are mineral.

The author of "Twinkies, Deconstructed" ,I'll call him Steve, was inspired to know more, to dig deeper, like a good scientist.  He even looked up the meaning of phosphate (which is part of baking powder).  I quote: Phosphate..."obtained from phosphate rock...Phosphorus was formerly used to treat rickets and degenerative disorders and is now used as a mineral supplement for foods, also in incendiary bombs and tracer bullets."  No wonder you feel so good after eating foods with phosphorus.

His point is, if you are what you eat, then in order to obtain maximum self knowledge, you should know what you're eating. Clearly a very wise man.

Steve calls Twinkies a food system.  He says they are dynamic and complex.  And that everything in them provides balance.  Like yin and yang, I guess.  Only with Twinkies, salt and sugar fights with proteins in flour, whey and eggs to provide moisture and tenderness.  All other ingredients balance these two "tendencies".  I don't usually think of food as having tendencies, but he's an expert, so would know.  Some ingredients work to promote shelf life, and others help the batter stand up to the baking process and reduce cost.  That's pretty much all there is to know.  But wait, there's more!

Steve explains other interesting things, such as how chlorine bleaches the flour in Twinkies, or that Twinkies consume four thousand tons of sugar crystals annually.  And that doesn't count corn syrup sweeteners, which is a whole other chapter in the book.  My personal favorite is in the section related to the shortening used, which includes cottonseed oil, canola oil, and nonvegetable beef fat (which has no trans fats). Yum!

He even gets existential and asks how we manage to engage in serious science in the pursuit of creating something that isn't necessary to our existence.  Wow!    Then I wondered, does eating Twinkies make you think this way?  Nah!