There has been a lot of talk and lamentation about the demise of the Twinkie but completely over shadowed is the possible end of yet another snack cake line, Dolly Madison. They too are Hostess products. Dolly Madison seems to be the ugly step-sister of Hostess but they have one thing that Hostess did not. They had the blessings of Charlie Brown, Lucy Van Pelt and Peppermint Patty.
"Cakes and pastries fine enough to serve in the White House" was the motto of Roy Nafziger's company. Roy Nafziger a baker started the company in 1937. He had an obsession with first lady Dolly Madison so he named the company after her. The most popular of all of the Dolly Madison products is Zingers. What will be come of Dolly Madison? Will they go the way of Charlie Brown himself and just disappear?
The Twinkie has been on of America's favorite snack cakes since 1930 but there is a possibility they may go the way of the 8-track player and Tab. There could be a day coming very soon when the Twinkie will be no more. Hostess the bakery responsible for the Twinkie has filed for Chapter 11 Bankrupcty protection. The company and the baker's union are trying to hammer out a contract and if they do the Twinkie may be saved.
Created in 1930 by James Alexander Dewar a baker for the Continetial Baking Company the Twinkie was originally filled with bananna filling. Mr. Dewar noticed that the machines used to make cream filled strawberry shortcakes sat unused when strawberries were out of season and he figured there must be something that he could make using the machines. He then set a bout making a sponge cake filled with banana cream and called it a Twinkie. He thought of the name after seeing a billboard for "Twinkle Toe Shoes" when in St Louis. The Twinkie became an instantly successful treat. It was during World War II when bananas were rationed that the filling was changed to "vanilla". The cakes were still successful and at the end of the war the banana cream filling was not widely reintroduced. It did make a brief comeback in 2005 when it had a promotional tie into the unsuccessful re-make of the movie King Kong. Over the years there have been attempts to add other fruit flavors but the "vanilla" flavored Twinkie always won out.
The Twinkie like any star has been gossiped about and it is claimed that the Twinkie has an infinite shelf life. this is just an urban rumor. There is such a thing as a stale Twinkie. They really only last about 25 days. Then of course there was the "Twinkie Defense" a term coined by columnist Herb Caen in the murder trial of Dan White. He was found guilty.
Could this truly be the end of the Twinkie? Will the other staple of the lunch box Wonder Bread (also a Hostess product) go as well? Only time will tell!
