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Twinkie, Deconstructed
There are entire companies which do nothing but break eggs open for other companies; the largest such egg-breaking company is based in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
That is from Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats, by Steve Ettlinger. So far this is my pick for the best food book of the year.
I also learned that a twinkie is about half sugar, sulfuric acid is the most produced chemical in the world, sugar is used to clean out cement mixers, phosphate rock and limestone make Twinkies light and airy, Twinkies' butter flavor is created out of gas, Twinkies contain only one preservative (sorbic acid), and the original 1930 Twinkies were filled with banana flavor, not vanilla.
The bottom line is that I ordered bought two more of the guy's books.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on August 6, 2007 at 07:27 AM in Food and Drink | Permalink
Comments
Is it really necessary to subordinate everything to the holy grail of a low-carbon life? I would think that your health matters too. Then I would walk more, drive less by car, and not worry too much about my carbon footprint. These environmentalists are really getting annoying.
Posted by: ivan at Aug 6, 2007 7:40:15 AM
I think the above comment was intended for the "What is carbon-friendly?" entry instead.
Yet it seems only half out-of-place. I found myself nodding in agreement to the first sentence, imagining the charcoal that must be mined as a key ingredient of Twinkies. I guess this must be the flip side of biofuels: fuel-o-bios.
Posted by: anonymous at Aug 6, 2007 8:18:04 AM
That's easily the best sub-headline I've ever seen on a book.
The reassuring parenthetical to stave off howls of incredulous protest? Brilliant!
Posted by: muz at Aug 6, 2007 9:06:23 AM
Surely the companies that do nothing but break eggs are worthy of a separate "markets in everything" post, no?
Posted by: noto at Aug 6, 2007 9:39:40 AM
Avoid all chemical foods.Eat vegetarian.Follow naturopathy.Practice yoga.
Posted by: GVV at Aug 6, 2007 9:55:35 AM
Avoid all chemical foods.Eat vegetarian.Follow naturopathy.Practice yoga.
Posted by: GVV at Aug 6, 2007 9:56:11 AM
According to rumor, a man in Los Angeles spent 14 years on a diet consisting solely of Twinkies, hard-boiled eggs and Scotch whiskey, and was in excellent health.
Posted by: Peter at Aug 6, 2007 12:28:56 PM
Can one read this book and not crave a Twinkie?
Posted by: walt at Aug 6, 2007 12:41:39 PM
No. Even I craved a Twinkie.
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Aug 6, 2007 4:47:54 PM
"I also learned that ..sulfuric acid is the most produced chemical in the world": dear God, don't economists know any economic history nowadays?
Posted by: dearieme at Aug 6, 2007 4:55:24 PM
I don't know about you, but the extra food _I_ eat on a high-exercise day is carbohydrate, often bagels or pasta.
-dk
Posted by: Dick King at Aug 6, 2007 6:25:51 PM
Ahhh...
If twinkies are half sugar and you can use sugar to clean cement mixers, can you use twinkies to clean cement mixers?
If twinkies contain phosphate rock and limestone, are there kinds of cement you can make so that you can use twinkies to clean the cement mixer and then get a start on the next batch?
-dk
Posted by: Dick King at Aug 6, 2007 6:28:47 PM
Is it really the case that there is more sulfuric acid produced than gasoline?
Posted by: Enquiring Mind at Aug 6, 2007 9:06:35 PM
Judging by this post and some others, I think GVV might be the bizarro TGGP.
Posted by: TGGP at Aug 7, 2007 12:13:23 AM
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