twinkies – Techdirt (original) (raw)
Stories filed under: "twinkies"
DailyDirt: Endangered Or Extinct Meals
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Getting a craving for a McRib when it’s just not available from the golden arches is definitely a first-world problem. There was also that brief period of time when Hostess Brands’ Twinkies weren’t for sale. Fortunately, these junk food shortages are relatively short-lived events, and if anyone really, really wanted to re-create a homemade version of these products, it wouldn’t be impossible. However, some foods are actually gone forever (or are on their way to extinction). Here are just a few foods that probably haven’t been on your dinner plate.
- The passenger pigeon was probably the most abundant bird on the planet.. until they were hunted out of existence. Americans used to be able to easily grab a passenger pigeon dinner during its nesting season, but the last known specimen died in a Cincinnati zoo in 1914. [url]
- Sea urchins from the Atlantic ocean are disappearing. Maybe it’s due to over-fishing or maybe an invasive kelp is killing off these creatures, but in any case, if you like uni with your sushi — you might want to savor it a bit. [url]
- Whale meat is a not-so-uncommon item on the menu in Japan, but some whale species are getting more rare. Yes, whale sushi is always uncooked, but it might also get harder to find…. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: endangered animals, extinct animals, extinction, food, passenger pigeon, sea urchin, sushi, twinkies, uni, whale meat
DailyDirt: Keeping Food Around Longer… And Longer
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Civilization has greatly depended on the our ability to store food for long periods of time. Without various food preservation techniques, our daily lives would be much different. Perhaps we’ve strayed a bit too far away from fresh foods, but the benefits of refrigeration, preservatives and food packaging probably outweigh the costs. Here are just a few articles on the topic of food preservation to ponder while you enjoy your next processed meal.
- Twinkies are back on stores shelves with a new and improved… shelf life of 45 days. Previously, Twinkies had a shelf life of just 26 days — and not an indefinite lifespan that most people assume. [url]
- Canned foods can last a really long time, and some folks actually prefer the taste of canned items that have been aged. The definition of a shelf life is not about when a packaged food is inedible, but when the food acquires a noticeably different flavor compared to a newly-manufactured item. [url]
- About 70% of the food we eat is stored or transported at chilled temperatures. And if you think that’s a high percentage: “An astonishing 80% of the nation’s potato output is cut, processed, frozen, bagged, and distributed as French fries.” [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: aged, canning, flavor, food, frozen, inedible, packaging, preservation, refrigeration, shelf life, twinkies
DailyDirt: DIY Junk Food
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Is it still junk food if you make it yourself? If you feel guilty about buying junk food and have lots of time on your hands, here are a few links that might inspire you to try recreating some popular snacks at home.
- Here’s a recipe for homemade Cheez-It crackers, which supposedly taste better than the store-bought version. By the time you’re done making these, you’ll wish that you had just gone to the store and bought a box of Cheez-Its. [url]
- McDonald’s Canada has revealed exactly how they make their fries, “from the farm to the fryer.” If you’ve ever wondered whether their fries are made from real potatoes, the answer is yes. Their fries are cut from whole potatoes harvested from farms in New Brunswick, Alberta, and Manitoba. [url]
- Read about one junk food enthusiast’s attempts to recreate Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, Oreos, and Fritos. While some of the homemade versions were somewhat “healthier” calorie-wise, the general concensus was that there’s just nothing like the real thing. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: cheez-it, food, fries, fritos, hostess, junk food, mcd, oreos, recipes, twinkies
Companies: mcdonald's
DailyDirt: Foods Going Out Of Style…
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Food scarcity is a real problem in many parts of the world, but in affluent nations, there are different kinds of food limitations. Not being able to find a “cooler ranch” flavored snack and having to settle for “original flavor” is definitely a first world problem. Here are just a few examples of some food shortages from around the world.
- Would you spend about $100 for some Twinkies? Limited-edition baked goods might trump loooots of t-shirts…. [url]
- Illegal hunting in South Africa could endanger large carnivores like cheetahs, lions and leopards. A boom in bushmeat trade threatens the food security of rural communities. [url]
- The American poultry industry has invested a lot of resources to create copious amounts of white meat on various farm-raised birds, but now there’s more demand for dark meat. Look out for genetically modified six-legged chickens soon. [url]
- The European Parliament has voted (again) to ban shark finning practices that endanger certain sharks. The EU first passed a ban in 2003, but it left loopholes that allowed for shark finning to continue. Shark fin soup fanatics may need to start looking into the viability of shark farms soon. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.
Filed Under: bushmeat, dark meat, food, poultry, shark fins, twinkies
DailyDirt: There's Nothing That Can't Be Deep Fried And Eaten
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
We know it’s bad for our health, but somehow we just can’t get enough of artery-clogging fried foods because they taste so good. If you get tired of dry oven-roasted Thanksgiving turkeys, try deep frying them next time. Deep frying is not only a quicker way to cook a turkey, but it also produces a very moist and juicy bird with super crunchy skin. (However, deep frying whole turkeys is dangerous if not done properly — take it from William Shatner, who nearly burned down his house trying to deep fry a turkey.) Fried turkey isn’t particularly unusual, but there are some pretty crazy, deep fried food ideas out there. Here are a few examples.
- In Austria, McDonald’s recently offered a sandwich called the McRibster, which was essentially a McRib that had been breaded and fried. And as if that weren’t enough, it also came with bacon and cheese (and some healthier stuff like lettuce and onions). [url]
- Fried butter balls first debuted at the State Fair of Texas in 2009. However, the Iowa State Fair took it to the next level last year with a 2-ounce stick of butter, dipped in cinnamon honey batter, deep fried, and then covered in a sugar glaze. [url]
- Every year, the San Diego County Fair features some interesting deep fried foods. Some examples include: fried Krispy Kreme chicken sandwiches, fried Twinkies, fried avocados, fried brownies, fried Klondike bars, fried frog legs, deep fried Girl Scout cookies, and deep fried Kool-Aid. [url]
- To discover more food-related links, check out what’s floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]
By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
Filed Under: butter, food, fried, girl scout cookies, kool aid, mcribster, state fairs, twinkies
Companies: krispy kreme, mcdonald's