Examining the Twinkie
Long before my vegetable-based diet days I used to eat junk food, but, I can honestly say, I’ve never had a Twinkie. I guess that makes me un-American. And why was I never tempted by an over-processed, industrialized, snack-cake? Maybe its 39 ingredients have something to do with it. Anne Underwood of Newsweek takes a look at a new book examining the Twinkie:
If you've ever puzzled over why packaged foods contain "polysorbate 60" or "mono and diglycerides," Steve Ettlinger's new book, "Twinkie, Deconstructed," is a treat you'll want to try. Chapter by chapter, Ettlinger—the author of previous food books like "Beer for Dummies"—decodes all 39 ingredients in the little crème-filled cakes. He explains their uses and the processes by which raw materials are "crushed, baked, fermented, refined and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name," which then appears on a label full of other incomprehensible and barely pronounceable ingredients. Unraveling it all was a major undertaking—and Ettlinger received no help from Hostess and its parent company, Interstate Brands Corp., despite appealing directly to the Vice President of Cake.
