What Are Twinkies?

Many of us have experienced the delightful creation of "Twinkies" by Hostess, which was created during the Depression era, but no one has questioned how this wonderful gift from heaven is created.  Very few individuals realize that Twinkies are able to to stay in good condition for very long periods of time. The reason why is because Twinkies are completely made of artificial ingredients. They contain absolutely no food products preventing it to rot in a short period of time. Twinkies aren't baked either, but you'd think they'd be right? Considering they're called a "baked good". Everything is just done by food coloring, including the bottom, to make it seem as if it was baked.

I have interviewed a few people asking them what kind of ingredients where in Twinkies. Almost all of them would answer the following: Sugar, Flour, Whipped Cream. Only typical baking items were the answers of these individuals. Little do they know, there are over 30 ingredients in Twinkies.

Here are the list of ingredients in our beloved Twinkies:
- Wheat Flour
- Niacin
- Thiamine Mononitrate
- Ferrous Sulfate (Iron compound)
- Sugar
- Corn Syrup
- High Frutose Corn Syrup
- Animal Shortening (Lard)
- Whole eggs
- Modified Corn Starch
- Corn Flour
- Baking Soda
- Monocalcium Phosphate
- Sweet Dairy Whey
- Soy Protein Isolate
- Sodium Caseinate
- Soy Flour
- Monoglyceride
- Diglyceride
- Corn Dextrin
- Soy Lecithin
- Cellulose Gum
- Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
- FD&C Yellow #5 (Tartrazine (Food Coloring)
- Red 40 (Food Coloring)

Shocked? Surprised? Confused? Don't worry. It's always a natural reaction to find out what is really in our food. Ingredients such as: Wheat Flour, Sugar, High Frutose and Regular Corn Syrup, Whole eggs, and Baking Soda are typical ingredient in baking. On the other hand, other ingredients such as Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, and Ferrous Sulfate sound kind of scary to be in your food, don't you think?

Niacin is actually a prescription drug that lower's cholesterol and triglyceride levels and treats for niacin deficiency. It even lowers reduces the risk of getting a heart attack and narrows arteries in people who have heart disease. Not too bad in my opinion, considering niacin is also technically a vitamin.

Thiamine Mononitrate is also a vitamin. It is a water-soluble B vitamin that's usually found in meats. Not much a harm there, but there is surprising a lot of vitamins in a junk food item.

Ferrous Sulfate is an iron compound pretty much used to treat iron-deficiency amemia. Why would something that's used for treating deficiencies, in a junk food?

 

The food coloring is understandable. There's food coloring in everything these days. People could put whatever they want in our food, and we wouldn't notice because, as Americans, if it tastes good it doesn't matter. Twinkies is a perfect example of this. Twinkies contain Red 40 and FD&C Yellow #5. The food coloring and the vitamins listed above in these Twinkies are derived from Petroleum. That's right, oil. The same oil we use to make plastic water bottles, floor wax, hair coloring, nail polish, etc. That's not all, other ingredients such as the Celluose Gum and Calcium Sulfate are also used to create sheet rock, shampoo, and rocket fuel. If you are having trouble picturing what a sheet rock is, sheet rock is just another word for dry wall. Look to your left. Yes. That wall has an ingredient that is also used in food. What makes the Twinkie so light you ask? The answer to that question is limestone. An actual limestone, grind down into powder and added. What about the cream? Has to have some sort of dairy right? No. The cream has no cream in it whatsoever. The cream is actually made of the Animal Shortening that's listed above. The best part of the Twinkie that we all loved is actually lard. Gross isn't it?

 These findings had came from an author named Steven Ettlinger who wrote a book called Twinkie Deconstructed. The book has actually caught they eye of Hostess' very own Vice President Snack Marketing, David Leavitt. In a recent newscast, Leavitt stated something that proves the very point of Americans continue to eat anything as long as it tastes good. He stated, "Deconstructing the Twinkie is like trying to deconstruct the universe. We think the millions of people … would agree that Twinkies just taste great." I think the rest of the world... would agree those people are ignorant and carefree of their own health. Leavitt's statement does not only prove that Americans would eat anything and everything that tastes good, but it also proves that big name companies do not care about the little people such as you and I as long as they make money.

On an ending note, most of these ingredients such as the vitamins listed come from China and are not regulated. You might want to think twice before poisoning your body with another Twinkie.