Our little Twinkie is all grown up -- this cream-filled snack cake is turning 75 this month. Despite the rumors that Twinkies are so chemical-filled that they never go bad, in reality, the shelf like of a Twinkie is actually around 25 days, according to Theresa Cogswell, vice president for research and development at Interstate Bakeries Corporation, Hostess' parent company. The Washington Post notes that
a 25-day shelf life is pretty long. That's because Twinkies contain no dairy-based ingredients that could quickly go bad. Twinkies are basically flour, sugar (three kinds of it), oil, eggs and chemicals (mainly preservatives and stabilizers).
Mmm . . . preservatives and stabilizers. Despite their much-maligned reputation, Twinkies have withstood the test of time, not to mention a round of pseudo-scientific experiments conducted by some Rice University students, dubbed The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project: Tests With Inorganic Noxious Kakes In Extreme Situations.
Join the Twinkie birthday celebration by cooking with Twinkies. That's right -- the Twinkie site has plenty of recipes using Twinkies including Clare Crespo's famous Twinkie sushi. Or if you're feeling really motivated (or would like more control over your chemical intake), make your own.
