Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Today is Oreo's 100th Birthday!!

Bet you don't know what today is do ya?  I didn't either until my wife told me!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, marks a momentous occasion in history — Oreo cookie's birthday. And it's not just any birthday; Oreo is turning the big 100. That's right, Oreo fans around the globe have been twisting, licking, and dunking America's favorite cookie for an entire century.

According to The New York Times, it all started on March 6, 1912, when The National Biscuit Company sold its first Oreo sandwich cookies to S.C. Thuesen, a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey — and the rest was history.

The New York Post reports that the Oreo cookie was born at what is now a New York tourist hotspot and home to Food Network Studios, Chelsea Market. Chelsea Market was once the headquarters for the National Biscuit Company, which would later go by Nabisco. While the headquarters, the owning company, and the cookie itself have undergone many changes throughout the years, the world's love for Oreos has continued to grow. The design on the outside of the classic cookie alone has changed three times, from a simple wreath around the Oreo name to today's complicated design complete with a serrated edge.

While it was always a sandwich cookie, the Oreo started out as the "Oreo Biscuit" sold alongside two other cookies: The Mother Goose and the Veronese. By 1921, the Oreo had surpassed its cookie counterparts and was sold on its own as the "Oreo Sandwich," and later as the "Oreo Crème Sandwich." The cookie the world knows and loves today is dubbed the "Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie," although it comes in many forms. Oreo Cookie variations have included a lemon-cream flavor, Double and Triple Stuf Oreos, and even an "inside-out" version that featured vanilla cookies with chocolate filling.

Over the years, various countries have released their own special Oreo flavor profiles. For example, the best selling Oreo in Argentina is the "Duo," a package that includes some cookies with banana filling and others with dulce de leche filling. In China, consumers can purchase green tea ice cream-flavored Oreos and a variety called "Double Fruit" that has different fruit-flavored fillings.

Since they were first baked in 1912, more than 362 billion Oreos have been consumed worldwide. Now, 100 years later, Kraft Foods is planning a centennial birthday bash for all the Oreo lovers out there. While the celebration is mostly made up of a new marketing campaign featuring the slogan, "Celebrate the kid inside," there is also an edible way to participate in the Oreo celebration. Kraft Foods created a limited-edition cookie called the Birthday Cake Oreo. From the outside these special cookies look like the classic Oreo, but when consumers twists open the cookie, they will find frosting speckled with colored sprinkles.

Now here is a simple recipe-

Chocolate Dipped Oreo Pops:

Ingredients;

U.S. Metric Conversion chart

10 lollipop sticks

10 double-stuff Oreo cookies

1 1/2 cup(s) (9 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 tablespoon(s) solid vegetable shortening

Decoration: green sprinkles (jimmies), candy-covered chocolate drops (ice cream topping)

Directions

1.Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Insert a lollipop stick into cream filling of each cookie.

2.Melt chocolate and shortening in a small bowl in microwave; stir until smooth.

3.Dip 1 cookie pop into melted chocolate, letting top of cookie rest on bottom of bowl for support. Spoon melted chocolate over cookie to coat. Transfer to lined baking sheet, using a fork to support pop from underneath if needed.

4.Sprinkle around edge with sprinkles, making a "wreath." Add chocolate drops. Let stand until set. Repeat with remaining cookie pops, remelting chocolate as needed. Wrap in food-safe cellophane or plastic wrap; tie with bow for gift-giving.

Enjoy!

1 comment:

Carole said...

Nice blog. You might be interested in a post I did on my current favorite kitchen utensil - a jar key. http://caroleschatter.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/useful-kitchen-gadget-jar-key.html


Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






Cavier & Vodka
Courtesy of The Lady (Bug) of the Household