LL Cool J famously told you not to call it a comeback. The new Hostess are telling us to not only call it a comeback, but that it’s the sweetest one in the history of ever. I wholeheartedly agree.
Beginning yesterday the return of Twinkies to store shelves began in earnest. The spongy golden cake cream filled treats have made a triumphant return to the snack cake aisles of America after nearly being extinguished over 8 months ago due to the flailings of their maker. Slightly rebranded with a trademarked comeback motto, in the same colorful boxes, and with 10 cakes per box the internet masses are getting what they have clamored for during this unforseen Twinkie drought.
With their return also comes the criticism from those who are quick to point out the nutritional value of a Twinkie equates it to caloric trash for the body. One serving (two cakes) contain 270 calories, with 80 of those calories from fat, making it a practical meal unto itself. The 48 grams of carbohydrates, 33 of those grams from sugar, doesn’t help their credibility with those bordering diabetics who just finished returning their Paula Deen cookbooks. With an additional admitted shelf life of now 45 days, the Nutritional Value Nazis are having a grand time conjuring images of what those preservatives are doing to your insides.
I can’t help but feel that this is more than a story of the nutritional value of a food item. It is more than a story about a failing company retrieved from bankruptcy and reorganized. It is more than a story about a snack cake. This… this is a story about us as people.
It is a story about the smells, tastes, and feel of more than one generation’s childhood. The Twinkie represents a tangible reminder. It is a reminder of the joys we once knew. Of the innocence we sacrificed upon the altar of society entering adulthood. Of the days when everything that was wrong in the world was righted simply, easily, with nothing more than a cellophane wrapped cream filled spongy golden cake. The Twinkie is a reminder of those memories… feelings… sense of security that no matter how bad it was… everything was going to be alright. The Twinkie, and its comeback, are a testament to the nature of man and our ability to “make it happen” for those that matter.
The Twinkie is not a lie.
Now, with all that said and done, when can I expect some Sno-Balls?
As you may have already heard, Hostess Brands announced on November 16, 2012 that they are liquidating their assets and closing up shop. They will no longer be producing a long line of products including such iconic snack brands as Twinkies, Sno Balls, and Devil Dogs (under the Drake’s Cakes label).