Oreo
Encyclopedia : O : OR : ORE : Oreo
- This article is about the Oreo trademark and cookie; for the fish see oreo (fish), for the spider genus (Gallieniellidae see Oreo (spider).)
- Oreo Cookie may also refer to a pejorative term.
The Oreo cookie is commonly used as an ingredient or adornment for other foods. Milkshakes containing Oreo cookies are popular, and deep-fried Oreo cookies, which are batter-dipped Oreos fried like funnel cakes, are sometimes sold at carnivals and fairs. Also, the development of premium ice creams has produced "cookies and cream" flavors, a vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate sandwich cookies included. Cookies 'n' Cream may or may not contain actual Nabisco Oreo cookies, however, and may instead have non-Nabisco brand chocolate sandwich cookies that are functionally identical, such as Hydrox and an endless stream of "generic" brands. Many cookies similar to Oreo cookies are commonly referred to as "Oreo" despite not having an actual connection to Nabisco.
According to a statement from Kim McMiller, an Associate Director of Consumer Relations, a two-stage process is used to make Oreo cookies. The base cake dough is formed into the familiar round cookies by a rotary mold at the entrance of a 300-foot-long oven. Key ingredients include sugar (later supplanted by chemically produced high fructose corn syrup), Dutch cocoa, and pure chocolate liquor purchased from outside suppliers in addition to flour which is milled at Nabisco's flour mill.
History
The Oreo was first targeted at the people who drank tea in England. The creators had decided that England's biscuit was quite boring to dip in their tea and that they should create a new "Different" biscuit that would be fun and interesting. Oreos were produced in two flavors of cream, vanilla and lemon meringue. This later changed, eliminating lemon meringue and to make way for the many other flavours. The cookie made better progress than what was expected but made greater progress in America later on, which surprised its creators greatly.A little known fact is that each side shows twelve flowers around the Oreo design.
Etymology
Some have suggested the name "Oreo" came about because it was a nice and melodic use of sounds that were easy to pronounce. Others claim the name is based on the French word for gold, a color used on early packaged designs. Another theory is that the name comes from the Greek word for "nice" or "hill" (oreo), as previously mentioned. Some people believe that the creators took the re from the word cream and that the two o's represent the two cookies on both the bottom and the top (o-re-o).In the mid-1990s, as part of the "Got Milk?" advertising campaign, a commercial was produced which gave an explanation, albeit a joking one, for the naming of the cookie. It all takes place in the Nabisco boardroom. The president of the company showed all of his executives the Oreo cookie, which didn't have a name. The spot where you see OREO on the cookie is blank. The president of the company tells the board members that this cookie will make them all rich, but they need to come up with a name for it. All of the board members proceed to eat the cookies with milk. The youngest board member, Hurley, puts a cookie in his mouth, but when he goes for milk, there's none left. The other board members are yelling out names for the cookie like "Wafericious" and "Chocoriffic" The president is not satisfied with any of these names. He then asks Hurley in a very scornful tone what he thinks. Hurley says "I don't know", but since his mouth is filled with the cookies and he has no milk to wash them down, it sounds like he said "Oreo". The president calls him a genius, and history is made.
Varieties
Not all varieties are listed here, and not all are available in every country.
- Oreo Big Stuff!!! - an Oreo cookie about twice the size of a regular one
- Double Stuf Oreo - an Oreo cookie with a double portion of filling
- Double Stuf Peanut Butter Creme Oreo - an Oreo with a double portion of a peanut butter-flavored filling
- Double Stuf Chocolate Creme Oreo - an Oreo with a double portion of a chocolate-flavored filling
- Colored creme Oreo - Instead of white cream, these Oreos contain cream that is tinted a certain color. They are sold at appropriate times of the year (orange at Halloween, red at Christmas, blue and yellow during springtime). All colored creme Oreos have special designs like kites, pumpkins, or Christmas trees.
- Chocolate Creme Oreo contain chocolate-flavored cream instead of the traditional white cream. A similar cookie by the name of Fudgee-O is made in (and available in) Canada, also made by Nabisco. (This is also available in "Double Stuff")
- Fudge Oreo - like the traditional cookie, but with an overall coating of chocolate fudge
- White Fudge Oreo - Oreo cookies with a coating of white chocolate fudge (these are usually sold during winter, to be reminiscent of snow)
- Reduced Fat Oreo-Self Explanitory
- Mystic Mint - like the traditional cookie, but with an overall chocolate mint flavored coating
- Double Delight Oreo - Oreo cookies with two different flavors of filling in the same cookie
- *Peanut Butter and Chocolate - The filling is half peanut butter and half chocolate-flavored "cream".
- *Mint 'n' Creme - The filling is half white "cream" and half mint-flavored "cream".
- *Coffee 'n' Creme - The filling is half white "cream" and half coffee-flavored "cream".
- *Mocha 'n' Chocolate Creme The filling is half mocha "cream" and half-chocolate "cream". This product is only available in Canada.
- *Caramel 'n' Chocolate - The filling is half caramel "cream" and half chocolate flavoured "cream".
- Uh-Oh! Oreo - The flavors of the cookie are reversed; the wafers are vanilla flavored and the cream is chocolate. The name comes from a television commercial for the cookie, in which a little girl exclaims, "Uh-oh!" after watching malfunctioning factory equipment create a reversed cookie.
- Cup o' dirt or Dirt pudding - This children's dessert is not exactly an Oreo, but a cup of chocolate pudding and crumbled Oreo cookies on top, filled with gummy worms. May alternatively be called "worms 'n' dirt."
- Golden Oreo - have the usual cream, but yellow wafers instead of chocolate ones. "Uh-Oh! Oreo" is essentially a Golden Oreo cookie with chocolate filling.
- Mini Oreo - A smaller, "bite-sized" version of the cookie, they are packaged in bags or individual snack packs rather than the usual wrapped trays.
- Oreo Barz - a candy bar variation of the cookie, containing the wafer and cream, plus a chocolate coating and chocolate chips for topping
- Oreo O's - a breakfast cereal containing the chocolate and cream flavors of the cookie with marshmallow bits. Post makes this cereal.
- Oreo Ice Cream - a brand of cookies 'n' cream flavored ice cream containing blended Oreo cookies and vanilla ice cream. Breyers makes this ice cream in the United States while Nestlé makes it in Canada. Dairy Queen would use this idea for their Blizzard while Canadian McDonalds stores would use this for their McFlurry.
- Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches - same as the cookie with larger wafers and Oreo ice cream in the middle (without the huge chunks of oreo cookies in it) Breyers makes this Ice Cream in the United States while Nestlé makes it in Canada.
- Jell-O Oreo Pudding - Jell-O brand chocolate pudding at the bottom and on top, with vanilla in the middle.
Oreo cookies in popular culture
- For many years, one of the most well-known traits of the DC Comics character J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, was his addiction to Oreo cookies. Later the addiction was changed to "Chocos" due to trademark or copyright laws.
- On TV commercials for Oreo cookies, an Oreo cookie sometimes makes a child's milk disappear because he/she continues to dunk the cookie into it, implying that Oreo cookies can make children drink more milk.
- Some have created "Quadruplestuf" sandwich cookies by taking the tops off 2 Double Stuf Oreo cookies and putting them together. "Quadruplestuf" (or Quadruple Stuf) Oreo cookies are not an official brand, but they have been shown in the media and on TV shows such as South Park.
- Some pet owners have been known to name pets with black and white coloring "Oreo" after the cookie.
- "Weird Al" Yankovic sang a song called "The White Stuff", about the cream "in the middle of an Oreo." It was a spoof of "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on the Block.
- Oreo cookies may have once been thrown at Michael Steele, an African American Republican politician from Maryland, by demonstrators, which was taken as a racist statement. See Oreo Cookie (slang).
- In the 1976 remake of the film A Star Is Born the Caucasian singer played by Barbra Streisand is flanked by two African-American backing vocalists known as "The Oreos" (played by Venetta Fields and Clydie King).
- A popular band in Aruba is named Oreo.
- Shown on episodes of The WB series 7th Heaven.
- Popular Science magazine featured an article on... Oreo-powered rockets!
- Futurama has an episode starting with Fry making an Oreo-type cookie by puting the 2-waffers and a cream filling in a press.
- In the Friends episode "The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie," Joey Tribbiani breaks his personal best by stuffing 15 Oreos in his mouth.
Dietary compatibility
In 1998, Nabisco declared that Oreo cookies were kosher-dairy in Kosher diets.On May 13, 2003, attorney Stephen Joseph filed a lawsuit charging Nabisco with using hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated, oils (trans fats) to make the cookies. The suit was dropped as Nabisco considered replacing the hydrogenated oils with alternative oils.
As of January 2006, classic Oreo cookies are [no longer manufactured with hydrogenated oils]. Older packages will still be on store shelves for some time, and other varieties may not have eliminated hydrogenated oils completely.
Depending on the area of manufacture, Oreo cookies may or may not be vegan.
Reference
Lukas, Paul. Oreos to Hydrox: Resistance Is Futile. Business 2.0 March, 1999.External links
- [Official site]
- [Additional history notes on Oreo cookies]
- [Exploration of an Oreo (including ingredients)]
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