Oreos. An American classic ever since 1912. Dipping them has been the subject of perennial debate – fingers, fork, or a special dipping mechanism? Do you twist them open and eat the stuffing separately from the cookie halves, or just chomp away? A lot of these things are a matter of personal preference, but there are a lot of incredible things about these humbly iconic sandwich cookies. Read on to learn more.
1. Oreos were first manufactured at a factory in New York City in 1912.
The Nabisco factory was in the building that is now Chelsea Market.
2. When they created the cookie, Nabisco ripped off Sunshine.
Sunshine (who also created Cheez-its) started manufacturing their Hydrox biscuits in 1908. Hydrox biscuits (or “Droxies”) had a crunchier chocolate cookie and a filling that is less sweet than Oreos.
3. The origin of the name is a mystery.
Some say it is just short, easy to remember, and looks good on the round face of a cookie. Others think it has something to do with the gold-colored packaging in which they were once sold. (“Or” is French for “gold.”)
4. In the US, there are currently 7 flavors available, including the original.
The flavors are: Original, Chocolate, Chocolate Golden Oreo, Berry, Lemon Golden Oreo, Mint Oreo, and Peanut Butter Oreo. There are also two special edition flavors: Cookie Dough and Marshmallow Crispy. Seasonally, other limited edition flavors come out, as well as color variations of the original that are meant to color your milk.
5. However, between the 100 countries where they’re sold, there are a number of regional flavors.
Other audiences get to experience a variety of fruit combinations and Asians get a deliciously cooling green tea ice cream flavor.
6. You’ve heard of Double Stuf, but what about Big Stuff Oreos?
Double Stuf Oreos were introduced in 1974. In 1987, Oreo introduced Big Stuff, which were several times larger than the original cookie. They even got a wacky ’90s commercial to go with them:
Unfortunately, Big Stuff Oreos were discontinued in 1991, probably because it was too hard to find a glass of milk big enough to dunk them into.
7. Double Stuf Oreos don’t actually have double the filling.
In 2013, a high school math class calculated exactly how much “stuff” is in Double Stuf Oreos, and they were disappointed to discover that these cookies only have 1.86 times the filling in the original. Mega Stuf cookies, which are supposed to have three times the filling, only have 2.68 times the filling in reality.
The only real way to get a truly Double Stuf Oreo
8. Speaking of the filling, it contained lard until the mid-1990s.
That’s right; the Oreos of your childhood may have contained pig fat. Mmmmm.
9. Incidentally, in 1998 they became Kosher.
Oreos becoming a Kosher food (with the removal of the lard) was the nail in the coffin for Hydrox cookies, which until then had been the Kosher alternative. Droxies were discontinued in 2003.
10. Oreos are vegan.
Accidental or not, America’s favorite cookie is, in fact, vegan. Neither cookie nor cream filling contain any dairy products. However, some would refute this because sometimes the sugar used in them is non-vegan.
11. Enough Oreos have existed to wrap around the earth 381 times.
If you stack them, they’d reach the moon and back to earth more than five times.
12. Women twist open Oreos more often than men.
50% of Oreo-eaters open up the cookie before consumption.
13. Oreos are as addictive as cocaine.
Filled with fats and sugars, Oreos were found to be as addictive as psychoactive drugs in experiments performed on rats in 2013. Yikes. It’s been well-documented how the snack food industry uses a fatal combination of salt, sugar, and fats to hook us on certain foods and make us eat more than we need; Oreos are no exception to this strategy.
Still, Oreos are effing delicious.
So eat up!
