Nourishments—

No Kidding: ‘An Adult’ll Eat The Middle Of An Oreo…’

By Nancy K. Crevier

I am a strong proponent of homemade cookies. There is always something about a cookie purchased from the supermarket that is disappointing: the sweetness, the crispness, the texture, and often, the mysterious ingredients added that I have never seen in a home kitchen. But there is one store-bought cookie that holds a special place in my heart, and which just cannot be reproduced at home — the Oreo cookie, this year celebrating its 100th anniversary in production.

I have memories of creeping down the stairs at my grandfather’s house, early in the morning, to find him quietly dunking Oreo or Hydrox (Oreo’s blonde cousin, last produced in 1999) cookies into his cup of coffee. (On the mornings that he wasn’t toasting Frito chips on the wood stove for a crunchy morning meal, that is…)

Growing up, Oreos were always our backup cookie when the cookie jar was emptied of homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies.

Then I became a health fiend, and Oreo cookies were relegated to the “bad” category. By the time I had my first child, nary a crème-filled chocolate sandwich cookie darkened our doorway. Until said child turned 3, and went to nursery school.

One day, after school, I pulled out the package of all natural Frookie sandwich cookies (low cholesterol, low sodium, low fat, low sugar, whole grain) for a snack and put them on her plate. She dutifully ate them up, pausing during one mouthful to ask me, “Mommy, have you ever heard of Oreos?”

“Sure,” I replied. “They’re cookies, just like Frookies.”

“Oh no,” she answered, sincerely. “They’re not like Frookies. We had them for snack today. Oreos are very good.”

That’s one for Oreos. Zero for nutrition minded moms.

Years later, our German exchange student also voted in the affirmative for Oreos, his favorite American cookie (and one which had crept back into our cupboard over the years, for him to discover). Arnold could easily down half a package of Oreos at one sitting, milk or no milk.

It is kind of hard to argue with the popularity of the Oreo, with over 490 billion cookies sold since its 1912 inception, according to several websites. First produced in Chelsea section for New York City by the National Biscuit Company, later known as Nabisco, and this century a product of Kraft Foods, it is unclear who named the cookie, or even why the odd name came to be.

Possibly the name was derived from the French for gold, “Or” referring to the golden package in which it was once sold, or the fact that the original Oreo was mound shaped — the Greek word for mountain being “oros” and the Greek word for beautiful, “oreo.” Letters culled from “cREme” sandwiched between letters culled from “chOcOlate” might also be the origin of the name. Not even the nabiscoworld.com website provides a definitive answer. And it probably doesn’t matter to the millions of people worldwide who now consume Oreos in myriad sizes (miniature, regular, and double-stuffed), flavors (strawberry and green tea in China, peanut butter, mint, and chocolate at various times and places in North America), and styles (Golden Oreos with vanilla cookies, wafer Oreos, and wafer stick Oreos, for example).

Its taglines have become as iconic as any American product can get: America’s Favorite Cookie. Milk’s Favorite Cookie. And how can anyone who grew up in the 1970s ever get that earworm of a jingle out of his or her head: “Oh, a kid’ll eat the middle of an Oreo first, and save the chocolate cookie outside for last?” 

For those nutrition minded moms and dads who are willing to turn a blind eye to the fact that this is a mass-produced cookie, Oreo has even introduced one made with organic wheat flour and organic evaporated cane sugar. It takes the sting out of feeding our kids what we already know: junk food is junk food.

But how junkie can something be if it is fraught with wonderful memories? Sometimes, nourishment is about more that than feeding the body.

Happy Birthday, Oreo!