It's Over, She Said with a Twinkie in Her Eye

Hostess is shutting off the ovens...for good. sigh.

Growing up on the East Coast, my life was greatly enhanced (as was my waistline), by the big three cake bakeries: TastyKake, Drake's and Hostess. They packaged scrumptious, ok maybe not, but when you're a kid, those taste buds have not fully formed, single serve cupcakes and such. Each had a variety or two which were favorites, but TastyKake was my #1, followed by Drake's (who doesn't love a Yodel?) and Hostess.

Of course Hostess was famous for the indestructible, life-force known as the Twinkie. meh. Not high on my list. Given the choice, I would eat nothing before I would eat a Twinkie. However give me a Susie Q, and I can get happy real fast. Always loved them cold, so the cream filling gets semi-hard and you can actually feel the fats form cholesterol bubbles as you swallowed. Of course, they were even better before they took out the trans fats...what wasn't. But I digress.

Now as much of a chocolate freak as I am, I was not a fan of the Hostess chocolate cupcakes. Drake's Ring Dings and the TastyKake buttercream or full-chocolate versions were so much tastier. I did however, love the orange cupcakes. The icing is a color not found in nature. And as with all Hostess baked goods, you need to have a degree in chemistry to truly understand what you are eating. But who the hell cares...it's cupcakes.

But in the midst of my sadness over losing my desserts, there is also the loss of Wonder bread. A white bread so artificial, ducks have been known to explode after consumption of a slice or two. Again, who cares, it made the best grilled cheese sandwiches. Now, I'll need to use grown-up bread. Life can be cruel.

In the end, who really knows if it was the economy, unions or competition which forced the closing of the Hostess plant. It will soon be gone.

Of course if you stock up now, you can still be eating Twinkies into the next millennium.

I bet Shop Rite is gonna be busy today.

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