Fig Newton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fig Newton (in Europe, a Fig Roll) is a soft, cake-like pastry filled with fig jam. A trademarked product of Nabisco, Fig Newtons originated in the United States and have since spread across the world. Their unusual shape is a characterisitic that has recently been adopted by competitors, such as the generic Fig Bars sold by most supermarkets, and Newman's Own Fig Newmans (an organic variety).
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[edit] History
The Fig Newton was created in 1891 by Joshua Josephson of the Kennedy Biscuit Company, a Massachusetts-based bakery. The company named many of their products after surrounding communities. The Fig Newton was named after nearby Newton, Massachusetts. It was first simply called the Newton, but the name was changed to Fig Newton in 1898.
The Kennedy Biscuit Company merged with other regional bakeries in 1898 to form the National Biscuit Company, which later became Nabisco. The cookie is now produced by Nabisco.
Roser invented the technique for encasing the fig jam in a dough wrapper. The machine that makes the cookie consists of a funnel within a funnel. The inner funnel contains the filling, and the outer funnel contains the dough. The machine extrudes the filled cookie, which is then baked, cut into smaller pieces, and packaged.
Recently, Nabisco moved the manufacture of the cookie to Monterey, Mexico.
[edit] Varieties
Nabisco makes several varieties of the Newton, including Strawberry, Cherries 'n' Cheesecake, Caramel Apple, Raspberry, and Apple Newtons, in addition to the original Fig. The cookie is the company's number-three seller at more than a billion a year.
In the United Kingdom, Ireland and elsewhere, the fig variety are known as Fig Rolls. Jacobs Biscuits are its main manufacturers, advertising with the slogan "How do they get the figs into the fig rolls?".
The popular slogan became a hit in the 80's "a cookie is just a cookie but a newton is fig in cake." became a popculture hit.
[edit] Advertising and Popular Culture
In the 1970s, Nabisco ran a tremendously popular advertising campaign for the Fig Newton. The commercials featured a performer dressed like a fig singing the Fig Newton song:
- Chewy, oo-ee, rich and gooey inside.
- Golden, flaky, tender cakey outside.
- Wrap the inside in the outside -- Is it good? Darn Tootin'!
- Do the big Fig Newton.
- Oh you can't do the Newton if a Newton it's not.
- But if it's by Nabisco a Fig Newton's what you've got.
- Do the big FIG NEWTON - here's the tricky part - the big FIG NEWTON - one more time - the BIG FIG NEWTONNNNN!
At the conclusion of the song, he struck the "fig newton pose", leaning forward and balancing on his left foot, with arms spread and right leg raised behind him.
In the 1980s, Nabisco again produced a popular advertising slogan:
- A cookie is just a cookie, but a Newton is fruit and cake.
In the 2006, the push was centered on the claim that a Fig Newton contained more fruit than a Nutri-Grain bar.
[edit] Fun Facts
- In The Simpsons episode "Mother Simpson", Homer Simpson's childhood bed time song was the Fig Newton jingle from the '70s. Upon his mother saying the line "Here's the tricky part", Homer immediately fell to sleep.
- In 2006's Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Ricky puts a giant Fig Newtons sticker on the windshield of his race car. He later says, "This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons."
- Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herman Edwards is known to love Fig Newtons, and usually has "a package close by." [1]
- In his book the Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, the author Bill Bryson describes the Fig Newtons as the worst cookie ever baked.
[edit] Regional Regulation
North America
- The US Food and Drug Administration allows for fig paste to have up to 13 insect heads per 100 grams.
European Union
- Most EU nations take a similar view on fig paste bug regulation.
