18 min listen
Hydrox: How A Cookie Got A Name So Bad
FromScience Diction
ratings:
Length:
20 minutes
Released:
Oct 16, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
The first Oreo rolled out of Chelsea Market in Manhattan in 1912, but despite the cookie’s popularity today, Oreos weren’t an immediate cookie smash hit. In fact, there was already another cookie on the block that looked remarkably similar to Oreos: two chocolate wafers embossed with laurel leaves, and white cream in the center. This cookie was widely loved, made with the highest quality ingredients, and saddled with a curious name: Hydrox.
So how did a cookie get a name so bad? Producer Alexa Lim takes us all the way back to the early 1900s, and brings us a story of the rise - and the crumble - of a cookie named Hydrox.
Guests:
Carolyn Burns is the owner of The Insight Connection, and a former marketing director for Keebler.
Stella Parks is a pastry chef and the author of Brave Tart: Iconic American Desserts.
Ellia Kassoff is the CEO of Leaf Brands.
Footnotes & Further Reading:
For more Hydrox history, check out Brave Tart by Stella Parks.
Can’t get enough Hydrox? This is a fun website.
Credits:
This episode of Science Diction was produced by Alexa Lim, Elah Feder, and Johanna Mayer. Our editor is Elah Feder. Daniel Peterschmidt is our composer and contributed sound design. Fact checking by Danya AbdelHameid. Chris Wood mastered the episode. Our Chief Content Officer is Nadja Oertelt.
So how did a cookie get a name so bad? Producer Alexa Lim takes us all the way back to the early 1900s, and brings us a story of the rise - and the crumble - of a cookie named Hydrox.
Guests:
Carolyn Burns is the owner of The Insight Connection, and a former marketing director for Keebler.
Stella Parks is a pastry chef and the author of Brave Tart: Iconic American Desserts.
Ellia Kassoff is the CEO of Leaf Brands.
Footnotes & Further Reading:
For more Hydrox history, check out Brave Tart by Stella Parks.
Can’t get enough Hydrox? This is a fun website.
Credits:
This episode of Science Diction was produced by Alexa Lim, Elah Feder, and Johanna Mayer. Our editor is Elah Feder. Daniel Peterschmidt is our composer and contributed sound design. Fact checking by Danya AbdelHameid. Chris Wood mastered the episode. Our Chief Content Officer is Nadja Oertelt.
Released:
Oct 16, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (43)
Ketchup: A Fishy History: At the turn of the 20th century, 12 young men sat in the basement of the Department of Agriculture, eating meals with a side of borax, salicylic acid, or formaldehyde. They were called the Poison Squad, and they were part of a government experiment to figure out whether popular food additives were safe. (Spoiler: Many weren’t.) Food manufacturers weren’t pleased with the findings, but one prominent ketchup maker paid attention. Influenced by these experiments, he transformed ketchup into the all-American condiment that we know and love today. Except ketchup—both the sauce and the word—didn't come from the United States. The story of America’s favorite condiment begins in East Asia. Harvey Wiley (back row, third from left) and the members of The Poison Squad. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) Members of the Poison Squad dining in the basement of the Department of Agriculture. Harvey Wiley occasionally ate with them, to offer encouragement and support. (U.S. F by Science Diction