« A penny for your thoughts… | Home | Insectile Thermometers? »
Life Span of a Twinkie
By Linda | September 22, 2008
Yesterday I was having a conversation with my brother about the pros and cons of food additives when he blurted out an oft-repeated but patently false assertion that “Hostess Twinkies have a shelf life of more than a hundred years”. I was astounded that an executive in the pharmaceutical industry as well as many other educated people (judging from the number of times I have been told that a Twinkie will actually outlast it’s packaging) believe this absurd myth. In defense of this unduly maligned snack cake, I am setting the record straight here on ScienceJunkies.
Twinkies have a shelf life of twenty-five days. Certainly not a hundred years but even so, twenty-five days is an unusually long time for a baked product to stay fresh. The secret to Twinkies’ longevity is their lack of dairy ingredients. Because dairy products are not part of the formula, Twinkies spoil much more slowly than other bakery items.
There really is a natural food - actually the only one I know of - That NEVER spoils. Honey!
The nectar brought to the hive by the bees is 60% to 70% water. The bees “cure” it to about 18-20% water. At this moisture level and with a pH of 3-4, the honey is very stable and can last for literally centuries!
To learn more about honey and the amazing process bees use to create it CLICK HERE
Topics: Food Science |
February 12th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and heer i had always thought of them as lasting for like at least 50 years or so>>>>MAN that so SUCKS!!! now i have to get rid of them. or just eat the good ones while i can!! thanks for the update!