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Comment by nebula8804 | Hacker News Reader

Twinkies are just a simple yellow spongecake filled with cream. They are so unhealthy because in the quest to keep the price something that people can afford (or for greed in profits) companies are forced to turn it into processed zombie garbage but if you break it down, a Twinkie was only just originally a simple yellow spongecake with some cream. A treat served to guests during coffeetime.

Its financialization of everything including food, government tipping the scales against peoples well being and a declining purchasing power of the average american that has resulted in this awful reality where food isn't food.

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> They are so unhealthy because in the quest to keep the price something that people can afford (or for greed in profits) companies are forced to turn it into processed zombie garbage

Well, sort of. That processing is generally there not so much specifically to keep the price down as to prolong the shelf life. But it's true that without the preservatives you'd be paying higher prices.

Tastykakes[1] are about the same price as Twinkies but have half the shelf life (or less, depending on the product) due to fewer preservatives and better ingredients. They don't have the distribution that Twinkies have, but it's grown to include the entire East Coast at this point, I think. Still pretty bad for you but several rungs up the garbage ladder, for sure. I don't understand how Twinkies are able to compete in their market.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tastykake

I don't think thats true, I looked them up and this looks just as processed: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/tastykake-butterscotch-kr... (scroll down to see the ingredients)

Perhaps you are referring to a Tastykake from a bygone era?

It is true. The shelf life of those Tastykakes is three weeks. A Twinkie's is six. The shelf life of a Tastykake pie is seven days. They haven't changed much or at all since I was a kid.

Have you tried a Tastykake (and a Twinkie)? The difference is obvious if you can spare the calories.

I have tried almost all of the Tastykakes that I could purchase here on the east coast. They seem quite average in terms of quality. While I have never eaten a Twinkie and Tastykake side by side I do concede that Twinkies these days are a bottom of the barrel level of quality and TastyKakes are at least a small level above. I'm just looking at that ingredient list and it seems quite processed.

I think you misinterpreted my original comment, but I applaud your diligence in sampling the entire Tastykake product line. The pies are my favorite, though I rarely eat them as I value my health. I would not touch a Twinkie unless I were starving, or perhaps as part of a paid stunt if the money was right.

Understood. I do enjoy the coconut juniors Tastykake but I am focused on cutting out all processed and unnatural ingredients so I am forced to produce more at home. Its just the world I feel we are stuck in now.

Regarding Twinkie, did you see my other comment on producing them at home using natural ingredients? https://youtu.be/lD2OOTx2G9k?t=592

You may be able to hopefully recreate the original quality using this(if this is something you'd like to try).

> I don't understand how Twinkies are able to compete in their market.

Branding is very powerful.

(Never rebrand, it'll just disturb pleasant memories)

True, I imagine the Twinkie Pavlovian response is a tough one to shake.

Its a combination of three things: A triple whammy. Yes preservatives are extremely important. But we are now seeing reduced sizes as well as ingredient substitutions to preserve some semblance of the taste while using cheaper ingredients.

The un-ultra-processed version of Twinkies are also going to contribute to obesity and heart disease. Sponge cake and cream is high in empty calories, very high in saturated fat, and all around bad for you.

I think people sort of miss the forest for the trees with this stuff. Making your own milkshakes, or ice cream, or fried chicken, or Twinkies, will not save you from obesity.

It's not the processing per-se. All these foods are ultra-palatable, readily available, and high in calories/saturated fat.

I read there was an actual original Hostess bakery. Imagine a fresh all-natural Twinkie. Mmmmm

So there isn't a free lunch in life but you can fight back against financialization. In the case of a Twinkie follow this guide to make a proper twinkie at home: https://youtu.be/lD2OOTx2G9k?t=592

You will be spending your time but you basically "reverse" the financialization of the product in a way. You could also pay someone to make it for you but then you'd be spending more money (again no free lunch so you have to pick what you want to sacrifice: your time or more money)

I've been trying to do more of this at home to cut out anything processed at home but I have to accept that given limited time I have to let some food items I used to enjoy just go by the wayside.

I've also been trying to do this elsewhere such as "home cooked software" thats tailored to me only and does not include ever increasing junk I dont want.

A lot of the nationwide products that got started a century ago were first produced without any artifical ingredients. Until years later as each additive creeped in. I imagine a lot of them under persuasive sales presure from the vendor of the additive.

Doesn't mean they were not yet seriously processed or truly the healthiest to consume.

OTOH there's always vegan Twinkies now:

https://oopsydaisysweets.com/products/vinkies

So attractively priced at only $30.00 a half dozen, they just sold out :(

Thats one of the points im trying to make. Incomes have stagnated, people at the lower end already were kind of splurging, now they cant justify it at all. So further cost reductions have to go into the product. COVID also masked the ability of companies to just extract more profit out of the product due to the price shocks that never went back down.

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