The Unpredictable Popularity of the Fortune Cookie
Posted: Sunday, September 20, 2009
by Gerry Charbonneau
http://nibblednews.typepad.com
Well, you had a relatively rough week. your immediate supervisor was unappreciative of your efforts and talent; your co workers were indifferent to your complaints; and your spouse told you she was extremely anxious to go out on the weekend to a fancy restaurant for some fine dining.
What can you do to not only enjoy that dining out experience with your significant other but also receive that much needed pat on the back you so desperately need to spruce up your ailing spirits and sagging feelings of self worth?
Fortune cookies, a somewhat modern invention and a prominent part of Asian-American culture, have filtered easily into the popular mainstay culture. They are a simple treat found in Chinese restaurants across the United States ad Canada.
Fortune cookies are really from Japan and not a Chinese invention. Although it is true that ancient Chinese warlords would send messages hidden inside cakes, fortune cookies are not Chinese. Tradition suggests that they were invented in Los Angeles around 1920.
It is relatively easy to trace the path of fortune cookies back to the Second World War when they were still called "fortune tea cakes" ( more evidence of their being Japanese, as Chinese people don't generally serve "cakes" with tea).
As of World War II , fortune cookies were already a regional specialty served in Chinese restaurants in California, particularly in San Francisco, which was the busiest West Coast port of the war.
After the War, returning military personnel traveling in and out of San Francisco enjoyed fortune cookies in the Chinese restaurants located there, and when these service men eventually returned to their home states they asked their local Chinese restaurants why they didn't serve "Chinese fortune cookies" like the authentic Chinese restaurants in San Francisco.
Fortune cookies are one of those treats that entertain and amuse almost everyone. They are universally recognized in America but still tend to confuse people in China. Although they are served almost universally in Chinese restaurants abroad, fortune cookies are almost unknown in China.
The New York Times recently reported that approximately three billion fortune cookies are made every year with the vast majority of them made in the United States. They are an extremely unique and versatile treat and are usually served after a family dinner at a Chinese restaurant, as party favors, or as an unusual crispy treat that readily melts in your mouth.
Today there are forty factories where the cookies are made in the United States. The raw ingredients for the cookie batter include the following: flour (and/or corn starch), confectioners' sugar, oil or butter, egg, salt, cream and a flavoring (usually almond).
Fortune cookies are as safe as they can be. They are made from natural ingredients, fat free, and produced in a nut-free environment. The cookies are no longer a throw away treat that you receive with a Chinese takeout meal.
They are bite-sized treats containing either a hidden message, words of wisdom or your future. Many people believe that these messages are based on ancient Chinese proverbs. The messages are actually written by hired philosophers.
Today, customized fortune cookies , made in many sizes and flavors, are delicious to eat and are ideal treats to serve at weddings, birthdays, corporate functions and any type of occasion or function.
When you actually think about it, the authors of the cookies' words of wisdom are probably more widely read than nearly 90 per cent of today's best selling authors. That is quite an accomplishment for such a tasty and mouth watering treat.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)An interesting article Gerry, and I will think of you next time I'm opening a fortune cookie. :)Thank you Brianna for your comment. Much appreciated.I am glad you enjoyed the article.The next time you do open a fortune cookie remember to not only read the fortune but make a note of the lucky lottery numbers on the reverse side of the paper.
Good Luck! :)
Good article and interesting point about how many people read them compared to authors! I wonder why no one has tried to put some type of marketing on them????Thank you for your comment SteveI wonder if the petite size of the cookie itself has persuaded advertisers to not even remotely consider the possibility of using this very popular and widely recognized treat as an advertising medium.
I like the mis-fortune cookie idea: "Your wife is thinking about leaving you," "You will crack your tooth on deep fried won ton," etc.
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