Twinkie, Deconstructed

Twinkie, Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger is just that. The origins of every ingredient in a Twinkie, laid out chapter by chapter. Why, you ask, would I choose to pick up this book, when I can remain blissfully ignorant of what I’m consuming? Mostly because I’m tired of wasting my Weight Watchers points on a spongy cake that is even more appealing to me now that it is green (in honor of the Shrek movies). Perhaps I’m simply jaded, but I expected that the book present more disgusting scenarios than it actually did. I wanted to read that my Twinkie is actually comprised of the same stuff they tell you hot dogs are made of. I wanted the ingredients to be swept off the floor, mixed into a cup of lead based paint and chewed up and spit out by one of the plant employees. But I was disappointed. The book to me read like one long chemistry lesson, and was so boring that I really could’ve polished off an entire box of green Twinkies while I read. So, even though the hold list for this book is quite long, I wouldn’t be too disappointed. While you wait you can enjoy all the spongy goodness you want, and not feel guilty about it at all.