So, you’ve seen the hype this January about the new Lady Gaga Oreos – they’re fun, endorsed by the great celebrity and seem to just hit the right spot with all those Oreo officianadoes. Have you tried one yet though?
Well those of us scanning the social media trends have noticed a sudden spike in interest in Oreos above and beyond what we would normally expect. This classic American cream-filled chocolate biscuit has suddenly taken on a new form. We now have a fluorescent pink packaged sandwich cookie which has Lady Gaga’s monicker all over it.
It’s a clever ploy because it makes great play of the singer’s celebrity status and uses colours that we wouldn’t normally expect together, pink and green. Gone is the trademark chocolate brown and ivory white colour of the trad Oreo! The new colours for what I think will become an iconic biscuit are not ones associated with food altogether but we shouldn’t forget green smoothies and pink sandwich wafer so it’s not that daft an idea in truth.
The biscuit is essentially a pink sandwich with a vibrant green creme filling. The whole shape and texture isn’t that much different from the gold standard. The biscuit may be slightly harder baked which could reflect the biscuit crumb but by all accounts the creme filling is similar in its soft texture. It does have the all important malty flavour in the biscuit. Some comments include ‘too sweet’ in the creme filling but may be this variant needs a slight point of difference in flavour without relying on its glaring colour shift.
No matter what the Oreo happens to be, there is a ritual to eating them. Lots of adverts have emphasised different approaches in tackling these yummy biscuits. Most consumers often take the side off and then lick the creme away. It’s a moot point for many but the art of eating an Oreo is just that – art.
Gluten-Free Oreos
Oreos appear to have undergone a regular brush with new variant product development over the years. Not that long ago, Nabisco (Mondelez International) who produce this biscuit released a gluten free version in November 2019.
If you look back through the history of the Oreo we can see that since it began in the early 1900s there have been lots of biscuit development. Typically there have been flavour changes and even ones with alterations in the biscuit but perhaps not a biscuit endorsing its nutritional credentials so much. So, not only a gluten-free version but also variants with a vegan suitability.
Gluten is a problematic ingredient for many who are intolerant to it. In those who have intolerance it produces severe stomach cramps and a general loss of vigour. Just as a byword, lots of food producers have sought to remove it from anything that would have relied on wheat flour. There are now lots of baked goods which claim ‘gluten-free’ so why not an Oreo?
The gluten-free version comes in two variants: a regular and Double Stuf.
Now a Double Stuf for Oreo lovers has been around since 1974. Generally it has almost double the usual amount of creme filling. This has been designed to satisfy all of us who like lots more of that vanilla-flavoured creme filling than usual. It isn’t exactly double the amount but near as possible. There is some suspicion that the amount of creme filling varies between countries but these are mere quibbles.
The current ingredient list includes wheat flour and more specifically wheat starch for the bake biscuit part. the chocolate comes from fat reduced cocoa powder, added to 3.3 per cent. There is palm and rapeseed oil but that will no doubt change in time. Palm oil is probably the most controversial of the ingredients because of the environmental issues associated with palm growing.
The Oreo is a trademarked product so its worth bearing in mind that there are plenty of product developers copying this biscuit.
The Oreo is also an ideal partner with other developers. Cadburys have Easter eggs based on the Oreo texture and flavour. Goatze have also dipped their toe in this field producing Caramel Creams and Oreo and Oreo Cow Tales.
Pillsbury launched Funfetti® as a buttermilk pancake and waffle mix with Oreo cookie pieces. That’s a great way of bringing in the fun element.
The supermarket/grocery chains have also got on the act. Waitrose in the UK have put out a vegan Oreo cheesecake which looks splendid for Valentine’s day. There is also news of a Brookie-O™ which is an Oreo with a triple layer of Brownie, classic Oreo creme and Cookie dough.
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