Fit: Dissecting the Dessert

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MOST PEOPLE are content to simply eat their Twinkies, without dwelling on the scary stuff inside. You know — the chemicals and preservatives that make the cream filling so smooth and the cake so fluffy.

Steve Ettlinger, however, was curious about what he was ingesting. So, he set out to find out the origin of every ingredient that goes into a Twinkie — and most other processed foods. In his new book, "Twinkie, Deconstructed" ($24, Hudson Street Press), he chronicles his quest.

» EXPRESS: Why is the Twinkie such a good example of a processed food?
» ETTLINGER: I needed a window into this whole world of artificial ingredients. I thought I should find a well-known object that spans a range of ingredients fairly typical of all processed foods. A trip to the grocery store told me you couldn't beat Twinkies. Everyone seems to know them.

» EXPRESS: You went everywhere the ingredients came from. How was that?
» ETTLINGER: The mine in Wyoming [to learn about baking powder] was really amazing. They took me down 1,600 feet, as far as the tallest building in the world is high. And I saw elemental phosphorous being made. It's a liquid that bursts into flame when poured.

» EXPRESS: What surprised you most?
» ETTLINGER: How many ingredients come from rock and petroleum. When you eat almost any baked good, you're probably eating ingredients from five different rocks. Some are common, like salt. Calcium sulfate is so pure they dig it up, grind it and put it in a bag. The colors and flavors rely on basic chemicals derived from crude oil or natural gas.

» EXPRESS: It seems a lot of the stuff is used less for taste and more just to hold the product together.
» ETTLINGER: Absolutely. Your basic ingredients are flour and sugar. There are sweeteners and fats derived from soy. Everything else replaces eggs and dairy. The absence of fresh eggs is what makes the biggest difference. That's what allows them to have a 25-day shelf life.

» EXPRESS: Why are all these weird substances so prevalent in our foods?
» ETTLINGER: Partly because they're less expensive and easier to handle than natural counterparts like eggs, cream or butter. Secondly, they may lend themselves better to industrial production. Remember, they're making batters that have to flow through tubes or stand up to mixing in a 4,000-gallon kettle. And the holy grail of all packaged goods, besides making it for the least expense, is shelf life. These things, used in minute quantities, prolong that.

» EXPRESS: Do natural ingredients exist that could replace all the chemicals?
» ETTLINGER: Eggs and butter are really the big deal. Twinkies only have one preservative: sorbic acid, which is almost a food. It's a fatty acid cousin of olive oil made from natural gas. The only thing it affects is mold. I made a home version of a Twinkie once, and in about a week it was green. The moisture is largely preserved by sugar, oil and packaging. They dry out if not packaged.

» EXPRESS: Are these ingredients healthy, or could they do some harm?
» ETTLINGER: I can't say. I'm not a nutritionist. For me, the answer is very simple: If you want to eat healthy, eat your fruits and vegetables. Twinkies are a treat. However, these ingredients are in all of our processed foods. Generally, you might want to wonder about that.

» EXPRESS: Will anyone who reads your book ever eat a Twinkie again?
» ETTLINGER: You know, it's funny you ask that. I just saw a vegan blog on which they were talking about my book. They were going, "eww" and "ahhh" and so forth, and at least one person said, "All this talk about Twinkies is making me want one." I think my book's publication boosted Twinkie sales, but only temporarily.

Written by Express contributor Jessica Milcetich
Photo courtesy Hostess