Everyone has their favorite Pepperidge Farm cookies or crackers, but how much do you know
about the company that specializes in these European-style treats?
From Goldfish to Milano Cookies, here's everything you're hungry to know.
Mmm...
Goldfish crackers.
There's nothing more American than those, right?
"Got strange customs here.
Eat tiny little goldfish … a special breed raised only on Pepperidge Farm."
Wrong!
According to The Daily Meal, Goldfish were invented in Switzerland by a man named Oscar
J. Kambly.
In fact, his company still sells the little fish-shaped crackers, and they're clearly
labeled: Goldfish — the Original.
It's very similar to the cheesy, puffy cracker that's sold in the states, though the American
version is a bit more successful.
According to Business Wire, Pepperidge Farm produces an incredible one-hundred and forty-two
billion Goldfish crackers every year.
Sure, everyone has their own individual tastes when it comes to cookies, but no one can deny
that Pepperidge Farm Milanos are a huge favorite.
"Someone's been sneaking my Milano Cookies.
Tim…?
Is he capable of indulging himself the way I do…?"
Oddly enough, these chocolate-filled sandwich cookies almost never happened.
According to Slate, the original version of the Milano was a cookie called the Naples.
It was quite similar to the Milano that we know and love, but with only the bottom cookie
and a chocolate layer.
Once the cookies started shipping into the Southern states, though, the heat led to melted
chocolate and a bonafide cookie catastrophe.
They added the other half of the cookie sandwich to hold everything in place, called it a Milano,
and created a classic.
Disaster averted!
Goldfish smiles were added in 1997, a change made 35 years after they were first introduced
to the American public.
"Everybody's on the lookout for Boomer, the flavor-blasted goldfish characteristics: Fish-shape,
sunglasses, and a smart-mouthed little smirk."
According to the New York Daily News, Pepperidge Farm reportedly hired, quote, "a smile psychologist"
to perfect the aesthetic of their grinning fish crackers.
"... the wholesome snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off…"
A human smile is as much in the eyes as it is in the mouth, and since the fish couldn't
have the same crinkled eyes and happy face that humans do, Pepperidge Farm wanted to
make sure their smiles looked like genuinely happy smiles.
Did you know Goldfish crackers were Julia Child's favorite snack?
According to Mental Floss, she loved them so much she even served them as an appetizer
during her Thanksgiving dinners.
Child thought the crackers were perfect for whetting people's appetites before a big meal,
according to the Washington Post's Mary Beth Albright:
"This is a great trick that Julia Child used.
It's one of her favorite snacks.
Goldfish crackers and an upside-down martini."
Mary Bergin, who worked with Child on her show Baking with Julia, wrote a touching tribute
for Child on what would have been her 100th birthday.
According to PBS, Bergin fondly remembered Julia Child's bowls of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish
crackers, which were even served at memorials after her death.
Pepperidge Farm started with bread, but you probably know the company best for its delicious
cookies.
But if you ever wondered why Pepperidge Farm cookies have such a European flair, there's
a good reason — they're completely European!
According to Slate, Margaret Rudkin visited Europe in the hopes of finding inspiration
for her cookie line.
When she stopped by Brussels, she apparently found exactly what she was looking for at
the Delacre cookie factory.
In fact, she absolutely fell in love with the cookies' delicate, elegant design.
Delacre wasn't selling cookies in the US at the time.
Somehow, Rudkin convinced the company to give her some of their recipes and send some bakers
to Pepperidge Farm to provide a crash course in making them.
Now that Delacre is selling in the US, though, they think of Pepperidge Farm as competition.
Whoops!
Pepperidge Farm really does exist, and technically, there are two.
The first one was the sprawling farm and well-appointed mansion owned by company founder Margaret
Fogarty Rudkin.
"She lived on a property that was actually called Pepperidge Farm for the Pepperidge
tree."
But the mill on the brand's logo is actually the Wayside Inn Grist Mill in Massachusetts,
and it was built by Henry Ford.
By 1952, the mill was employed by Pepperidge Farm and became the image of the company.
The WaySide Inn Grist Mill is still open if you're suddenly compelled to see this place
for yourself.
"Hard to choose."
"That's some problem…
You try them."
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