Memories by the Serving Full

by Jessica Domel

As I scrolled through my Twitter feed yesterday, I saw similar messages from news outlets across the nation-Twinkies are back.
I remember last year when my friends were posting messages about how sad they were that the company who had the snack cakes had filed for bankruptcy. They were devastated at the loss of the oval-shaped, vanilla-filled sponge cake.

This week, a little over a year later, there’s rejoicing that a food from their childhoods is back in stores-and more diet friendly, perhaps, too.

At first I was amused by the reaction to the news. It’s just a snack cake, right?

Maybe not.

Thinking about the foods that are tied to my childhood memories, like the Chex mix my grandmother made at Christmas and the vine-ripened tomatoes we’d eat on the porch at my grandfather’s farm, I see now why the return of Twinkies is such a big deal.

Whether or not we realize it, many of us tie major events in our life to the tastes, smells and emotions surrounding them.

To me, watermelon will always be something we eat as a family on the back porch on a hot summer day. Corn on the cob will taste best when it’s fresh out of the garden and hot off Grandma’s stove.

Now that I think about it, I’m sure I’d have the same reaction my Twinkie-loving friends had if I found out that I couldn’t have those farm fresh foods ever again.

So what’s your memory-laced food of choice? Twinkies? Steak? Sizzling hot fajitas? Share your family favorites with us.