Peeps can be made with love, but they also contain less healthy ingredients.
Four yellow marshmallow rabbit beeps – considered a serving – contain 110 calories and 26 grams of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends not adding more than 100 calories, or 6 teaspoons, sugar per day for women and 150 calories, or 9 teaspoons, for men; for children from 2 to 18 years, the recommendation is less than 25 grams of added sugar a day, ie less than a portion of Bunny Peeps.
The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit advocacy organization, awards Peeps a score of nine on a scale of one to ten for nutrition, one being a food that causes less concern and ten most worrying. He notes that the candy contains more than 81% sugar and contains a non-specific "aroma" ingredient.
Beyond sugar, Peeps consist of corn syrup, a preservative called potassium sorbate, tartrazine (a yellow dye) and pork gelatin. "The level of gelatin that we use in Peeps is actually quite low, lower than most Marshmallow products on the market," wrote Caitlin Servian, Peeps Brand Manager, in an email.
The eyes have edible eyes made of carnauba wax derived from the buds and leaves of a Brazilian palm tree. Carnauba wax is also used in some protective coatings for shoes and cars, as well as in other sweets.
The poisons may not be vegetarian, but they do not contain gluten. They are also fat free, but of course our body can turn sugar into fat.
OK, so this is not a health food. But they are still an edible icon after more than 65 years of existence, with rabid fans around the world. Let's look at the history of this candy.
1600: Royal Peep ancestors
The creation of animal figures in sugar is not unique in the recent history of American confectionery. On October 5, 1600, edible sugar sculptures were exhibited at a banquet in Florence, Italy, to celebrate the wedding of Maria de 'Medici and Henry IV of France.
Early 1900s: New York, the city of dreams peep
In 1910, Sam Born, a 19-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant, arrives from France to New York, ready to storm the candy industry. "As a creator of confectionery, Born was at the origin of many innovations, including chocolate chip technology, known as Jimmies, the hard chocolate coating used for Eskimo pies, and the machine. to mechanically insert into lollipops, "says Servian.
Willy Wonka-esque Born shared his "just-born" chocolates in the storefront of his store in Brooklyn, New York, in 1917, stating that they were freshly prepared. He opened his own manufacturing company, Just Born, in 1923. The company expanded to become an empty print shop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1932, during the Great Depression.
1950s: peeps can not fly anymore
In 1953, Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Co., which originally manufactured the candy we know as Peeps – but with wings.
The original marshmallow chicks required more work and required that we manually extract the pasta from marshmallow paste.
The factory finally accelerated the manufacturing process of a Peep from 27 hours to six minutes. This is due to the efforts of Bob Born, son of Sam, who modernized the production with mechanical machines. In 1955, he cut the marshmallow wings off their wings to speed up the process.
As popular as the Peeps are, the best-selling bestseller of Just Born is Mike and Ike Fruit Chews.
50s and 60s: The Peeps family expands
In addition to the chicks that are popular at Easter, shapes and flavors have been created to meet seasonal themes such as Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day. Bunny Peeps were not added until the 1980s.
1990s: Beware, world, here are the Peeps
As the popularity of Peeps grew, the brand diversified its product. In 1998, the Peeps were available in five colors: yellow, white, pink, blue and lavender. The original yellow is the best-selling color in the United States, added Servian, followed by pink and blue. Over the years, the company has added other flavors, including orange sherbert, pancakes and syrup, fruit punch, sour watermelon, blue raspberry and birthday cake.
1999: the peeps meet
Researchers from Emory University have tested the durability of marshmallow sweets. One of the tests showed how soluble they were in water, acetone, sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid. Peeps stood strong against these chemical enemies.
Then came phenol. After an hour in this protein-destroying chemical, toxic even to humans, there were only Peeps' eyes left.
2000: "Malcolm in the Middle" vs. Peeps
In the episode "Traffic Jam", Francis, Malcolm's older brother, makes a bet that makes him eat 100 Peeps (which he calls "quacks"). Spoiler: He loses the bet and gets sick from having abused food.
2007: the sugar-free friends
A "sugar free" peep has entered the market with sugar substitutes such as maltitol and isomalt.
2009: Peeps goes brick and mortar
The first Just Born retail store, Peeps & Company, opened in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, for all pilgrims Peeps.
It was also the year of the introduction of Peeps Delights: chicks enrobed in cream fudge or chocolate.
2013: A football player receives an offer that he can not refuse
After the Dallas Cowboys footballer Barry Church bit his tooth in a Jolly Rancher and needed a root canal, he was given enough fluffy peeps to chew for an entire season.
2017: 255 Peeps in five minutes
At age 24, Matt Stonie, a professional eater, won the second annual World Peeps Eating Championship. He ate 255 peeps in five minutes, beating his own record by 55.
Competitive consumers like Stonie train for this feat by drinking excessively to expand their stomachs, learning to control their breathing, controlling their off-season caloric intake, and exercising.
Peeps have survived intense experiences and have withstood the test of time. They are clearly do not leave soon.
