A moon pie or MoonPie is a confection, popular across much of the United States, which consists of two round graham cracker cookies, with marshmallow filling in the center, dipped in a flavored coating. The snack is often associated with the cuisine of the American South where they are traditionally accompanied by an RC Cola. Today, MoonPies are made by Chattanooga Bakery, Inc. in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The traditional pie is approximately four inches (100 mm) in diameter. A smaller version exists (mini MoonPie) that is approximately half the size, and a Double-Decker MoonPie of the traditional diameter features a third cookie and attendant layer of marshmallow. The five main flavors are chocolate, vanilla, banana, strawberry, and salted caramel. Orange and coconut make seasonal appearances during the Mardi Gras parading season.
Video Moon pie
History
MoonPies have been made daily at the Chattanooga Bakery since the brand's inception on April 29, 1917. Earl Mitchell Junior said his father came up with the idea for MoonPies when he asked a Kentucky coal miner what kind of snack he would like to eat, and the miner requested something with graham cracker and marshmallow. Popular folklore, repeated and encouraged by Chattanooga Bakery itself, states the miner then asked the snack be "as big as the moon", which inspired the name "moon pie".
There is a custom for eating MoonPies with RC Cola, although the origin of this is unknown. It is likely that their inexpensive prices, combined with their larger serving sizes, contributed to establishing this combination as the "working man's lunch". The popularity of this combination was celebrated in a popular song of the 1950s, by Big Bill Lister, "Gimmee an RC Cola and a Moon Pie". In 1973, NRBQ had a minor hit with the song, "An RC Cola and a Moon Pie".
Since New Year's Eve 2008, the city of Mobile, Alabama has been lowering a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) lighted mechanical moon pie to celebrate the coming of the new year. The giant MoonPie descends the 34 story RSA BankTrust building at the strike of midnight. Every NYE, the world's largest MoonPie is cut and served to the public as part of the festivities. It weighs 55 pounds (25 kg) and contains 45,000 calories.
An annual RC & MoonPie Festival is celebrated in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, and a MoonPie Eating Contest is held in Bessemer, Alabama.
On October 14, 2017, Matt Stonie, a competitive eater famous in national eating contests, ate 73 Single-Decker MoonPies in eight minutes at the Bass Pro Shops store in Memphis, TN.
Newport, Tennessee held its first annual MoonPie Festival in May 2012.
The company is celebrating its centennial anniversary with a "My Favorite MoonPie Memory" contest. The grand prize winner gets a 100 year supply of MoonPies. It's also taking a wrapped Winnebago across the country in the Fall, thanking its top customers and attending various sporting events and festivals.
In September 2017, as part of its Centennial, MoonPie returned to the original recipe, replacing HFCS with real sugar and removing preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.
Mardi Gras tradition
The MoonPie became a traditional "throw" (an item thrown from a parade float into the crowd) of Mardi Gras "krewes" (parade participants) in Mobile, Alabama during 1956, followed by other communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The westernmost outpost of the MoonPie as an important Carnival throw is Slidell, Louisiana, which has a parade by "The Krewe of Mona Lisa and MoonPie". Also, in the town of Oneonta, Alabama, there is a MoonPie eating contest started by Wal-Mart employee John Love when he inadvertently ordered too many. This anecdote was featured in Sam Walton's autobiography, Made in America.
Apollo 11 great moon walk tradition
The MoonPie is a traditional celebratory food for remembering the Apollo 11 moon walk that took place on July 20, 1969. MoonPies are used in the commemorative celebration by aerospace workers and enthusiasts across the globe.
Maps Moon pie
Nutrition facts
A MoonPie is made with marshmallow, which is a low-fat but high-sugar food. The nutritional content of a chocolate full-size or Mini MoonPie (from 2004) is detailed below, showing (full-size) 226 calories, saturated fat 3.5g, carbohydrate 40g, protein 4g, iron 5%, of a total weight of 57 grams (2 ounces). The nutritional data for a chocolate Mini MoonPie is about 65% the amount of full-size.
The ingredients are as follows: enriched wheat flour (niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), corn syrup, sugar, vegetable shortening (contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or coconut oil and/or palm kernel oil and/or palm oil), soy flour, dutched cocoa (processed with alkali), cocoa, kosher gelatin, baking soda, lecithin, salt, artificial flavoring, sodium sulfite.
Nutrition facts for chocolate MoonPie (full-size):
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- Serving size 1 (57g or 2 oz)
- Calories: 226 Calories from fat: 51
- Total fat: 5.7g (saturated fat 3.5g) Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 188mg
- Total Carbohydrate: 40g (dietary fiber 0g, sugars 12.5g)
- Protein: 4g
- Vitamin A: 0%
- Vitamin C: 0%
- Iron: 5%.
Nutrition facts for chocolate Mini MoonPie:
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- Serving size 1 (34g or 1.2 oz)
- Calories: 152 (or 130) Calories from fat: 40 (or 30)
- Total fat: 4.5g (saturated fat 3g) Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 120mg
- Total Carbohydrate: 26g (dietary fiber 0g, sugars 8g)
- Protein: 2.5g.
Note that the nutrition data is for a chocolate MoonPie or chocolate Mini MoonPie, while other flavors (such as banana, vanilla, strawberry, or orange) might have different nutritional content.
Flavors
Single-decker
- Salted Caramel
- Banana
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
Double-decker
- Salted Caramel
- Strawberry
- Banana
- Chocolate
- Lemon
- Orange
- Vanilla
Minis
- Salted Caramel
- Strawberry
- Banana
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Coconut
Moon Pie Crunch
- Peanut Butter
- Mint
Similar products
In the northern areas of the U.S. a similar product is called a "Scooter Pie" and there is also a single-cracker marshmallow cookie called "Mallomars". Little Debbie also makes what they call "Marshmallow Pies" which are nearly identical to the Moonpies. In the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada a similar product is called "Wagon Wheels" and in South Korea, the very similar "Choco Pie" is produced by several companies. In Japan, there is the smaller-sized "Angel Pies" by Morinaga as well as a brand of "Choco Pie".
Some Taiwanese companies produce "Choco pies", and in Mexico there are similar cookie pies called "Mamut" (Spanish for "Mammoth", sold by Gamesa), and "Rocko" (marketed by Marinela); there are several other minor brands as well. In Turkey, a similar pie is called "Halley". In Egypt, a similar pie is called "Bimbo". In Argentina a similar treat is "Alfajor", more than 20 brands marketed as "alfajores" are very popular.
In popular culture
ABC-TV's Good Morning America featured "The Moon Pie Song" by Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) during its tour of the Chattanooga Bakery Company in 1991.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2 Episode 15 "Phases", Xander states that although the full moon can bring out the worst qualities of mankind it "ironically also led to the invention of the Moon Pie". Giles finds this hilarious.
In the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon calls his grandmother Meemaw, who in turn, calls him Moonpie.
See also
- Alfajor
- Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats
- Choco pie
- Fluffernutter, another kind of marshmallow creme based sandwich
- S'more
- Wagon Wheels
- Whoopie pie
References
External links
- Official Chattanooga Bakery website
- Pictures
- Chattanooga Bakery Company article at the Tennessee Encyclopedia Online
- Nutrition Facts
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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