Oreo Cookies (Food Comparison Episode 1)

It is time for another edition of food comparison. This episode:

"Oreo Cookies" vs. "BLACK 5"!

"Dipped in Milk, an Extra Delight" it says!

* * * * *

Normally I prefer snacks which are NOT named like alternative rock bands. However, slogans are determined effective by the culture in which they sit. I'll assume that the name "Black 5" is actually catchy in this environment. Though the name has likely been chosen to avoid a lawsuit, these are undoubtedly intended to be a direct substitute for Oreo cookies.

Opening the box, I find a curious sub-package that strongly reminded me of a stack of wrapped tires outside Les Schwab.

Four on the axles. One left as a spare.

This is obviously an issue of freshness and eating habits.

Certainly, the box couldn't be the only packaging. In the 'States there hasn't been a paper product used in the wrapping of Oreos in some time.[1] Instead, the cookies are set in a formed plastic tray, and a vacuum sealed plastic jacket is put around the whole deal. Modern packages (within the last few years, if I'm not mistaken) even use a 2-ply jacket, with a flap cut in the outer layer that can seal back to the inner layer by a thin border of reusable dry sheet adhesive. After a number of openings and closings, the adhesive seal doesn't work so well. But it's not designed to last forever. I'd be surprised if a package of Oreos needs more than 3 sittings in any household in the USA (including my old apartment - which was a place notorious for not finishing off food items before they expired.) This is regardless of the "recommended serving" (I'm not even sure what this is for a typical box of Oreos now) which likely has no connection to what people actually eat.

There are, in fact, 5 cookies within each individual package. Also, there are five cylindrical packages within each box. Seeing as how the cookies are also black, I'm guessing this is the origin of the name. The expiration date on this package was a good 7 months out. While some powerful preservatives may be at work, considering the general attitude toward healthy eating in Switzerland, I'm not entirely surprised they give a person 7 months to eat 25 cookies. It's less than one a week.

How do they taste? They're not bad.

The creme filling is particularly close to that of an Oreo. (Actually, this is unsurprising, as I believe the recipe is something like 1 part shortening, 1 part powdered sugar  - no joke. So it's not as if the recipe was in danger of being significantly altered.)

One item that is definitely noticed, however, is the size. These cookies are almost certainly a few millimeters (at least 1/16 of an inch) smaller in diameter. And the filling is less as well, even smaller in proportion to the cookie diameter. Note how you can't see the filling from the side, even at this extreme angle.

There's No Question Why These Aren't Called "White 5"

In addition, the cookies are thicker than an Oreo's and the filling is thinner. So the first thing you realize is the imbalance in the creme/cookie ratio. My father always preferred the cookie portion better anyway, so he'd probably like these. I think they're a bit dry.

Actually, in the 'States, I would always purchase the "double-stuffed" variety. So my recent frame of reference is likely also skewed. I managed to fashion my own from the ancient method of removing one cookie-side from each of two cookies and sticking the remaining parts together. This got me close to what I remember the original Oreo to be like.

They won't be the first thing I look to for an afternoon snack. But they're still worth eating.

The First Data Point on My New Food Chart!

-----
[1] I actually remember back when they had a corrugated paper tray, scored down the length in multiple places, so that it could be folded to make three separate cookie channels. Perhaps a previous generation remembers something different, like when Oreos came in burlap bags or something. If you can recall an ancient Oreo packaging and aren't worried about revealing your age, please describe it in the comments below.