Tang (drink mix)

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A canister of Tang.

Tang is a sugared, fruit-flavored, non-carbonated soft drink from the USA. The original orange flavored Tang was formulated by General Foods Corporation in 1957 and first marketed (in powdered form) in 1959.

It was initially intended as a breakfast drink, but sales were poor until NASA began using it on Gemini flights in 1965, and that use was heavily advertised. Since that time, it has been associated with the U.S. manned spaceflight program.

Overview

The Tang brand is owned by Kraft Foods. It is available in 38 flavors (some region-specific), and is sold both in powdered form (in sachets and larger canisters) and in a ready to drink sachet. A single 8 fl oz serving of Tang provides 9 grams of sugar; 40 calories (167 kJ); 100% RDA of vitamin C; 10% RDA of vitamin A, Calcium, Vitamin E, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Vitamin B6; and no caffeine. Kraft also makes a sugar-free version of Tang, containing aspartame, which comes in individually-measured packets and was introduced in March 1985.

Tang is most commonly served as a cold drink, although some people prefer to heat it or add it to smoothies.

Original Tang

Tang usually comes in a plastic container with a screw-on lid that makes eight quarts. A larger nine-quart container (898 grams) is available. Tang is also available in larger institutional sizes.

The recommended usage is one tablespoon per 8 fluid ounces (U.S.) of water. The lid on the plastic container also acts as a measuring cup which may be used to make one or two quart quantities.

Help put the Original Tang back on the shelves at your local grocery store.

New Tang

In 2007, Kraft introduced a new version of Tang (with Fruitrition) which has replaced half of the sugar with artificial sweeteners. The new packaging advertises "1/2 the Sugar of 100% juice." The artificial sweeteners used in the new formulation are Sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and Neotame. The new formula is more concentrated and distributed in smaller containers, with a 12.3 oz (348 g) container making 8 U.S. quarts.

The recommended usage is two and one-half teaspoons per 8 fluid ounces of water. The lid on the new smaller plastic container acts as a measuring cup which may be used to make one or two quart quantities, the same as the original Tang.

New Tang tastes different from Original Tang and is unpalatable to those who don't drink artificial sweeteners. The taste change has been compared to the New Coke flavor change fiasco of 1985.

History

Tang was used by the NASA Gemini space program. A NASA engineer working with the Gemini Space Program on a life-support module explains the story of how and why it was used. Paraphrased: "... There was a particular component of the Gemini life support-system module which produced H₂O (water) among other things. This was a byproduct of a reoccurring chemical reaction of one of the mechanical devices on the life-support module. The astronauts would use this water to drink during their space flight. The problem was, the astronauts did not like the taste of the water because of some of the byproducts produced, which were not harmful of course. So, they added Tang to make the water taste better ..."

However, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has stated that Tang was not consumed on his moon mission: "We... instead chose a grapefruit-orange mixture as our citrus drink. If Tang was on our flight, I was unaware of it."

The inventor of Tang, William A. Mitchell, also invented Pop Rocks.

It has long been believed that Tang got its name from China because of its high content of sugar. The Chinese name for sugar is Tang.

Other uses

• A household tip says Tang is an excellent dishwasher cleaning agent due to its high citric acid content, although Kraft does not recommend it or advocate such use. Kraft's web site says:

  "We have heard that some consumers have used TANG Drink Mix to clean their dishwashers. TANG does contain citric acid which can act as cleaning agent. TANG Drink mix is intended to be a food product and Kraft Foods does not advocate its use for any other purpose."

• At one time, Philadelphia authorities attempted to deter addicts from misusing doses of methadone by packaging it in combination with Tang; this was carried out under the reasoning that nobody would be foolish enough to intravenously inject the combination. This was not the case . There was also at least one reported case of accidental methadone overdose from family members who found a jar of mixed Tang in the refrigerator.

• Tang is a featured ingredient in Instant Russian Tea (a variation of Wassail), a hot drink mix popular in the Southern US made with Tang, instant tea, ground cinnamon and cloves, and sometimes instant lemonade. Instant Russian Tea is often given as a holiday hostess gift.

In popular culture

• On Married... with Children, Bud Bundy is caught by his dad serving Tang and Girly Girl Beer, dubbing it a Bundy Mimosa. Several episodes use Tang as food. In one episode, Tang-wiches are mentioned, as well as a Tang wipe (wiping a slice of bread along the inside of a jar of Tang to get out the residue).
• Tang has been frequently mentioned as a soft drink on The Chris Isaak Show.
• On The Bob & Tom Show, Bob Kevoian sings "The Astronaut Song" (more commonly known as "Tang"), which makes several references to Tang.
• The Simpsons episode Deep Space Homer shows Homer calling NASA to complain about his inability to get "any decent Tang", referencing NASA's role in its popularity. He is also shown calling President Clinton, saying if anyone could figure out where to get some good Tang, it would be the President.
• On Everybody Hates Chris, Rochelle offers the family "More Tang?" after she gets back from work as an astronaut.
• Viewers of End of Evangelion like to refer to the LCL that humanity turns into as tang because of it's orange color.
• In the 2007 film Hairspray, after the disiplinarian Mrs. Pingleton discovers her daughter, Penny, has hidden a fugitive in her family's bomb shelter, she ties her up and tells her that she will live on a diet of "Saltines and Tang."
• In the 2004 movie Starsky & Hutch Hutch uses Tang as an ingredient of his hangover cure.
• On That 70's Show, Kitty told Eric to eat some sausage,and drink some Tang. He asked her, "Sausage and Tang? Isn't that a little racy for breakfast?"

External links

• Kraft's Tang page
• Nutrition facts and analysis of Tang
• Unofficial Tang page on MySpace