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Corrected list of flavors (removed joke/hoax refs to blueberry & green tea). Source: the bakery's web site plus phone call(!) to the bakery to confirm.
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[[File:Moon-Pie-Split.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A double-decker Moon Pie split in half]]
[[File:Moon-Pie-Split.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A double-decker Moon Pie split in half]]
[[Marshmallow creme]] (fluff) began shipping outside of New England in late 1927. By 1929, marshmallow cream had made its way to Chattanooga, TN. During that year, the coal mines near Chattanooga began selling marshmallow cream in their company store. The miners discovered that graham crackers dipped in the marshmallow cream made a great snack. A salesman for the Chattanooga Bakery, Mr. Earl Mitchell, Sr., noticed this practice when he stopped by on his bakery goods route. Pretty soon, the only sales that were made by the bakery salesman were for graham crackers. He asked one of the miners about the snack and wound up discussing a "prototype" product with them. Later when Mr. Mitchell was explaining his low sales to M.P. (Mitchell Poe) Shauf, the general foreman and chef for the Chattanooga Bakery, he gave Shauf the idea for the Moon Pie.<ref>[http://www.moonpie.com/about#1 "MoonPie: The Original Marshmallow Snack"]</ref> M.P. Shauf decided to make something for the miners to buy. One day in late 1929, after several different recipes, he made a full size pie with graham crackers and marshmallow fluff. That same day, he had his 3-year-old grandson, Stanley Shauf with him at the bakery and offered his grandson a pie to taste. The pie had small indentions where the marshmallow cream was cooked and bubbles had popped. His grandson said it looks like the moon. M.P. Shauf yelled “Moon Pie" so loud that it scared his grandson to tears.
[[Marshmallow creme]] (fluff) began shipping outside of New England in late 1927. By 1929, marshmallow cream had made its way to Chattanooga, TN. During that year, the coal mines near Chattanooga began selling marshmallow cream in their company store. The miners discovered that graham crackers dipped in the marshmallow cream made a great snack. A salesman for the Chattanooga Bakery, Mr. Earl Mitchell, Sr., noticed this practice when he stopped by on his bakery goods route. Pretty soon, the only sales that were made by the bakery salesman were for graham crackers. He asked one of the miners about the snack and wound up discussing a "prototype" product with them. Later when Mr. Mitchell was explaining his low sales to M.P. (Mitchell Poe) Shauf, the general foreman and chef for the Chattanooga Bakery, he gave Shauf the idea for the Moon Pie.<ref>[http://www.moonpie.com/about#1 "MoonPie: The Original Marshmallow Snack"]</ref> M.P. Shauf decided to make something for the miners to buy. One day in late 1929, after several different recipes, he made a full size pie with graham crackers and marshmallow fluff. That same day, he had his 3-year-old grandson, Stanley Shauf with him at the bakery and offered his grandson a pie to taste. The pie had small indentions where the marshmallow cream was cooked and bubbles had popped. His grandson said it looks like the moon. M.P. Shauf yelled “Moon Pie" so loud that it scared his grandson to tears.
It is uncertain whence the tradition of eating moon pies with [[RC Cola]] derived.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1444997 NPR: The Heavenly Appeal of Moon Pies]</ref> During the Apollo 11 mission, the astronauts where each carrying a moon pie when they exited the lunar module upon landing on the moon. When then returned to earth, they each ate their moon pie, marking the first time a human had consumed a food item which had returned from the moon. <ref> [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10792763 NPR: Beyond Tang: Food in Space]</ref>
It is uncertain whence the tradition of eating moon pies with [[RC Cola]] derived.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1444997 NPR: The Heavenly Appeal of Moon Pies]</ref> During the Apollo 11 mission, the astronauts were each carrying a moon pie when they exited the lunar module upon landing on the moon. When then returned to earth, they each ate their moon pie, marking the first time a human had consumed a food item which had returned from the moon. <ref> [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10792763 NPR: Beyond Tang: Food in Space]</ref>


Since New Year's Eve 2008, the city of [[Mobile, Alabama]] raises a {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} lighted mechanical moon pie to celebrate the coming of the new year. The giant banana colored MoonPie is raised by a crane to a height of 200 feet as the clock strikes midnight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.al.com/entertainment-press-register/2008/12/mobiles_moon_pie_rising.html|title=Mobile's Moon Pie rising
Since New Year's Eve 2008, the city of [[Mobile, Alabama]] raises a {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} lighted mechanical moon pie to celebrate the coming of the new year. The giant banana colored MoonPie is raised by a crane to a height of 200 feet as the clock strikes midnight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.al.com/entertainment-press-register/2008/12/mobiles_moon_pie_rising.html|title=Mobile's Moon Pie rising

Revision as of 15:52, 20 January 2011

Not to be confused with Mooncake.
File:MoonPie logo trademark.png
The MoonPie brand logo

A moon pie or MoonPie[1] is a pastry which consists of two round graham cracker cookies, with marshmallow filling in the center, dipped in chocolate or other flavors. The traditional pie is about three inches (76 mm) in diameter. A smaller version exists (mini MoonPie) that is about half the size, and a Double-Decker MoonPie of the traditional diameter features a third cookie and attendant layer of marshmallow. The four main flavors are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and banana. Double Decker MoonPies also come in lemon and orange; MoonPie Crunch comes only in peanut butter or mint.

History and origin

A double-decker Moon Pie split in half

Marshmallow creme (fluff) began shipping outside of New England in late 1927. By 1929, marshmallow cream had made its way to Chattanooga, TN. During that year, the coal mines near Chattanooga began selling marshmallow cream in their company store. The miners discovered that graham crackers dipped in the marshmallow cream made a great snack. A salesman for the Chattanooga Bakery, Mr. Earl Mitchell, Sr., noticed this practice when he stopped by on his bakery goods route. Pretty soon, the only sales that were made by the bakery salesman were for graham crackers. He asked one of the miners about the snack and wound up discussing a "prototype" product with them. Later when Mr. Mitchell was explaining his low sales to M.P. (Mitchell Poe) Shauf, the general foreman and chef for the Chattanooga Bakery, he gave Shauf the idea for the Moon Pie.[2] M.P. Shauf decided to make something for the miners to buy. One day in late 1929, after several different recipes, he made a full size pie with graham crackers and marshmallow fluff. That same day, he had his 3-year-old grandson, Stanley Shauf with him at the bakery and offered his grandson a pie to taste. The pie had small indentions where the marshmallow cream was cooked and bubbles had popped. His grandson said it looks like the moon. M.P. Shauf yelled “Moon Pie" so loud that it scared his grandson to tears. It is uncertain whence the tradition of eating moon pies with RC Cola derived.[3] During the Apollo 11 mission, the astronauts were each carrying a moon pie when they exited the lunar module upon landing on the moon. When then returned to earth, they each ate their moon pie, marking the first time a human had consumed a food item which had returned from the moon. [4]

Since New Year's Eve 2008, the city of Mobile, Alabama raises a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) lighted mechanical moon pie to celebrate the coming of the new year. The giant banana colored MoonPie is raised by a crane to a height of 200 feet as the clock strikes midnight.[5] Also the city had for the 2008 New Year's celebration the world's largest moon pie baked for the occasion. It weighed 55 pounds and contained 45,000 calories.[6] Now there's even a Moon Pie and RC Festival in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, and a Moon Pie Eating Contest in Bessemer, Alabama.

On October 16, 2010, Sonya Thomas, a competitive eater known as the Black Widow, ate 38 MoonPies in 8 minutes in Caruthersville, Missouri.

The Moon Pie Song

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.

Another song featuring the Moon Pie is Big Bill Liston's "Gimmee an RC Cola and a 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, [7] 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. [8] [9]

The ingredients are as follows:[7] Enriched wheat flour (Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic acid), Corn Syrup, High Fructose 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, Gelatin, Baking Soda, Lecithin, Salt, Artificial Flavoring, Sodium sulfite.[7]

Nutrition facts for chocolate MoonPie (full-size):[7]

Nutrition facts for chocolate Mini MoonPie:[8]

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.

Similar products

In the northern regions of the United States, a similar product, manufactured by Burry's, was called a "Scooter Pie"; currently Chattanooga Bakery makes a product of the same name for some markets. Also, compare with Mallomars, a single-cracker marshmallow cookie. In the UK, Australia and Canada there are Wagon Wheels, introduced under the Weston name in the 1940s but since divested to other companies in the UK and Australia.[10] The Korean company Orion and the Korean conglomerate Lotte produce Choco Pies and in Mexico is a similar cookie pie called Mamut. The Turkish food manufacturer Ülker also makes a similar product called "Halley".[11]

Mardi Gras tradition

The Moon Pie 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,[12][13] followed by other communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The westernmost outpost of the Moon Pie as an important Carnival throw is Slidell, Louisiana, which has a parade by "The Krewe of Mona Lisa and Moon Pie." Also, in the town of Oneonta, Alabama, there is a moon pie 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.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ MoonPie products
  2. ^ "MoonPie: The Original Marshmallow Snack"
  3. ^ NPR: The Heavenly Appeal of Moon Pies
  4. ^ NPR: Beyond Tang: Food in Space
  5. ^ "Mobile's Moon Pie rising". Press-Register. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  6. ^ "Giant Moon Pie taking shape for New Year's celebration". Press-Register. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Chocolate MoonPie nutrition information" (label), DietFacts.com, 2004-09-07 (letter from bakery), webpage: DF-MoonPie (nutrition facts of full-size chocolate MoonPie).
  8. ^ a b c "Chocolate Mini MoonPie nutrition information" (label), DietFacts.com, 2004-09-07 (letter from bakery), webpage: DF-choc-Mini-MoonPie (nutrition facts of chocolate Mini MoonPie).
  9. ^ a b Labels in 2007 on a chocolate Mini MoonPie have listed 130 calories (30 from fat), with 2.5g saturated fat (Trans fat 0g), but the same weight, 34g (1.2 oz).
  10. ^ "Burton's Foods". Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  11. ^ "Halley product page". Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  12. ^ "Carnival/Mobile Mardi Gras Timeline" (list of events by year), Museum of Mobile, 2001, webpage:MoM: states: 1917 - The Chattanooga Bakery company introduces the popular marshmallow cookie "moon pie"; and, 1956 - The first "moon pies" are thrown from a Mobile Mardi Gras float.
  13. ^ "Mobile's Moonpies made their debute in 1974!". Mardi Gras Digest .Com. Retrieved 2008-09-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Walton, Sam (1992). Made in America. Doubleday. ISBN 9780385468602. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

MoonPie: The Original Marshmallow Snack

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