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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.60.143.195 (talk) at 06:30, 3 July 2011 (→‎Different sponge). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Fansite

I'd argue that the Jaffa Cake fansite should be removed as its tottaly useless and generally bad ([1]) EAi 18:17, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I'd agree. I changed the link to a somewhat nicer Jaffa Cake fansite, though maybe there shouldn't be a link to one at all? There certainly doesn't appear to be an official fansite. ([2]) Anon. 17:03 20 July 2005 GMT

Contradictions in article

"Jaffa Cakes are classed as biscuits ,eventhough they are called cakes" from the intro and the cake or buscuit states they proved it was a cake to avoid VAT.81.109.24.232 16:49, 3 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"In the United Kingdom, Jaffa Cakes are classified as cakes, even though they are really biscuits" - changed to "resemble". If they are classed as something, they are in fact "really" that thing, by definition. 82.10.111.59 19:10, 1 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

By definition, within the limited scope of the defining authority! "Deemed to be a cake for tax purposes" doesn't necessary translate well to common usage or to any other technical scope. Personally I'd say they were biscuits, but the distinction doesn't overly concern me. I've no idea how a proper chef would distinguish cakes from biscuits, which is probably the better measure. (McVitie's themselves are not a good source since there was a fairly large monetary incentive to go with cake.) I remember hearing a radio piece on the court case at the time - allegedly one of the more bizarre arguments hinged on whether the orangey bit rested on the base or hung off the chocolate! (No, I have no reference for that. Just what I remember.) --db 86.7.20.47 17:11, 22 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It was my understanding that, regardless of the vested interest McVitie's had, the definitive difference between a cake and a biscuit is that a cake goes harder as it becomes stale, whereas a biscuit becomes softer: something to do with whether it loses water to (or takes it up from) the surrounding air. If this is indeed a reliable method of differentiating, then Jaffa Cakes are most certainly cakes. Dom Kaos (talk) 14:00, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

To make this simple, I've changed the first paragraph descripion to snack, and put all of the cake vs. biscuit arguments into their own section. Jellyfish dave (talk) 14:21, 13 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Radiohead

Theres a brief sentence at the bottom: "British superintellects Radiohead have Jaffa Cakes on nearly even one of their concert riders, the stipulations which the band set for the venues they play." Firstly, Superintellect isn't a word, that I'm awarre of. Secondly, even if it were, i's a pretty subjective comment. Thirdly, it doesn't even think to mention they're a band. Fourthly there are spelling mistakes. Fifthly it is un-cited. Could do with re-writing and having a citation tag, or just removing. Patch86 18:00, 29 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

the picture

That's one ugly picture of a jaffa cake. Too much blue. Can anyone take one that doesn;t make it look like a poo? --bodnotbod 22:42, August 26, 2005 (UTC)

New image added - is that better? CLW 18:38, 14 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Marketing - 'Orangy tangs'

I'm just wondering whether this marketing campaign from 1997, where they used 'Orangey Tangs' should be added to the Marketing section to provide a more detailed marketing history.

Assassin Droid talk 17:20, 5 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sure I heard that the flavouring was as much apricot as orange, in spite of marketing to the contrary... 82.10.111.59 19:11, 1 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Brand

Tesco sell "jaffa cakes". Presumably they're allowed to do this because it's a generic term rather than a brand name. Hence, where did the name come from? Is there a Mr Jaffa?

Jaffa is a generic term for anything flavoured with chocolate and orange. (For example in Australia we have sweets called Jaffas, which are balls of chocolate covered with orange candy.) I assume "Jaffa" and "Jaffa cake" cannot be trademarked for this reason, like the terms "chocolate cake" or "strawberry" can't, which is why you'll see them by different manufacturers. As for where it originates, not sure but Jaffa is also a type of orange, from Isreal. --Jquarry 22:36, 23 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ian Richardson claim

I've moved this here temporarily, pending a reliable source:

"In 2006 the actor Ian Richardson claimed that it was his father that had originally invented the Jaffa Cake."

I could only find a reference to it here here. — Matt Crypto 07:46, 4 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That's sounds so obscure it's probably true. Made up trivia and urban legends generally involve more interesting or talked-about people than Ian Richardson, so I think it's likely he said it. Be useful to have a reliable cite though. This is a bit like Michael Nesmith of the The Monkees, whose mother invented Liquid Paper. Crazysuit 15:22, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ian Richardson directly confirmed this in an interview on The Steve Wright Show in July 2006 on BBC Radio 2. He said that his father used to continually bring test samples home for his family to try and now Ian Richardson can't stand the sight of them! - Richard Bignell 13 November 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 20.133.0.14 (talk) 14:00, 13 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Measured with a ruler?

I genuinely think whoever did that needs to back away from wiki--I'll bring the food 01:47, 13 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It just shows it was someone with an engineer's mind. And btw, a real engineer would use a caliper, not a ruler. :-) bogdan 00:17, 8 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Apricot Centre

Has anyone bothered to read the ingredients on a packet? The centre is not made of orange, it is made of apricot, and I think QI can back me up on that argument (sources are not available though). Alex Holowczak 13:11, 16 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is easy enough for any Brit to check for themselves. From the tube right in front of me: "INGREDIENTS: Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Plain Chocolate (20%)[Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fat, Butter Oil, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E476), Cocoa Butter, Natural Vanilla Flavouring], Sugar, Wheat Flour, Whole Egg, Water, Dextrose Monohydrate, Concentrated Orange Juice (8% Orange Juice Equivalent), Glucose Syrup, Citric Acid, Humectant (Glycerine), Gelling Agent (Pectin), Vegetable Oil, Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Disodium Disphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Dried Whole Egg, Natural Flavourings, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Natural Colour (Curcumin)." --db 86.7.20.47 17:11, 22 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This is fair enough, but it's inappropriate synthesis to say that the 2002 Telegraph story must have been an "urban legend", on the basis of an ingredients list from five years later. There's no reason to assume that the ingredients have remained the same throughout the product's history. I've trimmed the "Urban legend" section of the article back a bit, and flagged it as WP:SYN. --McGeddon (talk) 20:10, 26 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I found this topic on the QI forums where someone asks the question about whether it's orange or apricot, and someone whose father works in the Jaffa Cake factory asked the batch room about the ingredients and supposedly it IS 70% apricot to create the jelly, but does include oranges.[1] A QI researcher seemed quite happy about the revelation. Is that enough evidence to edit the wikipedia article? EssentialParadox (talk) 00:57, 17 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
If you can link to an indisputable reliable source then it could be mentioned. But unless that source can be found it remains an urban legend. QI have often made mistakes (something they openly admit on air), so the show could not be considered a reliable enough source of information. magnius (talk) 13:45, 23 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Well, McVitie's aren't saying and I doubt many other people care enough to research and document it solidly. Still, what I *think* is going on here is that the flavouring is pure orange as above, but the jelly is mostly Pectin - which that article points out is commonly sourced from apricot. It would make sense that apricot just happens to be the cheapest source of pectin in the volumes they need to produce, but after the necessary processing down to pectin there is nothing of the apricot *flavour* (and indeed little at all you might call uniquely apricotty) remaining. (There is a slight air of "you're so silly to think it tastes of orange when it's really made of apricot" about these stories, but I don't think that's what's actually going on.) --db 86.26.3.209 (talk) 14:24, 18 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Trivia from Spaced

Removed the following non-sensical statement:

"*In episode five of Series One of the British sitcom Spaced, the protagonist Tim says to have some Jaffa Cakes in his coat pocket as an answer to the equation that can predict all behavior in the universe."

It's a badly worded sentence so I'm not sure what it means, but I believe what happens is that one of the other characters is talking about an equation for predicting the future when Tim realises he has some Jaffa Cakes in his coat pocket. If someone can check the DVD and phrase it in a way that makes sense then, well, feel free I guess.

Buffy

Not having the DVDs, I can't provide the exact quote, but I recall one of the last episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer made reference to Jaffa Cakes. It was when the town had been all but deserted, and some of the group returned from a scavenging expedition. Amongst their spoils were Jaffa Cakes, which Giles was extremely happy about. Optimus Sledge 21:43, 27 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Checking the video, the exact quote appears to be 'Ooh, Jaffa Cakes!'. Duncan Frost (talk) 01:17, 28 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Other fruits

I just bought some "Cherry Jaffa Cakes" which have the filling of cherries instead of oranges! Is that just an isolated incident (the company producing them is from Poland) or is it part of a bigger conspiracy? bogdan 00:15, 8 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In Germany there are several flavours available, typically orange, cherry and raspberry (in descending order). During summertime there are "limited editions", e.g. Pink Grapefruit or Tropical Fruit Mix. --91.15.98.20 (talk) 22:06, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
several (or all?) of these flavours are available under the original name "jaffa cakes" on Aldi (Süd) in Germany. --79.210.86.238 (talk) 14:32, 26 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This section has two statements which shouldnt be here.

the first is "Pucko from the EDIT boards believes that Jaffa Cakes are 'gash' " I do not think the opinion of someone on a message board has any relevance to the article.

The second is "A 'jaffa' is also a slang term for a man with a low sperm count, i.e. 'seedless'..... " Again not relevant as this term relates to the Jaffa seedless orange and not the Jaffa Cake. Deckchair 12:29, 18 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Jaffa cakes are the favorite snack of simon also known as honeydew, from the popular youtube channel "bluexephos" It is rumored that truckloads are consumed by simon each year and that he has trained keebler elves to create them via assemble line. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.86.141.229 (talk) 19:02, 26 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The fact that Honeydew likes Jaffa Cakes is completely unremarkable, as the Yogscast is not remarkable in any way. it is definately popular and it is definately hilarious, but it is just another podcast on the global scale. 66.59.49.88 (talk) 18:08, 6 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Different sponge

They changed the spongy bit of Jaffa Cakes about 10-15 years ago. The base used to be a firmer sponge and when they changed it to a more er.. spongy sponge, it really put me off. I can't have been alone. The new 'spongier' sponge was advertised as a virtue on the packets. Safeway's Jaffa Cakes still had the firmer sponge and we used to get those instead for a while. I still hanker after the old style. This change in formula is not mentioned in the article. Jooler 16:43, 6 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The reason that it isn't mentioned is that it is just a VERY slight difference in the recipe for miniature cakes sold in Britain and Ireland, do you think anyone cares? 24.60.143.195 (talk) 06:30, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Fat Content

This needs rewritting:

A test was taken on how much a jaffa cake weighs. The first jaffa cake weighed 11.78g, the second one weighed 11.79g and the final cake weighed 13.13g which shows there could be double the fat content in each jaffa cake so a Jaffa Cake could be 8.2% fat.

One cake weighing more than another proves nothing at all about the fat content. If it can be demonstrated that the weight difference is entirely in the part of the cake that contains fat, then the claim may have credibility, but more details need to be specified. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.46.233.8 (talk) 09:38, 22 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism - cake or biscuit?

Somebody seems determined to vandalise this page, by creating new accounts and changing words like "cake" to "biscuit" and "biscuit" to "bread". Someone who knows more about it please block them. It only takes a few seconds to revert the edits, but blocking would seem to be the appropriate action. Info 151 22:27, 16 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Jam?

They contain orange jelly (aka as Jello to the Americans), not jam, and in any case if they did contain "Orange Jam" - that would be called "Marmalade". If you don't believe me, dissect one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.202.145.191 (talk) 01:03, 25 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Nearly, but no cigar! Marmalade made from oranges requires the specific use of the bitter Seville orange. Use another orange and it may as well be called "orange jam". Dainamo (talk) 12:27, 2 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Jell-o is a brand name box gelatin in the U.S. "Jelly" (a spread made from fruit juice relying on natural pectin) and "Jam" (a spread made from fruit pulp relying on natural pectin) mean the same in the US as it does in the UK. We also Have Jaffa Cakes only here, they are called Pims and come orange or raspberry.Aen13 (talk) 17:04, 20 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

History

Realize this may be touchy, but the history timeline, as written, doesn't make sense. If Jaffa cakes were introduced in 1927 then they were named after Jaffa oranges from Palestine, technically. TowAwayZone (talk) 16:57, 11 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I am not certain as to how this is relevent to an article on Jaffa Cakes. Jaffa is currently part of Israel and the article should reflect that without deviating into historic details more suited to the Palestine article. This article is about the cake and not about the history of the region. Obviously if anyone wants to delve deeper into the history of Jaffa then all they need to do is click on the handy link to the Jaffa article. The articles on Jaffa and the Jaffa Orange also currently seem to back this up in my opinion. Deckchair (talk) 13:28, 16 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, the article should reflect the current geographic climate. As it stands, Jaffa is in Isreal, that's all we need to say. magnius (talk) 13:36, 16 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Im with TowAwayZone, in 1927 Jaffa was in Paletine. The article should state this, or that they were named after Jaffa Oranges and make no mention of either Palestine or Israel. Dead-or-Red (talk) 22:51, 16 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The current ownership of the city of Jaffa is not relevant to an article on cakes. Jaffa is in Israel. This is a current geographical fact. that is all the article needs to reflect. Deckchair (talk) 11:19, 17 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
As you said "The current ownership of the city of Jaffa is not relevant to an article on cakes" so neither Israel or Palestine should be mentioned. 80.47.234.159 (talk) 21:34, 20 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I am sorry, I should have clarified my position, what i should have said is "the politicking over the current ownership of Jaffa is not relevant to this article". As i suggested the wikipedia article on Jaffa correctly states thjat Jaffa is in Israel, and for the sake of completeness and geo-political correctness this article can correctly state that Jaffa is indeed in Israel. Any politicking certainly is not relevant to this page and you may not like the fact, but a fact it is. Deckchair (talk) 10:53, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The issue is that the biscuits were named in 1927, and writing that they "were named after" a region of Israel would imply to the uninformed reader that Jaffa was part of Israel in 1927. Just saying that the biscuits were "named after Jaffa oranges" seems the simplest solution, here - we don't need the extra step of explaining why Jaffa oranges are called Jaffa oranges. --McGeddon (talk) 11:05, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
We don't have to decide anything. The statement was made in a reliably sourced article. Jaffa cakes are named after Jaffa oranges from Israel. Period. If the article said Palestine, we would write Palestine. But it doesn't.--Gilabrand (talk) 11:28, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The source talks in the present tense ("These cakes are named for Jaffa oranges, sweet oranges native to Israel"), so it's subtly changing the meaning to reword that into past tense. But I'm not actually sure that the anonymous-self-appointed-expert Wisegeek.com site even meets WP:RS. --McGeddon (talk) 12:08, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Removing Israel & Palestine is neutral. 80.47.234.159 (talk) 10:37, 22 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I see you have made an edit claiming consensus has been reached when plainly it hasnt been. Please do not make edits claiming consensus which is incorrect. Deckchair (talk) 10:57, 22 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Consensus so far supports removing Israel. 80.47.169.83 (talk) 19:16, 30 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

have we reached a conclusion yet? Dead-or-Red (talk) 18:11, 8 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It would not appear so. Deckchair (talk) 15:56, 19 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I just came across this discussion after noticing aspects of one of my edits were removed. I think that due to the fact that we are referring to a geographical location in which the oranges are grown, that being the city of Jaffa in Israel, we should mention Israel. There obviously still is not consensus for this, but I thought I'd weigh in. Valley2city‽ 21:43, 27 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The problem is that we're specifically talking about a 1927 product being "named after" a fruit from the region, and that this loosely implies to the uninformed reader that Jaffa was part of Israel in 1927. --McGeddon (talk) 11:15, 28 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Footnote 8 produces 404 error

As of today at least footnote 8 gives a 404 error message. 11:28, 11 August 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.43.110.186 (talk)

Ingredients and vat status

The sponge in a jaffa cake is not by definition fat free, and they do not only come in dark chocolate. A court decision in one jurisdiction only effects the VAT status in that jurisdiction. Dbpjmuf (talk) 00:43, 6 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Snack in United Kingdom and Ireland

Why does the first sentence only mention the UK and Ireland? While it's certainly a snack in both these countries it's widely available in many other countries too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.129.91.72 (talk) 22:41, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Signed. I've seen them here in Norway too. (though not for a while, which is just as well, because they taste awful) Spacemonger (talk) 02:40, 28 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sun readers claim

Why is this line even in here? Sun readers are notorious idiots, and their opinions are worthless, especially when the issue has been settled in court. I'm sure other idiotic fictional titles also claim it's a biscuit, but nobody is interested in what these people think. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.193.68.7 (talk) 20:15, 25 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  1. ^ http://www.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=9446
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