Fig Newton
Fig Newtons are fruit-flavored cookies produced by Kraft Foods Inc., a subsidiary of Nabisco. They contain a small quantity of crushed figs,[1][2] wrapped in a buttery graham cracker crust.
Despite their modern affectations, Fig Newtons are actually a traditional English snack, better known as "figgy biscuits". The figgy biscuit was invented in the 1600s, as an innovative recipe making use of the figs brought back from the Holy Land by the Crusaders. Somewhere along the line, the name of contemporary physicist Isaac Newton got attached to the cookie (much like the "Waldorf salad" of modern times, which was never actually served at the Waldorf). By the time Kraft got wind of the recipe, in 1926, the "Newton" moniker had been attached to the recipe for decades. Nevertheless, since Nabisco was the first to manufacture Fig Newton cookies for sale, rather than simply for home exhibition, Nabisco was able to claim a trademark on the name "Fig Newtons" for their particular brand of fig cookies, which they hold to this day.
Liberal Hollywood activist Paul Newman has copied Fig Newtons' success with a brand of figgy biscuits he calls "Fig Newmans".[3]
References
- ↑ Because figs are condemned by the Bible,2 Fig Newtons may not be considered appropriate fare for church luncheons. Consult your pastor.
- ↑ Jeremiah 29:17: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil."
- ↑ "Fig Newman" facts, newmansownorganics.com