I am on a quest. A quest to find out what makes sprinkles (and other toppings) so appealing. Not just the kids, but everyone. So think of your favorite dessert. Anything: ice cream, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, anything at all! Now think about gummy bears on your vanilla ice cream, to add some more flavor and texture to it. Or chocolate sprinkles on your brownies for double the chocolate. You could also turn your regular chocolate chip cookie into something extraordinary and even more delicious than it already is! Or a vanilla or chocolate cupcake with some festive toppings. But why is that? Ice cream still tastes great, as well as the brownies. But why do people, kids more specifically, want to dump colored toppings on top? And it’s not just in America. It’s everywhere. People in all countries add pizzazz to their desserts. So, yup! Basically, I write…err, blog, about different desserts, their toppings, and the reason why people love having the extra color on their food. Do ya want to know more? Keep on reading, s’il vous plait!
-madura727 :)
Before I go into the whole mystery I want to tell you guys a little about these cute little toppings. First of all, sprinkles, actually nonpareils, date back to the late 18th century. Nonpareil is actually a French word which means “think without equal”. Speaking of nonpareils, have you guys ever heard of chocolate nonpareils? It’s basically a drop of chocolate with a bunch of little white spheres resting on top. Now how does the term meaning “think without equal” make sense with chocolate? Well, back in 17th Century England, ‘nonpareil’ meant “teensy tiny things”. This is why some sprinkles are called nonpareils. The next kind of sprinkle, chocolate sprinkles, which are a huge favorite on vanilla ice cream… at least in my house, date back to 1936. And the person that we should thank for the yummy deliciousness of chocolate sprinkles is Gerard de Vries. He worked for a Dutch company called Venz. Also, did you know that there are tons of different names and kinds of dessert toppings too?! There are so many! Just to name a few (I got the name of these from Wiki, Sugarcraft.com, and shopbakersnook.com): sanding sugar (transparent sugar), crystal sugar (clear and it’s very big in size. Used for sweet breads), nonpareils (Sprinkles that we often put on our cookies and cupcakes i.e. little ball shaped. Also known as hundreds and thousands), dragées (almonds with a sugar shell, can be a metallic color), and jimmies (rectangular shaped). Hmm, jimmies. Weird word, right? And how would somebody make that word up? Well, there are actually multiple stories behind that name. Snopes.com and strangequestions.com have several theories about why these are called jimmies. They believe that ‘jimmies’ refers to Jim Crow while others believe that it’s named after a man who worked in a candy making factory called Just Born candies. Jimmies are a reference to Jim Crow because their original color was brown. This is supposedly a reference to African Americans. The other theory was proposed because a man who worked in Just Born candies was named Jimmy. He was the man who helped make the different candies. The last theory is that it’s the name of this little boy who got chocolate shavings on his birthday cake. I know, the last theory is kind of a stretch, but hey, you never know.
We have got the history of sprinkles down, now it’s time to find out what different cultures use these sprinkles for. As you know, in America we have a lot different desserts that make the meal fun with colorful decorations on them. Like cake/cupcakes, brownies, ice cream, etc. However, in other places around the world, there are different ways to add some excitement into food. Wikipedia told me that in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Indonesia the colored décor are used as a sandwich topping! Imagine, instead of the usual PB&J, putting chocolate sprinkles on your bread. Yum! Alright, now let’s take a trip to Australia and New Zealand. If you feel like adding some color to your food, have some fairy bread. It’s given to only small children. It’s a normal slice of bread which is cut into triangles. Then some butter or margarine is spread over the bread. Then, just sprinkle (no pun intended) some hundreds and thousands! But, like my previous question, why do these little kids enjoy having the ‘jimmies’ on their food? Why can’t they just eat the bread with the butter like everybody else?
So we have talked about the history and foods from around the world, what’s next? Well, how about we talk about different holidays and themes. Now, I want you paint a picture in your mind. Here’s the setting: you’re at a friend’s house. It’s Halloween and everybody is dressed up and the decorations at his/her house are to die for… not literally. You eat some pizza, drink some soda and then it’s time for the cupcakes! Mmm, vanilla cupcakes with some nice creamy icing… but there’s something missing. What is that missing ingredient in that god-like substance? Sprinkles. Doesn’t that just ruin your party? No festivity on the cupcake… it’s just boring. Now let’s rewind back to the scene when you see the delish (yet boring) cupcake. The nice fluffy vanilla cupcakes with the smooth, sweet icing have little orange, black, white, and purple sprinkles. Some even have ones shaped like little colored ghosts! So you tell me. Which cupcake would you rather eat; the one with just the icing or the one with the Halloween themed décor? And don’t even try to act ‘mature’ and say it wouldn’t matter. According to bybloggers.net, even adults prefer sprinkled cupcakes rather than normal cupcakes. But do you know why people would pick the sprinkled cupcake? Probably not. Well there is some magical quality that sprinkles have which makes people want to eat them. Is it the different colors? The different shapes? How it makes the food look? I’m going to go and investigate this mystery.
As promised, I went out and interviewed a fellow sprinkle lover (other than myself)… my 9 year old sister. Here is my interview with her:
Me: If I give you an option between vanilla ice cream and vanilla ice cream with sprinkles, which would you pick and why?
Mitali: I would pick vanilla ice cream with sprinkles because it’s colorful so it makes it look yummier. Me: When you go to the ice cream parlor, you always put sprinkles on your ice cream. What kind do you select and why?
Mitali: Um, I select rainbow sprinkles because it tastes better and it adds a ‘crunch’ to the ice cream. Me: What makes you want to put sprinkles on everything (i.e. cakes, cupcakes, ice cream, brownies, etc.)?
Mitali: I just think that sprinkles make the food look good.
Me: OK, but how and/or why?
Mitali: Since there’s more color to it, people just want to buy it or eat it.
Me: Do you think sprinkles have a taste? Do they taste good by themselves?
Mitali: They have a little taste. And they don’t taste good by themselves.
Me: But then why do you like to eat them?
Mitali: I just think that it goes really good (well) with ice cream. It just makes eating ice cream more fun.
That was my interview with my little sister. But the weird thing was that while I was interviewing her, she had no idea why she liked sprinkles on her food. She didn’t know how to explain her reason. I found this really interesting. I guess there really is something really magical about sprinkles.
There you have it. I went out and investigated why people would prefer the sprinkles. Of course, my sister didn’t exactly know why she liked them, but then again, who does? They don’t really taste good by themselves… they just look good on food. And when food is topped with the little tiny things, nobody can really say no to them. I guess… they just make the little child inside of everybody come out.
-madura727 :)
Works Cited
Bloggers?, By. "Sprinkles Make Everything Better (Even Your E-Book)." By Bloggers — Taking E-Products to a New Level of Awesome. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <http://www.bybloggers.net/sprinkles-make-ebooks-better/>.
"Cookie Sprinkles - Cupcake Sprinkles for Cookie and Cupcake Decorating." Cake Decorating Supplies - Candy Making Supplies - Cookie Decorating Supplies - Baking Supplies - Wilton Cake Supplies - Birthday Cake Supplies - Wedding Cake Decorating Supplies- Edible Cake Decorations. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. <http://www.shopbakersnook.com/78.html>.
"Desserts - - FabulousFoods.com." FabulousFoods.com Home Page - FabulousFoods.com. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.fabulousfoods.com/component/resource/list/6>.
"How and When Did Sprinkles Become an Ice Cream Topping?" Strange Questions: Trivia, Weird Questions, Funny Questions, and Real Answers! Web. 02 Nov. 2010. <http://www.strangequestions.com/question/818/How-and-when-did-sprinkles-become-an-ice-cream-topping.html>.
Mitali Vaidya. "A 9 Year Old's POV on Ice Cream." Personal interview. 05 Nov. 2010.
"Sprinkles." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprinkles>.
"Tiny Candy Shapes for Use on Cookies, Decorating Cookies, Cake Decorating." Cake Decorating & Candy Making Products Online. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. <http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/flowers/sprinkles.htm>.
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