Long before President Obama talked about the Unity Cookie, comedian Jerry Seinfeld urged the Seinfeld audience to look to the Black & White Cookie (purported cousin to the Half Moon Cookie) as a metaphor for racial harmony. Today’s episode chases down the origins of both the Black & White and Half Moon cookies and dabbles in some hilarious stories of other foods made famous by television.
Can a Cookie Solve our Woe’s
“Look to the cookie,” Jerry Seinfeld exclaimed in 1994 and suddenly a cookie went viral.
Thanks to a suggestion from As We Eat friend Abby Lamb, we are taking a long look into the Black & White Cookie, a sweet treat made world famous as a metaphor for racial harmony by the popular Seinfeld sitcom of the early 1990s.
In this episode, we discuss The Dinner Party episode of Seinfeld that launched the not well known black & white cookie into notoriety (without the help of social media). Leigh rounds up the history of the half chocolate / half vanilla cookie and its purported cousin, the Half Moon cookie and Kim surveys other foods that hit the mainstream with a little boost from media - brown cows, cheesecake, White Russians, and more.
Mr. Roger’s Eat a Banana Wrapped in Cheese Courtesy of Chef Brockett
If you didn’t have an opportunity to partake in Kim’s media food poll, here’s your opportunity. Are there any foods that you have been inspired to try from a TV show, movie, non-fiction or fiction novel? Please share.
Episode Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Vice Website, The Real History of Black and White Cookies, Joanne Spataro
'Look to the Cookie': An Ode in Black and White - The New York Times
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food by Arthur Schwartz
The Essential Jewish Baking Cookbook by Beth A. Lee
Recipes You Really Need to Try
Spaghetti Tacos by Kitty Johnson on All Recipes
White Russian on Liquor.com
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Join us in two weeks for another Kitchen Technologies episodes where we’ll be talking about the evolution of the cookbook. If you’re enjoying the podcast, we would love to have you join our supporting subscribers. For just a few dollars, you can get access to exclusive content, including the Recipe Box Roulette “card game”, more in-depth articles, and recipes. You’ll also help keep our oven lights on!
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