Fig Newtons
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Newtons are a
Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...
-trademarked version of a
cookie A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...
filled with sweet fruit paste. Fig Newtons are the most popular variety. They are produced by an
extrusion Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross section (geometry), cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a Die (manufacturing), die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing pro ...
process. Their distinctive shape is a characteristic that has been adopted by competitors, including generic fig bars sold in many markets.


History

The Newton was invented by
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
baker Charles Roser, who likely took inspiration for the recipe from the fig roll, a baked good introduced to the U.S. by British immigrants. Roser used a machine invented by James Henry Mitchell which allowed for the
extrusion Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross section (geometry), cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a Die (manufacturing), die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing pro ...
of fig jam and cookie dough at the same time into a long, continuous roll. The recipe was sold to the Kennedy Biscuit company, and entered mass production at the F. A. Kennedy Steam Bakery in 1891. The cookie was christened the "Newton" by the plant manager, James Hazen, using the name of the Boston suburb of
Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...
. The Kennedy Biscuit Company was one of eight bakeries bought out by William Moore in 1889 to create the New York Biscuit Company. This company merged with the American Biscuit Company in 1898 to form the "National Biscuit Company", or
Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...
. The recipe for Newtons along with the manufacturing machine were among the assets brought into the new company, and the cookies were trademarked as "Fig Newtons". In 1991, Nabisco held a 100th-anniversary celebration of the cookie in the town of Newton, Massachusetts. Since 2012, the "Fig" has been dropped from the product name (now just "Newtons"). According to Nabisco, one reason this was done is that the cookie had long been available in other flavors, like strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry. Another reason was a general negative perception of figs, and their association with "old" things.


Production

In 1991, Nabisco was producing around a billion Newtons per year, with the cookie generating $200 million in sales. The cookie is Nabisco's third best-selling product, with sales of more than 700 million bars a year as of 2018.


Varieties

Original Fig Newtons were the only variety available until the 1980s. As of 2012,
Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...
makes several varieties of the Newton, which, in addition to the original fig filling, include versions filled with apple cinnamon, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, blueberry and mixed berry. The Fig Newton also is sold in a 100% whole-grain variety and a fat-free variety. Fig Newton Minis have also been introduced. In 2011, a crisp cookie was introduced in the United States named Newtons Fruit Thins, after being successfully marketed by Kraft in Canada as Lifestyle Selections, a variety of Peek Freans. The product line has since been discontinued.


In popular culture

In the 1939 promotional short Mickey's Surprise Party, produced by
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
for Nabisco's exhibit at that year's World's Fair,
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
proclaims the Fig Newton to be his favorite cookie.


See also

* Fig cake * Fig-cake (fruit)


References


External links

*
Newtons brand page
from KraftFoodsCompany.com
Fig Newton jingle lyrics
from NabiscoWorld.com {{Mondelez Fig dishes Mondelez International brands Nabisco brands Products introduced in 1891 American cookies fr:Figolu