Hydrox (cookie)

Hydrox is the brand name for a creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie which debuted in 1908 and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits. Its name was formed from the atomic elements which make up pure water: hydrogen and oxygen. [Lukas, Paul. "Oreos to Hydrox: Resistance Is Futile." "Business 2.0", March 1999, [http://spacefem.com/hydrox/fortune.html a copy of which] was retrieved January 2008] Some accounts report the Oreo—introduced later, in 1912—was inspired by the Hydrox, yet Hydrox suffered from the misimpression it was a knockoff. Compared to the Oreo, the Hydrox had a "tangy, less-sweet filling" and a crunchier cookie that stood up better in milk. [Rhoads, Christopher. "The Hydrox Cookie Is Dead, and Fans Won't Get Over It." "Wall Street Journal", January 19 2008]

Production

Sunshine Biscuits was purchased by Keebler in 1996, and in 1999, Keebler replaced Hydrox with a similar but reformulated product named Droxies. [Lukas] Keebler was later acquired by Kellogg's in 2001. Kellogg's removed Droxies from the market in 2003. Kellogg's now markets a chocolate sandwich cookie under the Famous Amos brand, and some fans of the original Hydrox suspect this may be Hydrox reborn, while others find solace in Newman-O's and various house branded cookies. Kellogg's says the Hydrox recipe is unique. [Rhoads]

On the occasion of the cookie's 100th anniversary, Kellogg's is again distributing Hydrox under the Sunshine label, with the first batches shipped in late August 2008. [The first packages shipped in 2008 note the anniversary as the inspiration for the revival.] Hydrox aficionados bombarded Kellogg's with thousands of phone calls and an on-line petition asking that production resume. The cookies will be available nationally for a limited time, but good sales might lead to continued production. The recipe will be slightly altered from the original; trans-fats are removed. [Rhoads, Christopher. "Hydrox Redux: Cookie Duels Oreo, Again." "Wall Street Journal", May 28 2008]

The Carvel ice-cream franchise still sells ice-cream goods manufactured with "Hydrox" cookie crumbs. Carvel uses the cookies' all-kosher status as a selling point, [Rhoads, January 19 2008. The original Oreo recipe used lard (pork fat).] so these cookies are presumably made with the same recipe as the original. The cookies are not specifically mentioned by name on the Carvel website, but they are identified as hydrox (lower-case 'h') on the in-store posters. [ [http://www.carvel.com/ Carvel web site] ]

Lupe Fiasco made reference to Hydrox in the song Everybody Nose (Remix). In an episode of the animated television series "Family Guy", an advertisement announces a doctor performing Lasik eye surgery for $12 at the Hydrox Arena.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.hydroxcookies.com Official Hydrox Cookies website]
* [http://www.spacefem.com/hydrox Hydrox Cookie page]
* [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121193695783324733.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Hydrox Redux: Cookie Duels Oreo, Again]