Stan C. Smith
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Peregrine Outpost Series >
      • Primal Eclipse
      • Feral Colony
      • Forbidden Refuge
      • Desolate Station
    • Across Horizons Series >
      • Genesis Sequence
      • Obsolete Theorem
      • Foregone Conflict
      • Hostile Emergence
      • Binary Existence
    • Fused Series >
      • Training Day
      • Rampage Ridge
    • Bridgers Series >
      • Infinity: A Bridger's Origin
      • Bridgers 1: The Lure of Infinity
      • Bridgers 2: The Cost of Survival
      • Bridgers 3: The Voice of Reason
      • Bridgers 4: The Mind of Many
      • Bridgers 5: The Trial of Extinction
      • Bridgers 6: The Bond of Absolution
      • Bridgers 1-3 Box Set
      • Bridgers 4-6 Box Set
    • Diffusion Series >
      • Diffusion
      • Infusion
      • Profusion
      • Savage
      • Blue Arrow
      • Diffusion Box Set
    • Resonant Dust Series >
      • Resonant Dust: Stories - Volume 1
      • Resonant Dust: Stories - Volume 2
      • Resonant Dust: Stories - Volume 3
    • Parthenium's Year
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Peregrine Outpost Series >
      • Primal Eclipse
      • Feral Colony
      • Forbidden Refuge
      • Desolate Station
    • Across Horizons Series >
      • Genesis Sequence
      • Obsolete Theorem
      • Foregone Conflict
      • Hostile Emergence
      • Binary Existence
    • Fused Series >
      • Training Day
      • Rampage Ridge
    • Bridgers Series >
      • Infinity: A Bridger's Origin
      • Bridgers 1: The Lure of Infinity
      • Bridgers 2: The Cost of Survival
      • Bridgers 3: The Voice of Reason
      • Bridgers 4: The Mind of Many
      • Bridgers 5: The Trial of Extinction
      • Bridgers 6: The Bond of Absolution
      • Bridgers 1-3 Box Set
      • Bridgers 4-6 Box Set
    • Diffusion Series >
      • Diffusion
      • Infusion
      • Profusion
      • Savage
      • Blue Arrow
      • Diffusion Box Set
    • Resonant Dust Series >
      • Resonant Dust: Stories - Volume 1
      • Resonant Dust: Stories - Volume 2
      • Resonant Dust: Stories - Volume 3
    • Parthenium's Year
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Life's Great Mysteries-  How do those paper fortunes get inside of fortune cookies?

5/21/2024

0 Comments

 
I’m being serious here. Think about it. Those little strips of paper are in perfect shape when you crack open a fortune cookie. They don’t have moisture stains from being put into the cookies while the cookie dough was still moist and flexible. They aren’t stuck to the baked dough, as you might expect if they were put in when the dough was moist. And the papers show no signs of burning or heat discoloration from when the cookie was baked. This is, indeed, a great mystery.

First, let’s look at the origin of fortune cookies, which in itself is a bit of a mystery. Some fortune cookie experts believe the tradition was inspired by 14th century Chinese rebels fighting Mongol invaders. According to legend, a Taoist priest and his followers sent critical messages back and forth hidden inside of Chinese moon cakes. Other experts believe fortune cookies came from Japan, particularly rice cakes that had paper fortunes stuffed inside. These were made at the Hyotanyama Inari shrine in the 1800s. Still other experts believe the idea started in the 1800s in the United States, when Chinese railroad workers handed out small cakes containing notes with holiday wishes.

Regardless of where the inspiration came from, it is generally agreed that, in 1914, a man named Makoto Hagiwara, who owned a Japanese tea garden in San Francisco, started serving tea and fortune cookies. So, modern fortune cookies are as American as baseball and apple pie.

Let’s get back to the original question of how the fortunes get into the cookies. As it turns out, the process is simple. The cookies are baked before inserting the fortunes. The key ingredient that makes it work is the sugar. Originally, when fortune cookies were made by hand, the dough was flattened into a three-inch circle and then baked. When still warm, the cooked dough remained flexible. The paper fortune was placed on the warm, fresh-baked cookie, then the sides were folded over using chopsticks. The timing was important because the sugar would cool quickly and the cookie would become hard, with a shiny surface. In 1974, Edward Louie invented a machine that would automatically insert the fortune and then fold the cookie. Soon, as the machines improved, fortune cookie bakeries were using machines that could produce 8,000 or more fortune cookies per hour.

Now and then I get one of these cookies without a slip of paper inside—it's my misfortune.

Picture

Photo Credits:

- Fortune cookies - DepositPhotos

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Stan's Cogitations

    Everyone needs a creative outlet. That's why I write.

    Subscribe to my newsletter for even more fun stuff!

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015

    RSS Feed