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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. 
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Stan's Cogitations
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September 2024
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