Animal crackers originated in England in the late 1800s, as animal biscuits. When, in 1889, P.T. Barnum decided to tour England with his circus, several manufacturers took advantage of a marketing opportunity and called the biscuits “Barnum’s.”

The animal biscuits were exported to America, inspiring local bakeries to make their own. The National Biscuit Co. (today, Nabisco), introduced them 1902 as “Barnum’s Animals”; they added the word “Crackers” in 1948.

The “circus car” box with the string handle was introduced later in the year, as a Christmas tree ornament for Christmas 1902. (Neither P.T. Barnum nor the Barnum & Bailey Circus ever got a cent in licensing fees from any “Barnum’s” crackers or biscuits!)

Other companies continue to make animal crackers. But perhaps the biggest unsung producer is Pepperidge Farm, manufacturers of Goldfish snack crackers. Fish are animals, too! They’re just aquatic animals covered with scales, instead of land animals covered with fur.
 
 
GOLDFISH ARE THE BIGGEST BRAND OF ANIMAL CRACKERS

Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin discovered the snack cheese cracker on a trip to Switzerland and returned with the recipe. Goldfish were launched in 1962.
 
Today, Goldfish are made in 10 savory flavors and, with the launch of new Vanilla Grahams, five sweet flavors as well (the others are Chocolate Grahams, Cinnamon Grahams, Honey Grahams and S’mores Adventures).

Unfortunately, the new small fry are just as addictive as all of the other flavors. How did that 6.6-ounce bag end up empty so quickly?

[1] New Vanilla Grahams Goldfish (photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE). [2] The original inspiration (photo courtesy Nabisco).

Turn everyday yogurt into a yogurt parfait.
Photo courtesy California Milk Board.

Layer the ingredients for an attractive visual presentation.

1. First add yogurt to the dish.

2. Alternate layers of your favorite sliced fruits or small berries with layers of granola until the dish is full. (You can create more layers than shown in the photo.)

3. Top with some granola and a piece of fruit.

Bordeaux goblets and tall glasses also do the trick—use iced tea spoons to scoop down into tall glasses.

• Discover all the different types of yogurt in our Yogurt Glossary—including the truth about “live and active cultures.”
• Find our favorite yogurt brands, recipes and much more yogurt information in our Yogurt Section.

These tasty baby veggies, generally served in the shell, are fun to pop into your mouth. And for a fun food, they’re awfully good for you. They’re the only vegetable that offers a complete protein profile equal to both meat and eggs.

It’s time to take edamame from the restaurant to the home. Seapoint Farms, which grows edamame in California, has national distribution of its frozen shelled and unshelled edamame (the latter are great to toss into recipes).

• Read the full article on edamame, including health benefits and recipes.
• Find more of our favorite veggies and more veggie recipes in our Vegetables Section.

Enjoy edamame as a snack, appetizer or
in recipes. Photo courtesy SeapointFarms.com.

Task of the week: Find two new uses for
mustard. Photo courtesy Anton Kozlik’s Mustards.

Think of classic Dijon as “basic vanilla” and start to expand your mustard horizons. Visit any specialty food store and cruise the mustard shelf.

As a bonus, mustard is extremely low in calories (except for sweet mustards like honey mustard). So see how many new uses you can find for mustard: Look for one new idea each week.

By the way, our very low calorie or low-glycemic work-around for honey mustard: Sweeten plain Dijon mustard with your favorite non-caloric sweetener or with agave nectar.

See the many different types of mustard in our Mustard Glossary.

Though our food appears the same as it did to our grandparents—a tomato still looks like a tomato—it has been radically transformed, and not for the better. See for yourself in the eye-opening documentary, Food, Inc., which will be shown on PBS on Wednesday evening, April 21 (check local listings for time). The film is presented by POV, the award-winning series that features the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers.

In Food Inc., producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma and his latest, a must-read, In Defense Of Food) lift the veil on the American food industry, revealing distressing facts about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation (thanks to big corporations and their lobbyists) and where we may go from here.

Invite your family and friends over for a potluck dinner (we suggest a buffet). Then watch Food, Inc. and discuss the many issues it raises.

Be sure to watch Food Inc. You’ll never
look at food the same way again.

The film will also be streaming online in its entirety for one week after the broadcast, from April 22nd to April 29th. The Food, Inc. DVD is also on sale (just $9.99 at Amazon.com).

• If you’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, get a copy of the book, Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It.
• Send a copy of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma For Kids to help the children in your life understand the issues and make better choices.