Twiglets

Twiglets are a wheat-based snack^[1] with a "distinctive knobbly shape" similar to that of a small twig. The taste of Twiglets derives from the yeast extract used in its coating, and has been compared to that of Marmite.^[2] They are marketed in the United Kingdom and packaged in 24 g, 45 g, 105 g and 150 g bags, and in 200 g tubs.

History

1930s advertisement for twiglets featuring a caricature of the inventor, J. Rondalin.

Twiglets were invented in 1929^[3] by a French biscuit maker named J. Rondalin,^[4] a technical manager at Peek Freans' Bermondsey factory, who added brewer's yeast to a leftover batch of Vitawheat dough.^[5] They were first launched onto the consumer market in 1932 by Peek Freans.^[6] Today, Twiglets are manufactured in Aintree by United Biscuits subsidiary Jacob's.

During the Christmas season, Twiglets were traditionally sold in drum shaped tin boxes as a high class cocktail accompaniment from the 1930s^[4] until the 1970s.^[7] In modern times, the tin boxes have been substituted with large cardboard tubes decorated with seasonal themes.

In the early 1990s, a range of tangy Worcester Sauce Twiglets was introduced.^[8] Jacobs also released a curry flavoured edition from 1999-2001, in collaboration with several Indian restaurant chains in Northern England.^[9] From 2010 until 2012, Tangy Twiglets were briefly re-released as a limited edition to commemorate Twiglets' 80th anniversary.^[10]

Twiglets used to be manufactured partly from grain prepared using hammer milling machinery located at the Parker Brothers Lark Roller Mills in Mildenhall. The machinery was powered by water turbines fed by water from the river Lark and this process created the broken grains that give twiglets their crunchy irregular shape and texture, this water powered mill operating until the last decade of the 20th century in this capacity.

To celebrate the 85th anniversary of Twiglets in August 2014, United Biscuits hosted an event known as Camp Twiglet on the Cotswolds farm of Blur's Alex James. This included three wigwams made from Twiglets which were attributed to a local artist named Mrs Cakehead.^[11]

In the media

• Twiglets are the favourite snack of footballer Ian Wright, former Prime Minister David Cameron, and chef Nigella Lawson.^[12]
• In the episode Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean, Mr Bean runs out of Twiglets at his New Year's Eve party and substitutes real twigs coated with Marmite.
• Twiglets were a frequent gag reference on the original UK version of the TV game show Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
• An internet meme was created from Justin Bieber eating a Twiglet on the Alan Carr talk show.^[13]
• In season 1, episode 3 of the UK TV series Spaced, Simon Pegg's character Tim states "I'm not supposed to eat Twiglets" because "they make me violent".^[14]
• In season 5, episode 14 The Devil Complex of Marvel Agents of SHIELD Leo Fitz “Fitz”, commented that he wanted “proper British junk food”. He said, “I want Maltesers, and I want Twiglets!”

References