You don’t have to be Jewish to love Nabisco’s latest Oreo variation, but…
On Tuesday, the company announced that three new Oreo flavors would be hitting stores in January. One of those three, the Oreo Black & White Cookie, mimics a bakery product well known to New Yorkers. That cookie — the black and white — is coated on one side of its surface with vanilla-flavored fondant, on the other with chocolate fondant. (Think of it as a yin and yang symbol that has been bar mitzvahed.)
The black and white cookie (or just “black and white” as New Yorkers call it) is thought to trace its origins to Glaser’s Bake Shop, which was opened in Manhattan in 1902 by Bavarian immigrants. Ever since it has been a staple of the city’s delis, bagel shops, and bakeries.
As the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reminds us, the black and white made an appearance in an episode of the iconic sitcom “Seinfeld,” in which the character of Jerry extols its virtues:
You see, Elaine, the key to eating a black and white cookie is that you wanna get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet still somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie, all our problems would be solved.
(The JTA writer overlooks a scene later in the episode when Jerry complains of having an upset stomach, which he attributes to having eaten the cookie.)
Nabisco’s take on the black and white, which is being offered for a limited time, pays homage to the New York treat by featuring two flavors of its creme, chocolate and vanilla, in equal parts as the filling. The cookies sandwiching the filling are vanilla-flavored as in Golden Oreos.
The other two new releases from Nabisco, Oreo Peanut Butter Cakesters and Oreo Gluten-Free Golden cookies, will be covered in a separate report.
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