Preposterous Ploy or a Pleasing Puzzlement?
A cynic would explain the appearance of Mystery Oreos this way: the flummoxed flavor wizards at Oreo, suffering a food chemist's version of writer's block, failed to think of any new ideas for novelty flavors and, in a fit of desperation, settled on some undefinable but pleasant-tasting combination of extracts that they would offer consumers, saying "you tell US what it is!" It's certainly a viable conspiracy theory but, as with many such fever-dreams, it is not supported by the evidence. Here at the Food Kingdom, all available staff (and other volunteers) have tasted these mystery cookies and they taste quite definitely of something. We just can't agree what that something is.
Blind Tasting
Mystery Oreos can't be evaluated by the same method that we've used to assess previous limited-edition flavors. Usually, one of the judging criteria is the fidelity of the cookie to the treat that it's attempting to resemble. With a mystery flavor, we don't even know the target, so it's impossible to say, in advance, whether it hits the mark. Instead, we can simplify our questions to two: does it taste good, and does it seem to resemble something that exists in the world? That search for that second answer is what has made this a rewarding tasting experience, as our minds and taste buds have trod together the alleyways of remembered pleasures, chance and contingent associations, and weird threads of synaptic connection between sensation and identification, aiming at knowing and barely missing, all the while caught in a sensual swirl of cookie and cream.
Other Official Guesses
Peppermint (my Aunt Lynn): I really didn't expect this guess, but she was quite insistent and I had to admit that, when I put myself in the right frame of mind, I could see where she was coming from.
Pros: It needs no additional coloring for it to be correct, and it's counterintuitive.
Cons: Oreo has already come out with a green mint variety, so this wouldn't be particularly new.
Fruity Pebbles (Maureen F, James N, and Brian S): Mo says that was her gut reaction and she's sticking with it. Brian, damning with faint praise, writes "It has that fruity cereal taste. It's good but not something I want to eat more than one of in a sitting." James N was more expansive, emphasizing the nostalgia they evoked and concluding that "it had enough faux fruitiness to taste different. Ultimately, I wouldn't buy [these] over the original flavor, but I may buy a box of Fruity Pebbles next time I'm at the store!"
Pros: The multicolored creme filling would be awesome! Like rainbow sherbert!
Cons: It's sort of an "all of the above" answer. Is that a cop out? Also, consider the licensing costs of getting the naming rights from Post cereals.
Froot Loops (Trisa B and Inés P)
Pros: Again, one can certainly "taste where she's coming from."
Cons: What's with the breakfast cereal thing?
Bubble Gum (Kelly R)
"Bubble gum was the first thing I thought of. Either that or Froot Loops"
Pros: Major points for originality and, when you consider how artificial the whole thing is, it makes perfect sense.
Cons: Ewwwwww....really?
Lemon Creme (R. de Moraes)
"It reminds me of ladyfingers with a light lemon frosting"
Pros: Mr. de Moraes has a discerning palate that is picking up the definite citrus note
Cons: His full description is basically likening this cookie to a pre-existing citrus cookie, which Nabisco will not be happy to hear.
Audience Participation!
Now it's your turn. Let's see how many interesting guesses we can gather together in one place. Please send your official guesses (after you enter the contest please, I don't want to be accused of stealing your idea!) to foodnfreak@gmail.com with the subject line "Mystery Oreos." I will compile the answers and share them in a later post so we can all learn together. Please let me know how you'd like to be identified or whether you'd prefer to be anonymous. Happy tasting!
A cynic would explain the appearance of Mystery Oreos this way: the flummoxed flavor wizards at Oreo, suffering a food chemist's version of writer's block, failed to think of any new ideas for novelty flavors and, in a fit of desperation, settled on some undefinable but pleasant-tasting combination of extracts that they would offer consumers, saying "you tell US what it is!" It's certainly a viable conspiracy theory but, as with many such fever-dreams, it is not supported by the evidence. Here at the Food Kingdom, all available staff (and other volunteers) have tasted these mystery cookies and they taste quite definitely of something. We just can't agree what that something is.
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| Oreos has revved up the excitement by offering a grand prize of $50,000 for one person who correctly guesses the mystery flavor, and 5 $10,000 runner-up prizes. But don't get too excited. There will likely be thousands of entrants who guess correctly, and the winners from that pool are selected by random drawing. This is more of a sweepstakes than a contest. Unless the correct answer is Blueberry-Banana Ecto-Cooler Crunch or something. |
Mystery Oreos can't be evaluated by the same method that we've used to assess previous limited-edition flavors. Usually, one of the judging criteria is the fidelity of the cookie to the treat that it's attempting to resemble. With a mystery flavor, we don't even know the target, so it's impossible to say, in advance, whether it hits the mark. Instead, we can simplify our questions to two: does it taste good, and does it seem to resemble something that exists in the world? That search for that second answer is what has made this a rewarding tasting experience, as our minds and taste buds have trod together the alleyways of remembered pleasures, chance and contingent associations, and weird threads of synaptic connection between sensation and identification, aiming at knowing and barely missing, all the while caught in a sensual swirl of cookie and cream.
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| They don't look like much. Except for a slightly lighter shade in the wafers, and a thicker helping of creme, Mystery Oreos look just like regular Oreos. But just as reading a novel is often more vivid than watching the film adaptation, removing visual clues from the equation equips the mind of the taster to conjure wonders that colors and identifying labels might well suppress.
Fruit Is Definitely Involved
While our Food Kingdom panel hotly disputed the specifics, all but one on the panel agreed that these were fruity. Essential fruit oils infuse the slab of creme inside the cookie, and that portion of creme is extra thick, necessarily I think because, in the absence of coloration and the guidance of an official flavor designation, the flavor needs to be extra strong to be identifiable. Having said that, the cookie itself, which is slightly lighter in color than that of a classic Oreo, also has a hint of fruit. I'm going to go out on a limb and declare the flavor to be orange or orange creme. That was the flavor that just popped into my head the moment I tasted it, and while other suggestions from the panel were provocative and intriguing, subtly influencing my perceptions on subsequent tastings, and allowing for the aforementioned adventures in dreamlike speculation, I still kept coming back to something citrusy and, specifically, orangey. Cointreau. Grand Marnier. Orange Milano. These were the phrases that kept recurring over and over to me. So orange it is, my (and Jen G's) official guess. But there are others. Let's hear from the panel now.
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Peppermint (my Aunt Lynn): I really didn't expect this guess, but she was quite insistent and I had to admit that, when I put myself in the right frame of mind, I could see where she was coming from.
Pros: It needs no additional coloring for it to be correct, and it's counterintuitive.
Cons: Oreo has already come out with a green mint variety, so this wouldn't be particularly new.
Fruity Pebbles (Maureen F, James N, and Brian S): Mo says that was her gut reaction and she's sticking with it. Brian, damning with faint praise, writes "It has that fruity cereal taste. It's good but not something I want to eat more than one of in a sitting." James N was more expansive, emphasizing the nostalgia they evoked and concluding that "it had enough faux fruitiness to taste different. Ultimately, I wouldn't buy [these] over the original flavor, but I may buy a box of Fruity Pebbles next time I'm at the store!"
Pros: The multicolored creme filling would be awesome! Like rainbow sherbert!
Cons: It's sort of an "all of the above" answer. Is that a cop out? Also, consider the licensing costs of getting the naming rights from Post cereals.
Froot Loops (Trisa B and Inés P)
Pros: Again, one can certainly "taste where she's coming from."
Cons: What's with the breakfast cereal thing?
Bubble Gum (Kelly R)
"Bubble gum was the first thing I thought of. Either that or Froot Loops"
Pros: Major points for originality and, when you consider how artificial the whole thing is, it makes perfect sense.
Cons: Ewwwwww....really?
Lemon Creme (R. de Moraes)
"It reminds me of ladyfingers with a light lemon frosting"
Pros: Mr. de Moraes has a discerning palate that is picking up the definite citrus note
Cons: His full description is basically likening this cookie to a pre-existing citrus cookie, which Nabisco will not be happy to hear.
Audience Participation!
Now it's your turn. Let's see how many interesting guesses we can gather together in one place. Please send your official guesses (after you enter the contest please, I don't want to be accused of stealing your idea!) to foodnfreak@gmail.com with the subject line "Mystery Oreos." I will compile the answers and share them in a later post so we can all learn together. Please let me know how you'd like to be identified or whether you'd prefer to be anonymous. Happy tasting!
