Among the culinary delights that we loved when we were kids was a treat that our parents craved when they were our age, and possibly that our grandparents did also. They are commonly known as animal crackers, although cookies is a much more accurate moniker. And despite the ravages of new-age political correctness, they are still around for our own grandchildren to beg for at the grocery store.
It all began back in the late 19th century. Animal-shaped cookies were a hit over in Britain, and they began to be imported to the US. They were a hit over here, too, and US bakeries took note. Stauffer's Biscuit Company began producing them on this side of the pond in 1871 in York, Pennsylvania. Several other bakeries jumped on the bandwagon as well, and some of these later merged to become the National Biscuit Company, aka Nabisco.
In 1902, Nabisco gave the diminutive cookies the name "Barnum's Animals," and began marketing them in a wagon-shaped box with a string attached. The boxes I remember had perforations on the bottom, which allowed the wheels to be extruded from the package, allowing the whole thing to sit up like a real wagon. Some kid probably got a paper cut, and the likely ensuing lawsuit likely made them vanish. (sigh)
Stauffer's and Nabisco have had a bit of a rivalry over the centuries. The original US-made animal cracker was Stauffer's creation, but for whatever reason, the concept was never copyrighted. Perhaps it was because it was copied from British bakeries in the first place. Nowadays, Stauffer's advertises their product as the original animal cracker. But it was Nabisco's wagon-shaped box that permeates my own memory of what constitutes an animal cookie.
Stauffer's has made their money by selling their own product, as well as creating them for many other companies that sell them under their own names. However, I have to give Nabisco the game, set, and match for coming up with that box. It was in time for Christmas, 1902 when a bright mind came up with the idea of a circus wagon-shaped box, complete with a string that would allow it to be hung from the old Tannenbaum. The brilliance of the idea became manifest after the holiday season was over, when kids were seen all over the country carrying the nickel-priced boxes by those cotton straps.
My poor mom was verbally assaulted by waves of begging every time I went with her to Farrier's IGA and approached the candy aisle. She would frequently give in. I guess she viewed the now steep price of ten cents as a good investment, since the box would be played with long after its sweet contents were devoured.
Barnum's Animals, as well as Stauffer's original animal crackers continue to survive today. Of course, it's not without the stench of political correctness. The bars on the little boxes are long gone. We wouldn't want the kiddies traumatized by the idea that animals in the circus are forced to be there against their will, now would we? But at least the contents are still made from the same formula that we remember so well.
Maybe one reason that mom frequently bought animal crackers for me is that she knew that the sugar content was far below that of the snacks that I normally inhaled. They were JUST sweet enough. The animals have remained the same as well, with occasional additions made over the years. The most recent for Nabisco was the koala, added by popular demand in 2002, celebrating 100 years of Barnum's Animals. The dies that make their distinctive shapes have remained pretty much unmodified, as well. We should be grateful that nothing politically incorrect has been spotted there by the police (yet).
So here's a suggestion: head down to the store and pick yourself up a box of Barnum's Animals. Enjoy a treat from your past. They're still around, they're not too fattening, not too sugary, and taste just like you remember. How many childhood treats can you say THAT about?
Comments (7)
Its funny that animal crackers made such an impression on me when I was young. My father had gotten some for me or was eating one or two with me. but it as near the ages of 3 to 6 that I associate with them. Very warm fun memories. After all, kids generally love animals anyway and we love food shaped like animals and the like. I guess that is what is appealing to us Boomers, are the many fond memories of a time that seemed to give us plenty of those fond memories.
Posted by Scott Irv | August 30, 2009 11:08 AM
Posted on August 30, 2009 11:08
I dearly love animal crackers...my favorite were the apes and the giraffes. I always ate them first.
Face it, animal crackers are fun to eat,,,but I never put them in my soup.
I still buy them and eat them.However, they used to be 10 cents...they are not 10 cents any more.
Gingerbread planks and animal crackers were my favorite.
Thanks for the memories...
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
Posted by Sharon/Baby Boomer Queen | August 30, 2009 11:31 AM
Posted on August 30, 2009 11:31
I begged for them and loved carrying them around the store as we shopped like it was a purse. Even us fashionistas loved our animal crackers!
Posted by Briana | August 30, 2009 1:40 PM
Posted on August 30, 2009 13:40
Anyone remember "People Crackers" for dogs, in the shape of various "People" that dogs would encounter in everyday life, like mailmen?......and don't forget that the Marx Brothers best movie stole the title from this snack item, ironically its greatest legacy in pop culture.....
Posted by Scott | September 7, 2009 10:01 AM
Posted on September 7, 2009 10:01
Yes, Animal Crackers by the Marx brothers shows how long that snack has been around. However, I would not necessarily agree that movie is their legacy with movies like a Night at the Opera and others. Of course, even their first movies like Coconuts, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup have their merits, I like the one where they stow away on a ship maybe that's Monkey Business.
Posted by Cecil | October 4, 2009 11:05 AM
Posted on October 4, 2009 11:05
My grandfather was a NABISCO man, so we were very brand loyal to Barnum's Animal Crackers. Despite that loyalty, my grandmother once remarked (no doubt after I was an adult and still noshing on 'em) that she felt they tasted like sawdust.
One of the other smart things NABISCO did over Stauffers was to use a good artist(s) and dyemaker(s) for the cookie cutters. NABISCO brand animal crackers have the best detail. Many of the others (Stauffer's) look like amorphous blobs.
NABISCO also got the flavor right (the other wannabe cookies, not so much).
I am a later boomer and I always enjoyed carrying the cookies by the string handle then playing with the soon-empty box with my siblings.
We would disconnect one side of the string and tie it to a another animal crackers box to make an animal train. We'd cut out the train wheels. And I loved punching out the perforated tabs at the top of the box (one was for the price...10 cents then...and another was just there, for no good reason that I could tell).
I still buy 'em whenever I see 'em (and, buddy, they're not cheap...11 times what they were when I was a kid, if not more).
What were NABISCO's other little boxed cookies called (I think they've now morphed into Teddy Grahams)? There were little chocolate chip ones and little chocolate ones (frankly, I think the same mix as the Famous Chocolate Wafers).
And what became of NABISCO's really flat raisin cookies (last made by Sunshine, 'til the stupid Keebler elves gobbled 'em up and removed 'em from the shelves)?
And NABISCO butter cookies? I called 'em finger cookies, 'cause I'd stick 'em on my finger and nibble all around 'til reaching the perimeter of the center hole. They were delish.
When NABISCO started getting silly (trying to compete with Keebler instead of sticking with the classics), I had to start buying NABISCO's Famous Cookie Assortment but I can't even find those any more in my stores.
At least my gramps died before seeing how NABISCO screwed things up.
Posted by N. Bly | October 16, 2009 6:52 AM
Posted on October 16, 2009 06:52
i have a question about nabisco cokkies back in the 60s.
does anyone remember those cookies called PRIDE that Nabisco used to make. they were chocolate with chocolate cream in them, and vanilla cookies with chocolate cream in them. i was addicted to those cookies.
Posted by vera | January 30, 2010 4:26 PM
Posted on January 30, 2010 16:26