Thursday, August 4, 2011

FRUIT-LIKE FILLING ... IN CULVER CITY




Once upon a time, in a quaint little neighborhood in Culver City, nestled between bungalows that once belonged to MGM employees and the back-lot that in the 1930s served as the location for the burning of Atlanta in "Gone with the Wind," there was a convenience store that time forgot. Local rumor has it that the store, owned by the same family for more than forty years, has been there since the Dawn of Time. I've been visiting the store ever since my office moved nearby with one purpose in mind: To keep a close eye on the Hostess Fruit Pies. "Look," I said to my colleague shortly after first noticing them last week, "Their expiration date is next week ... they're about to expire on August 9. Do you know how long a Hostess Fruit Pie has to sit on a shelf before it expires?!? Eons must pass!" One look at the ingredients -- a delicate blend of beef fat, partially hydrogenated animal shortening, apples, artificial flavor and sodium propionate -- was enough to convince me that these pies could survive a nuclear holocaust. And so, each day I've been making a pilgrimage to the Convenience Store just to see if the pies are still there. What will I say to the proprietor when they expire? Probably nothing. It looks like he's passed his Freshness Date, too ...!

4 comments:

emikk said...

Oh, I think they will be fine for a couple more decades....at least! There was a similar situation here in santa cruz where in the 1990's "funny face" drinks from the sixties were still on the shelf! Some kid bought a package with his lunch money and it solved his toenail fungus problem!....not to worry!

Rose said...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm! I think I'll pass on this product.

I used to love anything made by Hostess when I was young. Now, that I'm a Vegan there is no need to read ingredients.....just fresh fruit and fresh veggies......there is no label of ingredients to read.

However, my plate looks mightly boring and not as tasty as it once used to be.

Hugs, Rose

Ken Riches said...

Do not even want to contemplate the shelf life, makes me think of a brick.

Paula said...

Recently a lady told me she wished she didn't ever have to eat again but she smokes like a freight tain so what is the difference?