Fortune cookie: Difference between revisions
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A '''fortune cookie''' is a crisp [[cookie]] usually made from [[flour]], [[sugar]], [[vanilla]], and [[sesame seed oil]] with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of wisdom or a vague [[prophecy]]. The message inside may also include a [[Chinese language|Chinese]] phrase with translation or a list of lucky numbers used by some as [[lottery]] numbers, some of which have become actual winner numbers.<ref name=snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/luck/cookie.asp "Fortune Cookie Fortune"]. snopes .com</ref> |
A '''fortune cookie''' is a crisp [[cookie]] usually made from [[flour]], [[sugar]], [[vanilla]], and [[sesame seed oil]] with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of wisdom or a vague [[prophecy]]. The message inside may also include a [[Chinese language|Chinese]] phrase with translation or a list of lucky numbers used by some as [[lottery]] numbers, some of which have become actual winner numbers.<ref name=snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/luck/cookie.asp "Fortune Cookie Fortune"]. snopes .com</ref> |
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Fortune cookies |
Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in [[American Chinese cuisine|Chinese restaurants in the United States]] and some other countries, but are absent in [[China]]. The exact provenance of fortune cookies is unclear, though various immigrant groups in [[California]] claim to have popularized them in the early 20th century, basing their recipe on a traditional [[Senbei|Japanese cracker]]. Fortune cookies have been summarized as being "introduced by the Japanese, popularized by the Chinese, but ultimately ... consumed by Americans."<ref name=solving>{{cite news|last=Lee|first=Jennifer|date=January 16, 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/dining/16fort.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|title=Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside a Cookie|accessdate=May 10, 2012}}</ref> |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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[[Image:fortune cookie broken 20040628 223252 1.jpg|thumb|right|An opened fortune cookie]] |
[[Image:fortune cookie broken 20040628 223252 1.jpg|thumb|right|An opened fortune cookie]] |
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| ⚫ | As far back as the 19th century, a cookie very similar in appearance to the modern fortune cookie was made in [[Kyoto, Japan]], and there is a Japanese temple tradition of random fortunes, called [[o-mikuji]]. The Japanese version of the cookie differs in several ways: they are a little bit larger; are made of darker dough; and their batter contains sesame and miso rather than vanilla and butter. They contain a fortune; however, the small slip of paper was wedged into the bend of the cookie rather than placed inside the hollow portion. This kind of cookie is called {{Nihongo||辻占煎餅|tsujiura senbei}} and are still sold in some regions of Japan,<ref name=solving/> notably the neighborhood of [[Fushimi Inari-taisha]] shrine in Kyoto.<ref name="reallyjapan">{{cite web | title = Fortune Cookies are really from Japan. | url = http://www.fortunecookiechronicles.com/2008/01/16/fortune-cookies-are-really-from-japan/ | authorlink = Jennifer 8. Lee | first = Jennifer | last = 8. Lee | date = January 16, 2008 | work = The Fortune Cookie Chronicles }}</ref> |
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The fortune cookie has its origins in a popular sweet cake served in Italy in the 1200s. Nuns would serve the treats to children with a Biblical quote in them to help the future monks learn to read. Much like the pretzle the fortune cookie's shape is that of children's hands folded in prayer. It is wildly believed missionaries traveling with Marco Polo traded the secrets of the fortune cookie to the Chinese for pasta recipes. |
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Most of the people who claim to have introduced the cookie to the [[United States]] are Japanese, so the theory is that these bakers were modifying a cookie design which they were aware of from their days in Japan. |
Most of the people who claim to have introduced the cookie to the [[United States]] are Japanese, so the theory is that these bakers were modifying a cookie design which they were aware of from their days in Japan. |
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[[Makoto Hagiwara]] of [[Golden Gate Park]]'s [[Japanese tea garden at Golden Gate Park|Japanese Tea Garden]] in San Francisco is reported to have been the first person in the USA to have served the modern version of the cookie when he did so at the tea garden in the 1890s or early 1900s. The fortune cookies were made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo.<ref name=Nagata>{{cite web | last = Nagata | first = Erik | title= A Brief History of The Fortune Cookie |url=http://www.hanascape.com/aboutus/fortunecookie/index.html}}</ref><ref name=Ono>{{cite web | last = Ono | first = Gary | title=Japanese American Fortune Cookie: A Taste of Fame or Fortune -- Part II|url=http://www.discovernikkei.org/forum/en/node/1935| date=2007-10-31}}</ref><ref name="Martin_2004_8">{{Harv|Martin|2004}}</ref> |
[[Makoto Hagiwara]] of [[Golden Gate Park]]'s [[Japanese tea garden at Golden Gate Park|Japanese Tea Garden]] in San Francisco is reported to have been the first person in the USA to have served the modern version of the cookie when he did so at the tea garden in the 1890s or early 1900s. The fortune cookies were made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo.<ref name=Nagata>{{cite web | last = Nagata | first = Erik | title= A Brief History of The Fortune Cookie |url=http://www.hanascape.com/aboutus/fortunecookie/index.html}}</ref><ref name=Ono>{{cite web | last = Ono | first = Gary | title=Japanese American Fortune Cookie: A Taste of Fame or Fortune -- Part II|url=http://www.discovernikkei.org/forum/en/node/1935| date=2007-10-31}}</ref><ref name="Martin_2004_8">{{Harv|Martin|2004}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 17:32, 24 September 2012
 An unopened fortune cookie | |
| Type | Cookie |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Main ingredients | Flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil |
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of wisdom or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese phrase with translation or a list of lucky numbers used by some as lottery numbers, some of which have become actual winner numbers.[1]
Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States and some other countries, but are absent in China. The exact provenance of fortune cookies is unclear, though various immigrant groups in California claim to have popularized them in the early 20th century, basing their recipe on a traditional Japanese cracker. Fortune cookies have been summarized as being "introduced by the Japanese, popularized by the Chinese, but ultimately ... consumed by Americans."[2]
Origin
As far back as the 19th century, a cookie very similar in appearance to the modern fortune cookie was made in Kyoto, Japan, and there is a Japanese temple tradition of random fortunes, called o-mikuji. The Japanese version of the cookie differs in several ways: they are a little bit larger; are made of darker dough; and their batter contains sesame and miso rather than vanilla and butter. They contain a fortune; however, the small slip of paper was wedged into the bend of the cookie rather than placed inside the hollow portion. This kind of cookie is called tsujiura senbei (辻占煎餅) and are still sold in some regions of Japan,[2] notably the neighborhood of Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine in Kyoto.[3]
Most of the people who claim to have introduced the cookie to the United States are Japanese, so the theory is that these bakers were modifying a cookie design which they were aware of from their days in Japan.
Makoto Hagiwara of Golden Gate Park's Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco is reported to have been the first person in the USA to have served the modern version of the cookie when he did so at the tea garden in the 1890s or early 1900s. The fortune cookies were made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo.[4][5][6]
David Jung, founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles, has made a competing claim that he invented the cookie in 1918.[7] San Francisco's mock Court of Historical Review attempted to settle the dispute in 1983. During the proceedings, a fortune cookie was introduced as a key piece of evidence with a message reading, "S.F. Judge who rules for L.A. Not Very Smart Cookie". A federal judge of the Court of Historical Review determined that the cookie originated with Hagiwara and the court ruled in favor of San Francisco. Subsequently, the city of Los Angeles condemned the decision.[7]
Seiichi Kito, the founder of Fugetsu-do of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, also claims to have invented the cookie.[8] Kito claims to have gotten the idea of putting a message in a cookie from Omikuji (fortune slip) which are sold at temples and shrines in Japan. According to his story, he sold his cookies to Chinese restaurants where they were greeted with much enthusiasm in both the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. Thus Kito's main claim is that he is responsible for the cookie being so strongly associated with Chinese restaurants.[citation needed]
Up to around World War II, fortune cookies were known as "fortune tea cakes" -- likely reflecting their origins in Japanese tea cakes.[2]
Fortune cookies moved from being a confection dominated by Japanese-Americans to one dominated by Chinese-Americans sometime around World War II. One theory for why this occurred is because of the Japanese American internment during World War II, which forcibly put over 100,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps, including those who had produced fortune cookies. This gave an opportunity for Chinese manufacturers.[2]
Fortune cookies before the early 20th century, however, were all made by hand. The fortune cookie industry changed dramatically after the fortune cookie machine was invented by Shuck Yee from Oakland, California.[9] The machine allowed for mass production of fortune cookies which subsequently allowed the cookies to drop in price to become the novelty and courtesy dessert many Americans are familiar with after their meals at most Chinese restaurants today.
Chinese legend
Rumors that fortune cookies were invented in China are seen as false.[1] In 1989, fortune cookies were reportedly imported into Hong Kong and sold as "genuine American fortune cookies".[1] Wonton Food attempted to expand its fortune cookie business into China in 1992, but gave up after fortune cookies were considered "too American".[1]
Manufacturers
There are approximately 3 billion fortune cookies made each year around the world, the vast majority of them used for consumption in the United States.[2] The largest manufacturer of the cookies is Wonton Food Inc., headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. They make over 4.5 million fortune cookies per day. Another large manufacturer is Peking Noodle in the Los Angeles area. There are other smaller, local manufacturers including Tsue Chong Co. in Seattle, Keefer Court Food in Minneapolis and Sunrise Fortune Cookie in Philadelphia. Many smaller companies will also sell custom fortunes.
Around the world
Fortune cookies, while largely an American item, have been served in Chinese restaurants in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, France, India, Brazil, as well as other countries.[2]
Asian stereotype
Fortune cookies are sometimes viewed as a stereotype of East Asians by Westerners.[10][11][12] "I think it does go to what people think when they think of Asians. They think of food. Because that is really their only point of contact, or awareness, with the Asian-American community." said Andrew Kang, senior staff attorney at the Asian-American Institute in Chicago.[13] The Asian American Journalists Association discourages associating ethnic foods with Asian Americans in news coverage.[14][15][16]
Translations of name
Globally, the cookies are generally called by the English term fortune cookies, being American in origin.
There is no single accepted Chinese name for the cookies, with a large variety of translations being used to describe them in the Chinese language, all of which being more-or-less literal translations of the English "fortune cookie". Examples include: 幸运籤饼 xìngyùn qiān bǐng "good luck lot cookie", 籤语饼 qiān yǔ bǐng "fortune words cookie", 幸运饼 xìngyùn bǐng "good luck cookie", 幸运籤语饼 xìngyùn qiān yǔ bǐng "lucky fortune words cookie", 幸运甜饼 xìngyùn tián bǐng "good luck sweet cookie", 幸福饼干 xìngfú bǐng=bǐnggān "good luck biscuit", 幸运饼 xìngyùn bǐng "good luck cookie", or 占卜饼 zhānbǔ bǐng "divining cookie".
In popular culture
The non-Chinese origin of the fortune cookie is humorously illustrated in Amy Tan's 1989 novel The Joy Luck Club, in which a pair of immigrant women from China find jobs at a fortune cookie factory in America. They are amused by the unfamiliar concept of a fortune cookie but, after several hilarious attempts at translating the fortunes into Chinese, come to the conclusion that the cookies contain not wisdom but "bad instruction."
Fortune cookies have become an iconic symbol in American culture, inspiring many products. There are fortune cookie-shaped jewelry, a fortune cookie-shaped Magic 8 Ball, and silver-plated fortune cookies.
There is a common joke involving fortune cookies that involves appending "between the sheets" or "in bed" to the end of the fortune, usually creating a sexual innuendo or other bizarre messages (e.g., "Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall [in bed]").[17]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Fortune Cookie Fortune". snopes .com Cite error: The named reference "snopes" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d e f Lee, Jennifer (January 16, 2008). "Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside a Cookie". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ 8. Lee, Jennifer (January 16, 2008). "Fortune Cookies are really from Japan". The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Nagata, Erik. "A Brief History of The Fortune Cookie".
- ^ Ono, Gary (2007-10-31). "Japanese American Fortune Cookie: A Taste of Fame or Fortune -- Part II".
- ^ (Martin 2004)
- ^ a b (Brunner 2005).
- ^ A History of Fugetsu-Do, www.fugetsu-do.com
- ^ Oaklandish
- ^ Leonard, David (June 22, 2003). "Yo, Yao! What does the "Ming Dynasty" tell us about race and transnational diplomacy in the NBA? (Culture)". ColorLines Magazine. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
For example, in honor of Yao's debut appearance in Miami, the American Airlines Arena passed out fortune cookies to all 8,000 fans in attendance ... While understandably a source of cultural delight, the attempts to attract Asian fans through stereotypes and decontextualized cultural festivals reflect the NBA's economic and cultural hopes for the "Ming Dynasty."
- ^ Ballantini, Brett (March 1, 2003). "Shaquille O'Neil: the ugly American – From Courtside". Basketball Digest. pp. 6–7. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
For Yao's first game in Miami on December 16, the Heat "honored" Yao by passing out 8,000 fortune Cookies—the quintessential Asian stereotype—to spectators
- ^ "Movie tie-in holds nugget of debate". Lodi News-Sentinel. June 20, 1998. p. 4. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ McCarthy, Michael (February 16, 2012). "Asian stereotypes appearing in coverage of Knicks' Jeremy Lin". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012.
- ^ Sweeten-Shults, Lana (February 27, 2012). "Frozen yogurt, cookies offer food for thought". Times Record News. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012.
- ^ Stableford, Dylan (February 23, 2012). "Asian American Journalists Association releases guidelines on Jeremy Lin media coverage". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012.
- ^ "AAJA Media Advisory on Jeremy Lin News Coverage". channelapa.com. February 23, 2012. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012.
- ^ "Creating a takeout menu for Lunar New Year" by Phil Vettel, Chicago Tribune, January 21, 2005, "Friday" section, page 19. (Describing "the 'in bed' game.") Also, "'To know is nothing; to imagine is everything' - social ritual and meaning in the consumption of fortune cookies," by Ellen R Foxman; Mary Stanfield Bradley. American Marketing Association. Conference Proceedings. 2002; Vol.13; page 98 (at page 101).
References
- Martin, James (2004), "Fortune Cookies: A San Francisco Invention", About.com, retrieved August 11, 2004.
- Brunner, Borgna (2005), "The History of the Fortune Cookie", Infoplease, retrieved May 10, 2005
- Lee, Jennifer 8. (2008). The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. New York City: Twelve Books. ISBN 0-446-58007-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Parvin, Ellie (1995), "Fortune cookie US invention", Golden Gater, retrieved May 24, 2006.
External links
- Don't open this cookie (disastrous day inside), International Herald Tribune
- Cookie Master - Article detailing the job of a cookie fortunes writer
- A Brief History of The Fortune Cookie - An account by Erik S. Nagata, the great, great grandson of Makoto Hagiwara
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