About Fortune Cookies
Fortune cookies are extremely popular. According to Marketing Web.com, 96 percent of people who get a fortune cookie read the paper inside and 67 percent read them out loud to others. However, it's not just about the fortunes; people like the taste, too. Slightly sweet and only 30 calories per cookie, they can be enjoyed without the guilt of a traditional dessert. From its earliest form to the success of traditional fortune cookies today, it's easy to see that these cookies' "fortunes" would say "Fortune Cookies are here to stay."
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History
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According to American Heritage History Magazine, the earliest versions of fortune cookies were not cookies at all. They were cakes filled with secret messages, which were passed by rebels during war in 13th-century China. In the 1870s, Chinese railroad workers living in America made biscuits that contained holiday greetings inside. In the 20th century, both Los Angeles and San Francisco claimed to be the origin of the fortune cookie as we know it today. A self-appointed Court of Historical Review held a trial in 1983 and decided that a San Francisco resident was the inventor. This decision has had no effect on either city, as both cities still claim their cities the origin for fortune cookies.
Production
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Cookies Ready for Shipment
Fortune cookies were made by hand for the most part until 1981. By hand, 750 cookies could be produced per hour. In 1981, the complete process of fortune cookie making was transferred to the automated process, by using a new machine called the Fortune Hi machine. By automation, 1,500 cookies could be produced per hour. Another machine introduced later, the Japanese-made Kitamura FCM-8006W, produces 8,000 cookies per hour. Won Ton Inc, located in New York, and one of the largest fortune cookie producers, uses the machines to make and ship 60 million cookies every month.
Function
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Grocery Store Fortune Cookies
A well-known and popular function of a fortune cookie is as a mini fortune-telling dessert at the end of the meal at a Chinese restaurant or takeout place. Some people enjoy the flavor, but for the most part, they enjoy reading their fortune on the slip of the paper inside the cookie. Fortune cookies also are sold in grocery stores in boxes. These cookies frequently function as fun extras at parties, snacks or the family meal.
Features
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Fortune Cookie Shape
The ingredients in a fortune cookie are flour, sugar, eggs and water. The dough is first pressed in a circle and then the paper is inserted. A machine folds and bends the dough into a traditional fortune cookie shape, which resembles a half-moon shape that is folded from the circle until the edges touch and then slightly folded toward each other. The resulting features are a smooth-surfaced and golden-colored, thin cookie. The cookie has the folds created to hold the paper slip inside while still allowing the edge of the paper fortune to stick out. To get the fortune slip of paper, a person can pull the paper out of the cookie or break the cookie in half.
Potential
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Valentine's Day Fortune Cookies
The potential for fortune cookies has grown. There are personalized fortune cookies, flavored fortune cookies and even cookies made especially for holidays such as Valentine's Day and Christmas. In addition, they are becoming popular social icons that are expanding into fortune cookie jewelry and crafts. The biggest potential for fortune companies, however, is that advertising companies have realized that the little slip of paper is an opportunity to advertise. There is great potential to increase business visibility in fortune cookies, by printing a small logo or slogan of a business on one side of the slip.
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