Oreo

The Oreo Biscuit was invented by the National Biscuit Company, later named Nabisco, in New York City in March 1912. It is the world’s bestselling cookie with over 450 billion Oreos produced in over 100 countries. Nabisco hoped to compete with rival company Barnum’s popular animal cookie. Sam Porcello, a worker at Nabisco, invented the Oreo cookie filling. The Oreo cookie was two chocolate cookies with vanilla cream in the middle, and was originally sold in a metal tin for 25 to 30 cents a pound.

It was later renamed the Oreo Sandwich, followed by the Oreo Crème Sandwich, and lastly, today’s name, the Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie.

There are many theories to why the name Oreo was chosen. Some say that it is based on the French word meaning gold, or the Ancient Greek word meaning mountain. Others say the name was taken from a previous chocolate cookie with cream filling named Hydrox that came out four years earlier. The true answer is unknown.

Oreo remains the most popular cookie in the world, and Nabisco has released special edition Oreo flavors including birthday cake for their 100^th anniversary, lemon twist, watermelon, cookie dough, root beer float, pumpkin spice, red velvet, cinnamon, fruity crisp, firework, chocolate marshmallow, and many more. Some other versions of Oreos include Double Stuf, Oreo Minis, and Triple Double Oreo.

In 1990, Oreo replaced the lard in the cream filling with vegetable oil to make it healthier. Oreo cookies are a popular choice among vegans because they do not contain any animal products.

Fun Facts

The street where Oreo was created is named Oreo Way.

50% of Oreo eaters pull their cookies apart before they eat them.