Food: Origins of Toaster Pastries
Taking a Byte out of Time
Jim Belcher

Pop Tarts® - the very name brings memories to the surface. Is there a soul so health food conscious that they have never sampled the Jolt Cola® of the breakfast table? Pop Tarts have become a part of our very culture, inspiring numerous imitations, some of them arguably superior. Although superiority may itself be arguable, when one is comparing one brand of stale pie crust, stuffed with over-sweetened coal-tar imitation fruit, against another.

But Pop Tarts may themselves be an imitation, albeit perhaps an unconscious one. Starting in WW II, the U.S. military issued some goodies which are highly reminiscent of Pop Tarts: C Rations.

C Rations were intended to be a means of supplying semi-edible food to military personnel, in areas where chow halls or field mess wasn't available. Included in these packages were deserts, either canned, or in sealed foil packages. Sound familiar? C Rations were almost universally cursed by GIs while in the military, and greatly desired for fishing trips once they were discharged. No statistics appear to exist on whether they were used for bait or for human consumption.

But the government has an odd habit of keeping some things for future distribution. C Rations from WW II were still issued to GIs in the early 1960s. The author remembers very well being stationed at a remote location, where being cut off from the mess hall by snow was not an infrequent occurrence. There were cases of C rations in stock, for any who cared to indulge. Perhaps it was the lack of hostile fire; perhaps it was the long days and nights of isolation, but I (and others) developed a taste for some of the goodies.

I distinctly recall a foil wrapped desert - a pastry, with (probably real) fruit filling. It would have been only passable at a 1950s or early 1960s breakfast table, but tastes and standards have changed. Perhaps it was the ravenous appetite we had during the winter months; perhaps it was the way the flavors had blended over the fifteen or twenty years since manufacture. But those deserts were excellent, and highly prized.

Somehow, the flavor of the foil wrapping had permeated the pastry. There was a certain stale metallic taste which I'd never found anywhere else - until I discovered Pop Tarts. It may be an acquired taste, one which one gains only after consuming significant quantities. This could explain why small children, attracted by the colorful package and sugar overdose, eventually claim they actually like the product. Conversely, adults who have not been exposed to the product at an early age don't seem as enthused.

Incidentally, there was no question as to the age of the C rations. It was common in those days for the government to pack cigarettes and matches with the C rations. All the matches had pictures of a Minuteman, with "V For Victory" printed on each pack.

Flip a few hundred calendar pages, and the late 1960s arrive. Tastes HAVE changed. Everyone is in a hurry; quick food is more important than good food. I'm commuting 36 miles each way, and must leave my house at 0630 if I am to beat the traffic and arrive at my office by 0800. What breakfast fits this? Throw two Pop Tarts in the toaster, some sort of fluid in a cup which will flush the pastries into my gullet, stick them in a holder in the car, and eat on the way to work. Pop Tarts fit right in with the culture of the late 1960s and 1970s.

Times have changed again. I can no longer enjoy Pop Tarts; they're full of all sorts of things the family doctor says I would be better off without such as massive amounts of sugar, salt, grease, and similarly proscribed condiments. I'm reminded the government also packaged cigarettes with C rations.

But I'm tempted and forced to wonder if just one more packet would really hurt me. It seemed to me that the C Rations were marginally better, probably because of aging. It's tempting to bury some Pop Tarts in a suitable container and see if the flavor doesn't improve after a few years.