Apr
7
2004

not a peep out of you

Every holiday seems to have its trademark candies. For Christmas, it’s candy canes and peanut brittle (among other things). For Valentine’s Day, it’s conversation hearts and chocolates. For Easter, it’s chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and Peeps.

Peeps are those brightly-colored marshmallow chicks and bunnies that seem to come out of the woodwork during the Easter candy season. The Washington Post paid homage to them this weekend as if they’re a much-loved holiday staple. (“Just One More Peep…” - 04/04/04) Personally, I don’t know that I’ve ever understood the appeal — the color and consistency put me off a bit, and I’ve always been much more of a Cadbury Creme Egg kinda girl.

“There are rarely any in-betweens when it comes to Peeps,” says Just Born’s DeLuca. “Either you love them or you hate them.”

I guess I’m one of those weird in-betweens, because I just don’t get it. But apparently lots of others do. Take the Peep Mad Scientist fan base, which seems to rival its Twinkie counterpart:

The newest Peeps craze is Peeps jousting, according to DeLuca. To see two Peeps joust, insert a toothpick into the chest of each, place them 11/2 toothpicks apart in a microwave, and nuke them for no more than 10 seconds…

Oddest of all, perhaps, is the PeepResearch.org Web site, which chronicles in-depth and unofficial experiments performed on Peeps at Emory University. Scientists James Zimring and Gary Falcon have tested Peeps’ tolerance for a range of temperatures . They and other researchers also examined what happens to Peeps in a vacuum, in a hot tub, in liquid nitrogen, when electrocuted, when dunked in toxic liquids, and after being subjected to the Coyote Treatment…

The Emory scientists’ experiments have spawned a movement to ban Peeps research…

Posted at 12:57 AM in culture, food, oddities

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Comments

Just in time for the holiday, the folks at Slate dissected how Peeps came to be associted with Easter in the first place. (“Why Eat Peeps at Easter?” - 04/08/04)

Candy historians speculate that the Peeps’ link to Easter has more to do with the pagan origins of the holiday than its Christian roots. Eggs, and consequently chicks, are a long-standing symbol of fertility and rebirth, an appropriate image for a holiday that celebrates the coming of spring. Originally part of a pagan fertility ritual symbolizing new life, the egg became incorporated into Easter as pagan rites were absorbed into Christianity with the Christianization of Central Europe.

That the Rodda Candy Company was based in Pennsylvania is also of note because German immigrants, many of whom settled in the state, are largely credited with popularizing the Easter Bunny tradition in America. Eastre was a Teutonic goddess of the dawn who was able to change a bird into a rabbit, a creature known for its fertility. In the 19th century, Germans gave a related gift during the Easter season: a basket of eggs with figures of bunnies placed in it. The Easter basket, and the Easter Bunny, really became popular in this country following the Civil War, and as one candy historian noted, it would have required no great leap of imagination for Rodda (or earlier candy makers) to place a few chicks among the eggs.

Posted by alykat on April 11, 2004 5:46 PM

I have always been in the “hate” category for peeps…ever since I was a little peep meself, yucky, sticky messy. HOWEVER…one bonfire last summer my friend called to her daughter..”is it time to roast peeps???” At which point they pulled out the stale Easter peeps and we attached them to the marshmallow roasting sticks the kids had already collected…Although I would still prefer a creme brulee if offered…
I am a peep convert. =)

Posted by Twisted on November 20, 2004 10:04 AM

This weekend’s Washington Post had a recipe for homemade Peeps. And here I thought Peeps were the product of some kind of evil “scheming madman in a lab coat” synthetic mojo.

Posted by alykat on March 30, 2005 11:16 PM

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