The Oddly Bitter Backstory of Chocolate Chip Cookies.
You know, today I could write about anything I want. I could write about the fascinating history of McDonald’s Chicken Mcnuggets, or about how Ayn Rand’s hairstyle is the reason Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race. I could really write about anything. Anything at all.
I guess I might as well write about Ruth Wakefield.
That name probably means nothing to you and I wouldn’t blame you. You’d have to be an absurdly massive nerd to instantly recognize her by name. Let me put it this way; you know those warm, soft, insanely delicious chocolate chip cookies your grandma makes? Well the reason that you’re gorging yourself on these sugary treats and will inevitably feel bad about yourself when you step on the scale the next morning is Ruth Wakefield. Thanks a lot.
If you live in Massachusetts and have graduated from first grade, you are probably one of the few people reading this who have heard of Ruth Wakefield. Your teacher probably gathered all the snotty first graders on the rug, pulled out a heavily illustrated storybook, and read you the fable that Nestlé intensely overcommercialized, serving you day-old chocolate chip cookies and juice that both looked and tasted like piss afterwards. The story that your teacher read to you was however far from the truth, as you may be shocked to learn. The real story is considerably less exciting and oddly depressing.
Picture this: You’re halfway through a long road trip to visit your dirtbag cousin Billy for Christmas. You’re exhausted, miserable, and are wondering if you got Billy the right gift even though he died in a house fire 3 hours ago which you will only find out about once you arrive as telephones are not yet able to fit in your pocket. It’s the 1930s, by the way. I probably should have mentioned that.
You decide to pull over to a nearby inn located inside of a tollhouse matter-of-factly called The Toll House Inn to take a break from the excruciatingly long trip. You walk inside and make your way over to the small eatery located in the back. You come into the eatery and scan the menu while waiting in line, deciding what you want like a respectable person instead of waiting until the person at the front asks you what you want and staring at the menu going Uhhhhhhh like some sort of zombie while the guy standing behind you wants to chuck his coffee cup at your big, stupid head! Sorry…got a little carried away there. What I was writing about? Oh yeah.
So you decide on a pastry that you’ve never heard of before, the Chocolate Crunch Cookie and a cup of coffee. The cookie sounds especially appetizing to you and you’re excited to sink your coffee-stained teeth into it.
You buy the cookie, sit down at a table, and bite in. It’s delicious. The next thing you know, you’ve polished the whole thing off. You self-consciously sip your coffee and wonder if you should get another one. You decide to get one for Billy but eat it in the car once you hit the road again. It would have been cold anyway, you think as you pull into Billy’s neighborhood and come to a dead stop in front of his destroyed house.
You may have much more pressing matters to deal with at the moment-tracking down Billy’s will, contacting your parents, preparing a eulogy-but you have just tasted history. You have eaten one of the very first chocolate chip cookies ever created.
Now contrary to popular belief, the chocolate chip cookie was not invented by total accident. In fact, Wakefield had been tinkering with cookie recipes ever since a trip to Egypt with her husband. She deliberately invented the chocolate chip cookie to boost sales at an establishment that she ran with her husband called The Toll House Inn. Sorry to burst your bubble Massachusetts schoolchildren, but these are the warm, soft, delicious, facts.
The cookies soon became immensely popular and were featured in a cookbook that Wakefield published, Toll House Tried and True Recipes. They were also put in care packages and sent to soldiers fighting overseas during World War II. Cookies soon became the thing to digest and Wakefield was living it up as the creator of one of America’s favorite treats…until Nestlé came along.
See, Wakefield used chunks of Nestlé chocolate bars in her original recipe. So understandably, as the recipe became more popular sales of Nestlé chocolate went up. Nestlé being the major corporation that they are, approached Wakefield with a deal; Wakefield would sell her soul sell, I mean her cookie recipe and the Toll House name and logo for a dollar and a lifetime supply. Now while a lifetime supply of chocolate does sound great, it’s not exactly enough to buy one of the most famous recipes in American history. They also gave her a dollar. Wakefield sold out to Nestlé in 1939. A dollar in 1939 is equal to about 20 bucks today. Now I don’t know about you but I sure as hell wouldn’t sell my incredibly famous recipe for 20 bucks and a lifetime supply of chocolate! It doesn’t matter how much I love chocolate, that’s just not, quite frankly, a very good deal.
Now if Ruth Wakefield had half a brain, she would’ve probably known this was a horrible deal and declined. However, I’m sure Nestlé had ways of making her sign the document. That’s right, there’s a good chance Nestlé pressured Ruth Wakefield into signing away her most well known creation. Massachusetts schoolchildren must be sobbing right now.
So what happened to Ruth Wakefield after that fateful day in 1939. Well, she sold the inn a couple decades later. It ended up burning down in a trademark Massachusetts New Year’s fire in 1984. Ruth Wakefield thankfully never lived to see the demise of her beloved inn; she died on January 10th 1977 at the age of 73.
While Ruth Wakefield’s most well known creation was potentially ripped away from her by a massive corporation, she will still be remembered forever by Massachusetts schoolchildren. Eh, good enough.
