The Fig Newton Machine
In 1891, James Henry Mitchell's dual-funnel extrusion machine revolutionized filled cookie production
How It Works
- Cookie dough enters the outer funnel
- Fig jam enters the inner funnel
- Both extrude simultaneously through dual funnels
- Creates a hollow tube of dough filled with jam
- The continuous roll is cut into individual pieces
History
Philadelphia baker Charles Roser invented the Fig Newton recipe, utilizing a funnel-within-a-funnel machine invented by James Henry Mitchell. The Kennedy Biscuit Company acquired the recipe and began mass production at their F.A. Kennedy Steam Bakery in 1891.
Plant manager James Hazen named the cookie after Newton, Massachusetts. The Kennedy Biscuit Company later became part of the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in 1898, which continues to produce Fig Newtons today under Mondelez International.
Mitchell's dual-funnel extrusion process was innovative for its time, making Fig Newtons one of the earliest successfully mass-marketed filled cookies in America.
Sources
- The Food Timeline: Fig Newtons - comprehensive food history resource
- Fig Newton - Wikipedia - cross-referenced with Food Timeline