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by Curtis D. Tucker
Posted: 09/02/13
I've reached fifty years old and my selection of foods has become smaller and smaller as I hone in my favorite things and stick with them. This new food philosophy has worked out well for my diet because it keeps my calories in check week after week and I don't have to worry about monitoring my weight that closely. A few of the things I had latched onto were a smattering of Hostess products.
My early favorite was the cherry pie. The Hostess fruit pies were basically fried pies with a golden crust and a combination of real fruit and goop inside. I really enjoyed the cherry variety but would switch it up with the apple version from time to time. After switching back and forth I eventually became addicted to the chocolate, or frosted as they call them, Donettes Gems.
I began eating the Donettes on such a regular basis that I'd buy a weeks supply at a time. Not only had they become my 3 o'clock snack but I'd combine them with frozen yogurt in the evening and that would be my dinner! I thought I had found the ultimate food source and was one happy camper. My love of these Donettes soon turned to dismay as we hit the summer months. For some undisclosed circumstance, the Hostess delivery guy would come in an unrefrigerated truck. This ultimately led to melted donuts, donuts stuck together and donuts with the frosting stuck to the bag rather than the donut. I quickly found a replacement in the Dolly Madison chocolate donut!! You see, they brought their donuts frozen in a refrigerated truck. Life was good again.
I soon became very comfortable with this situation and even lost 20 pounds because I able to maintain the same number of calories everyday. Life at that point couldn't have been much better. That is until Hostess decided it was time to close up shop and go out of business. At first it didn't seem like that big of a deal because I had switched to Dolly Madison snacks, especially in the summer months.
Lo and behold I was soon to find out that Hostess had actually, at some point, become the parent company of Dolly Madison. So whatever happened to Hostess, happened to Dolly. Let me say that I was pretty much in shock the first week or two after the announcement and that soon turned into desperation as the available supply of my delicious snacks began to dwindle.
I, like thousands of others, began looking for alternatives. I tried mediocre frosted donut after frosted donut. No company could hold a candle to the waxy feel of the chocolate covering my frosted Hostess and Dolly Madison Gems. All of the local retailers began carrying inferior products and I was at my wits end. I had become comfortable with the thought that my last meal would probably include a mini chocolate donut. Now my dreams and hopes were shattered.
I never did find a donut replacement for my waxy Gems but one day while pondering my situation I took a wild chance. I purchased a Mrs. Baird's apple pie. You see, I love real apple pie and had always liked the fried cherry pies. For some reason I was drawn to try this variety of apple pie. Obviously it was divine intervention because I immediately fell in love with the new found apple pies. They actually were much like the Hostess apple pies of old but had a better tasting filling. They even lacked that weird tangy flavor I never could put my finger on that came from the Hostess variety.
I again was happy, happy, happy!! My happiness was not all drama free though. For you see, others had caught on to my newly found treasure. There was always a shortage of these great tasting fried pies. I couldn't just pop into the convenience store and pick one up and the grocery stores do not carry them. I soon solved that problem by tracking down the exact delivery date and attacking the store upon arrival. I would leave with a weeks supply at a time and have become well known as the apple pie guy.
This brings us to today, Sunday, September 1. Hostess was purchased by another company and has been making a slow comeback. I've found my beloved chocolate Donettes here and there but not in a steady enough supply that I think I'll ever get hooked again. In fact they still seem to come a bit melted and have lost that bit of magic they once had over me. As sad as it might appear, I have to admit that my love of the Mrs. Baird's apple (not cherry) pie has been strong enough to overcome all of this strife.
Most Sunday mornings I make a run to the local grocery store to pick up a surprise breakfast snack for my two crumb crunchers. Like their father, each of my girls had become very attached to their own Hostess product back in the day. One had my love of chocolate donuts and the other was cosmically connected to the apple pie. This very morning the stars aligned and the Gods looked upon us, for I found a section filled with newly delivered Hostess products including the infamous apple pies!
I was almost giddy as I filled my basket with several of the fried pies and knew my daughter would be ecstatic. The first indication that this might not turn out well was when I picked up the pies. You see, I had become a snack picking expert. I can tell whether a snack is good or bad just by feeling it through the package. The apple pies of old were firm and had a perfect bloat right in the middle. As long as a pie had that bloat I knew it was the perfect specimen. Without the bloat I knew the pie had been smashed or it had one of those weird Hostess pie crust bubbles which form and then pop leaving a nasty crust spot with an indention and funky inner crust spot. If you ever ate many fried pies you know what I'm talking about.
These new Hostess pies were not firm at all. In fact they seemed squishy and not one had that distinguishable bloat. I decided to load up on the best four I could find and headed home. As I arrived home I was met by my crumb cruncher that had been asking when we would be able to find her a Hostess apple pie. This is a child that asks for very little and does not show extremes of emotion. As I pulled out the green Hostess wrapper she immediately recognized her once favorite treat. She squealed and her eyes lit up. She showed enough emotion that her mother came into the room just to see her take her first bite.
She slowly unwrapped the pie and removed the zig zag pattern bottom piece. There it was!! Something I barely recognized! This was a flat looking object with a gnarley brown crust, not the firm golden crust it once had, dribbled with a light coating of sugar. At first it looked as though it had been overcooked but because it was so squishy I knew that was not the case. I watched as my daughter took a bite and all of the tingle left her eye. The pie crumbled in her hand and she made one of those faces that only kids can make when they eat something they hate. It was over practically as quickly as it had begun. I knew by the look that this was not an original Hostess apple pie. This was a fraud and we had been swindled.
In my heart I knew the pie was no good before she ever took a bite. A quick look at it would tell any real Hostess fan that this was deception at its worst. She tossed the pie in trash as I asked her if the Mrs. Baird's was much better. She shook her head and I know her Hostess affair is over forever. Mine on the other hand had not been met. I waited until later in the day and sneaked off with one of the imposter pies and thought I would do my own investigation. I too unwrapped the green paper and removed the paper waffle in the bottom. I grimaced as I looked at the awful color and then I poked my finger into the crust. It was soft and sagged towards the middle of the pie. I took a bite and honestly realized it was way worse than I had imagined.
I deiced to snap a picture of the pie to save you the trouble. As you can see there is a crust bubble towards the end and had been another one on the other side. Once you bite into a crust bubble the thing falls apart. This is what remained after I tried to swallow a few more bites. I retired this pie to my trash can and will not even open the others. Hostess has failed and I promise you, these fruit pies are not the same as they used to be. I hope each of you fried pie lovers will each find your own substitute and have happy memories of apple pies gone by.
I read somewhere recently that the new Twinkies are also not the same. They supposedly have many more (chemical) ingredients and a longer shelf life. Maybe the new bakery you heard is going into the old Carl's Jr. will be able to provide you with a fresher sugar fix. Good luck!
Thanks Sheila.
I know this comment is late. I still wanted to throw my 2cents in. I watched Charlie Brown xmas with my daughters. After I began remembering stuffing my trap with the cherry pies when I was a kid watching. The next day I bought one. There seemed to be some cosmetic differences, but was most remarkable was the filling. As a kid the filling had actual cherries in it. Now they only contain thin gel. Anything to save a buck anymore I guess.
I was excited to buy Hostess cherry pies after months of not having them. The overly-brown, underbaked shell was filled with nothing but pure disappointment. After just one bite, I threw it into the trash. After reading your post, I can pretty much bet that the others I bought will be just as disappointing and disgusting as the first. At this point, I guess I might as well throw them all into the trash , …
I tried the cherry as well and it was just as awful!! I'm not sure how they'll stay in business if something doesn't change.
Its because the evil bastards at Hostess abused the bankruptcy process to get rid of their longtime union employees – and any obligations they had to them in the way of pensions and benefits – and then "reopened" using products made of God knows what, made by God knows who…I wouldn't pay them `10 cents for a truckload of that crap….
Pretty much sums it up.
To call that hideous thing an apple pie is, well, unAmerican. I did the 'feel' test in the store, noticing the change in the previously thick wax paper and previously thick pie crust. It was thin and smooshy and I left that gross thing right there in the store. I'd rather have fond memories of a sweet treat gone forever than a ridiculous Easy Bake Oven imitation. Glad you're calling them out on this!
You are so lucky you did not try one. They are awful!!
LOL. Please.
LOL! Tell your bosses at Hostess, nice try but the product still sucks.
I went to buy the Donettes today (Crumb, my favorite) and found that they are a little smaller and it now has coconut in them( not a fan of coconut flakes).Hostess was the only crumb donut I had found that didnt have coconut, so the recipe has obviously changed. I opted for the chocolate instead and was not impressed…they remind me of the cheap 8 pack that are out there from companies you have never heard of. These are definitely not the donettes of old! I was so excited too…oh well.
I know Phil!! I noticed they were smaller as well. Wonder where the Ding Dongs are?
Good, it's not just me. Knowing how I loved the old Hostess pies, my wife bought me a new apple one. It was obvious when I opened the package that these are NOT the same Hostess pies. The crust had a strong, disgusting flavor I couldn't get out of mouth. (I felt like I was eating Play-Doh.)
Luckily there are a few competing products that are much closer to the original. The Wal-Mart where I live has started carrying Franz Bakery pies in the past two weeks. These are the closest I've found so far–though they don't make blueberry. All-American pies are not as good but decent. I would try Mrs. Baird, but I don't know of a place around here that sells them.
I don't know what the heck's going on with the new Hostess line. Now I can't even think of their products without getting sick.
Layne I agree! Some Wal-Marts also carry Cutie Pies which are mini versions that come about 6 to a box. They are decent.
Wow. This is ridiculous and SO way off. It's sad when people exaggerate THIS much.
Read the comments, we're not making it up.
I was at Wal-Mart the other day AND there they were: a display of Hostess products with my beloved Apple Pies on top. I grabbed one and immediately thought what is wrong with this? It was flat and squishy. I thought maybe this particular one had gotten smashed in transit. I proceeded to pick one pie up after the other, only to find they were all like that. Nonetheless, I bought an apple and a lemon one.
I have never had a lemon one before. So when I tried it the other night, I attributed it's dismal taste to the fact that is was the lemon flavor–which I'd not tried before..
Well, I opened my apple one tonight, I took a couple of bites and threw it away. Where's my firm, frosted crust with slices of apples and cinnamon goo???
I then googled "hostess pies taste different." And here I am. I am sooooo disappointed. What were they thinking? Do they not have tasters? As these pies are disgusting. I long for my chocolate Hostess pie, but I guess it is not to be. I realize it is only a pie and of little importance in the whole scheme of things, but it was always so nice to have one as a treat. Especially the chocolate ones as they were always harder to find than the other flavors.
If Hostess has changed all their products I hope they are not long in business or they go back to the original recipes. I suspect it boils down to cost cutting. But no more Hostess for me. I will look for Mrs. Baird's products but don't think they are in my area.
It's such a bummer. I hope you can find Mr's Baird's because they rock!!
Pies are definitley different than before. Instead of a syrupy mixture of cherries, or apples, it's now just a "gel",, they doubled the shelf life, but were all still on 50 cent clearance at my local Kroger. Sadly, others must have felt like myself, just horrible, they weren't even selling at 1/2 off. The only thing up to par is the cupcakes (orange) is the best, but seemilngly harder to find than the more popular chocolate. Zingers are decent too, still looking for the elusive Suzy q.
Try J J ' s Bakery pies they are pretty good a lot like the old Hostess ones.
I have been eating my beloved hostess apple pies for 30 years. I have been waiting for over a year for the new hostess pies to come out. My wife surprised me today with the apple pies and all I have to say is, these pies are nothing like a hostess apple pie, from the crust to the filling to the size and shape in fact these pies are just 1 grade over the stater brothers 25 cent pies what a joke. Needless to say I'm extremely disappointed and hope they fix this huge problem.
Disappointed is an understatement.
I agree!! I wonder if they are hearing us?
I came to the Web to see if anybody else felt that the NEW Hostess were bad as well. I am so disgusted and angry because I bought quite a few since I had not had any in awhile, Donuts, Fruit pies, etc. Absolutely disgusting. I will never buy a Hostess product again!!!!!!!
I don't see how anyone continues to buy the pies.
This is so funny that I found your article. I had bought an apple pie the other day and bleck, they just don't taste the same anymore. Did someone else buy them out? If so, what happened to following their recipe? It was gross!
Yes, a new company purchased them and I think they lost the original recipes.
Well I too felt the instant enjoyment when I saw the pies on the shelf at our local grocer. When i got home I poored my glass of milk and with hesitation opened the almost damp package, no firm crust, so sugar coating. The inside was almost hollow with hardly any filling at all, it was not the pie of yester year…. It tasted horrible, and I almost wished I had purchased the Cutie 3 for a buck pies instead. I will never buy another hostess product again, the product that made them an american icon is now a fake relic of a much much better time..
I have to agree!
I was also very disappointed. I even gave them benefit of the doubt and bought apple pie again in a different city different store. Same result. It tasted as if they still had some laying around for months and just repackaged them and sold them as new. They need to get it together. It's possible that all staff is new and still haven't perfected the art.
I was so happy to see the pies and Twinkies at our local market. I purchased the lemon pies and Twinkies. My farmer husband is or WAS a huge fan of those yummy little pies! I put a lemon pie in his lunch, and got a call not long after he was into his lunch and he said, he was so disappointed in Hostess and they should be ashamed of themselves! Upon opening the pie he noticed that is looked different. His first bite the thing crumbled and fell all over the floor of his harvester. He said the color of the filling didn't look at all like lemon, he in fact looked at the package again to see if it was mis-labled and maybe apple? The filling was a strange brownish goo that tasted very inferior and very artificial. So disappointed in the new products and can't see them lasting very long. Don't they have anyone taste testing their finished products? Sad, another American icon is gone and it left a bad taste in his mind & mouth!
Had my first "new" apple pie today…YUCK!!! I'm so disappointed. Will definitely not be buying another. Bring back the original pie Hostess!
I am with everyone on this. The old Hostess Apple fruit pies were my favorite. My wife ate the cherry ones. We both noticed they weren't as good at the same time. Hostess just lost 2 customers. My only regret was not throwing it in the trash.
I googled "Hostess Fruit Pies not the same" and found this site. What a huge disappointment to find it's true. I always got the blackberry and lemon and put them in the freezer. I'd get one out the next day and it would thaw as I ate it (weird? maybe…) Any hoo, the lemon was a thick light lemony colored curd that had just the right tangy delight and creamy texture. The blackberry had tons of berries and was full with a light crust. Now… clear stretchy goo for the lemon and not a berry in the pie. Yucky. I actually spit it out into the garbage. They should NOT put Hostess on that label. So sad… Maybe Marie Calendars will make little pies. Their freezer pies are still really good, but I don't want a slice. I want a personal pie. Sigh.
LOL! My daughter spit hers out as well.
omg -I thought maybe I just got a couple stale pies! I bought cherry and it was awful! the crust was super hard, not flaky like it used to be. It was thick and hard! OMG it was awful.
I'm glad that it wasn't just me. I wonder when they will realize that people aren't buying this as much anymore? I used to love hostess apple pies but I can't stand these new imposters.
The new Twinkees are better if you find some that have been on the shelf a while. The lighter the color the more you should avoid them. They aren't as good as the original, but decent once they have aged a bit.
I found some new Hostess Apple Pies that were pretty close to the original a couple of weeks ago, but then I couldn't find any for a long time after checking 20+ stores. Bought some at Walmart today and… yuck… I think I'll let them age a couple of days and report back later if they are any better.
The new HoHos are so sugary that I couldn't enjoy them.
And the yellow cupcakes…. OMG… half the size of the original, rubbery godawful taste. The chocolate is equally bad.
I seem to remember reading somewhere after the bankruptcy filing that it was unclear if the new Hostess would receive the recipes from the original bakeries. I think it's clear they didn't.
I'm not picky, very easy to please when it comes to food, but after buying a box of hostess cherry pies and eating one, I just knew there had to be other people as pissed as me. This is complete garbage. Absolutely NOTHING like they used to be. Thick, garbage crust, and the amount of filling is significantly less. More crust than filling. Flavor is nothing like it used to be either. Just pathetic. I can't see how garbage like this won't hurt their sales and make them up the quality a bit.
I agree Dave, makes you wonder who's manning the kitchen.
I think I know who is managing the kitchen. It's the accountants. They crunched the numbers and found a way to squeeze out a little more profit. Cheaper ingredients, less filling, etc. Maybe they figure they can just ride the Hostess name and get away with it. Guess they don't know the simple fact that when you ditch quality, you also ditch customers. I won't buy another hostess product again, or at least until they clean up their act. The gas station down the street sells generics for 50 cents each and they're 10 times better than the hostess garbage going for $1 each.
My mother bought a few Hostess cherry pies and gave me one of them. I was going to give them back to her but noticed the package was not soggy like it was before. Low and behold, the crust is now flaky and has that sugar like coating it once did before. Does this mean Hostess top dogs are listening to the masses?
I now wish they would hurry up with those Suzy Qs!
By the way, I love the article and all the responses. Someone has to speak for us consumers.
Thanks LL. We were in a store yesterday and I swear the pies were only a 1/4″ thick! They were so smashed and soft I still won't buy one. Maybe the new batches will be better.
Just to help anyone on the fence about the Hostess Powdered Donettes…they have changed too! I certainly had more than my fair share growing up and knew exactly what to expect…but they were nothing like what I knew they should be – less cakey, the ingredients had changed, powdered sugar tasted weird, etc. I thought maybe I was imagining it, until my mom asked if I noticed a change in the taste. We ate 3 out of of one of the big bags (11.25 oz) and tossed the rest in the trash. Judging by the reviews on Amazon, the chocolate ones are also different.
I wonder why they don't have the original recipes? The chocolate donuts are pretty close from the ones I've tried. What happened to the Ding Dongs?
After waiting in anticipation for the new Hostess products, I've tried the Ding Dongs, Twinkies, Cupcakes, and chocolate Donettes.
The Twinkies, in my estimation, tasted more sugary and less cakey than the originals. Overall, they weren't terrible but weren't quite what I remembered.
The Cupcakes were awful. The cake was dry and lacked the rich chocolate flavor I remember. There was also hardly any creme filling in either cupcake.
The Ding Dongs are my biggest disappointment. They took a longer time to appear in stores than the other Hostess imposters, and they were nothing like I remember. They also have less creme filling, the chocolate on the outside tastes more like wax than chocolate, and these Ding Dongs share the same dry cake as the cupcakes (The original Ding Dongs had their own flavor). Also, when I was young my Mom would buy a box of Ding Dongs and freeze them; we loved to eat them frozen and the creme filling would be firmer and give the frozen treats extra kick; I froze a couple of the new Ding Dongs and there wasn't enough creme filling to even notice it was there.
The chocolate Donettes don't have the cakey flavor they used to either. Very nondescript flavor — not horrible but not like it used to be. Mrs. Bairds chocolate covered donuts are much closer to the original Hostess than the new Hostess is.
I've never been a big fried pie fan so I couldn't give any opinion on them. But if they are anything like the other "new" Hostess products I've tried then I totally understand your disappointment.
A good assessment.
The chocolate zingers are now terrible too. The icing used to be soft and fresh. Just got a box and the icing is hard and crumbling! Even checked the date. Which is what brought me here…
I go to my local grocery store and see the products like the soggy, smashed pies and the keep selling out! As long as people continue to buy the new crap version of the old stuff they won't get changed. And where's the Ding Dongs?
I've seen the Ding Dongs recently at Walmart in Texas. They weren't any better. The cake part was very dry. Maybe they have always been dry…
Mrs Bairds is awesome though!!
Couldn't agree more. Both the new Ding Dongs and Cupcakes share the same dry texture and nondescript flavor. They definitely weren't dry like this before.
I bought a bag of Hostess Powdered Donettes in Florida and they tasted gummy so I threw them out. I thought maybe the humidity had changed their taste and consistency. Upon returning to Pennsylvania I bought another bag and they tasted exactly the same. What a shame to ruin what was a good company with good products.
People keep buying everything from my local grocery store. If people keep buying it they won't fix it.
I have tried the Powdered Sugar Donettes, Twinkies and Ho Ho's – Every single one tastes different. Obviously this company that took over is cutting every corner possible. I saw the Zingers on the shelf and they are half the size they used to be.
I noticed the Twinkies are smaller now than they used to be too.
Couldn't disagree more. I loved fruit pies years ago, and I'm enjoying the ones that have returned to the shelves. Additionally, I've tried some of the other "new" versions of drakes and hostess products, and they're also good. My friends and family are glad to have them back – whatever differences you're mentioning are exaggerated and negligible in my opinion.
I'm sure I'll get my share of negative responses filled with wry wit. Have at it – I won't be back to see them.
There's no way on this earth you could have had a the pies before and say the current ones are even close in quality. You must work for Hostess. Funny how you're the only one defending the quality. They're all your because we're not buying them! Give me my Mrs. Baird's!!!
Trace "truth"'s email address, is it from Hostess HQ?
I was in our grocery store today and the pies were worse than pathetic. I wonder if our Hostess driver is running over them with a truck before he brings them in? Are other people getting smashed pies EVERY week? If I go in next week and they are still smashed I will post a photo and if that doesn't embarrass the brass at Hostess, then they have to quality control and really don't care.
I've looked in five towns, two states (and out west that means something), different distributors, about a dozen stores. They suck everywhere. I chatted the clerk at one store and he said people keep bringing them back claiming they got a defective one, wanting a correct replacement. He now recommends the only other option they carry, All American pies. I grabbed some Ding Dongs for my partner, who has not had them since she was a child. Good thing she didn't try them. I did, because I wanted to make sure before I shattered her dream come true. Holy cocoa covered dry sponge. THAT was NOT a Ding Dong. After spitting it out, I cut it in half to find the filling. There wasn't any. After further dissection, I found a dime sized blob nearly adhered to the opposite side. Whoever claims there's not much difference has to be brain injured. The products are being returned as defective. Isn't that a clue? People buying Hostess know their Hostess. "Defective" means NOT Hostess.
I was happy to find Zingers on store shelf yesterday. Disappointed they are not like the original. Did not taste the same. Will not buy again.
Bummer, I have not tried the Zingers.
your pies are frozen and cakes,why and cost more than before,why. 1.99 for yor product,i will never purchase them again.northford ,ct.
The Zingers are awful as the frosting is as hard as rock. The Ding Dongs lost their dark chocolate taste and now taste like sugar (Little Debbies' knock offs are great though).
I did pick up some Mrs Freshly raspberry Zinger knockoffs and they were also quite good.
As for the pies, the one hard crust I wrote about earlier must have been a fluke as I can only find the soft crusts.
Suzy Q's aren't due back until March 2014 and I might not be happy with them the way this new company is going.
The good news is I have cut down on my junk food eating and lost some weight. Maybe that is the new owner's ultimate goal which is awfully nice of them.
Amen to that .. The Hostess Lemon Pie and its arch nemesis the Hostess Blueberry Pie have played a huge part in my life considering they are the cornerstones of the best essay I've ever written ("The Lemon…or the Blueberry" http://geekswing.com/wealth/empowerment/the-lemon-or-the-blueberry/). So one of my best friends has since found that the Hostess pies are back in the market. And while the Blueberry pie was nowhere to be found, the Hostess Lemon pie was!!
I was so excited … and so she gave it to me as a gift!
Only for my happy childhood memories of Hostess Lemon Pies to be tainted by the abomination of what "passes" today for a "Hostess Lemon Pie". I think I now understand what all those Star Wars fanatics mean when they complain about the prequels
I'm glad to know I'm not alone when it comes to these feelings of terrible injustice 🙂
Amen to that!!
Just bought 4 Hostess apple pies from Wal-mart and ate one of them. Other than being smaller and not as thick as I remember, they otherwise tasted the same. They are firm, not squishy. I am not sure if they have changed at all since your review or if you just have a more sensitive pallet than I.
Please stop accusing people of being Hostess shills just because they disagree with you, I have no connection to Hostess or it's new parent company. Maybe you work for the company that makes Mrs. Baird's? Since there is no way of knowing, it is pointless to throw out false accusations. If you disagree, fine, but throwing out accusations like you have been just makes me think that you are the one with something to hide.
Sorry I missed this comment. Honestly if you ate as many pies as I did you would know any slight differences. This is not something I made up. The pies are just different. So different I now like a another brand better. To each his own, my blog and my review.
I tried one of the cherry pies today.
I thought it tasted better than the old one.
More cherries and less syrup.
I must be in the minority.
Did the first batches of the new pies not have any icing on the crust? Mine did.
Was it soft and smashed? Those are the only kind we're getting in my area.
A little smashed in the center. Not a huge deal for me. It goes in the stomach anyway.
I loved Hostess Products once upon a time ! But I do not like the Hostess of today, since their comeback every product that is disguised as the sweetest come back ever does not taste the same as the "Original Hostess Snack Cakes" …I have been very disappointed in every purchase I have made which includes TWINKIES, DING DONGS, CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES, HO-HO'S , FRIED PIES & ZINGERS….each of these products are much smaller in size and the taste is awful ! it makes me sick to spend money on a misrepresented product and have to throw it away due to very poor quality …Whoever this company is that is pretending to be Hostess should change their name because they will NEVER be able to compete with the HOSTESS we all once knew….I will not spend another penny on this very bad product !
I hear you, Angela! I have tried all of them and they suck! I am stunned when I read some reviews about Hostess stating that they are the same. What are they smokin'?? I guarantee that this company will go under a lot sooner than Original Hostess did.
Tried the powdered donettes a week or two ago, definitely less moist-cakey and just dried and had kinduva weird aftertaste. Tried the frosted donettes tonight and same thing… just tasted like waxy cheap chocolate.
I had not yet tried a new fruit pie… which were my favorite. I probably won't bother now.
Seems like the owners of the new hostess were really only after the name and trademarks. The recipes that built generations of loyal customers were apparently meaningless in the name of profit. I'm not really surprised though. Saddened yes. Surprised no.
This sucks! I don't get how such a huge company that literally sold the most popular well known snack in the world, shut down to begin with, and now some idiots take over and are supposed to have all the same recipes as hostess did,
and they suck, what a bummer, EVERY single person should complain to the new makers of what used to be the most delicious snack ever…
I always knew the food was junk food. Duh. But it used to taste good. The only product of theirs I liked and would enjoy as a guilty pleasure was the mini donuts (white).
A delicious, divine,economical way of harming myself for my own short sighted pleasure. Lovely option to have.
I buy a box and my "still very much a junk food" awful taste is only exceeded by an awful after taste. I wait thinking oh it fell off the truck into the sewer where the fracking run off must go and a devoted drover rescued this particular item and brought me this bitter disappointment.
I buy another box quite a while later and behold the experience remains all the consequences of poor food with none of the pleasure.
Hostess….you were better off dead. Your zombie flesh is not edible. Die another day. Todays good.
Just ate one one of the new Hostess apple pies.
It was one of the best apple pies I have ever eaten anywhere.
The difference between the new and the old.
> New was less sweet
> New was less syrupy
> New had bigger pieces of apple.
The pie was even 2 weeks past the best buy date and I had stored it in the freezer and it was still fantastic.
It looks like I am going to have to give all the cakes a try.
LOL. Nice try Hostess worker. : )
I was so excited when I saw their pies on the shelve.Unfortunately they must change recipe, and now it's ugly.We (family of four)were eating their cherry pies for over thirty years.About ten pies a week.Not anymore! RIP Hostess Cherry Pie 🙁
My eyes lit up when I saw the pies on the grocery shelf. Only apple & cherry so I bought a couple of each. Only could stomach half of that fake ass hostess pie. Have tried the bag of powdered donettes and they seemed okay but for some reason the 6 pack roll from the gas station had somewhat of a perfume taste. Yuck! Like someone said already, these new products taste like no name cheapo brands. I hate to think of how bad they are going to eff up the jelly filled…
Maybe Hostess didn't give the company that bought their divisions their original recipes. I just make my own at home. We don't get their chemicals and they taste 200% better. Someone must still be buying their product since they are still in business. Stop buying them if they are that bad and maybe they will get the hint that some people don't like them anymore. If your children are spiting out their pies they must really be awful because children don't lie when it comes to a beloved snack.
Good points. I did stop buying the pies. Would be nice if they could have stayed the same.
Since Hostess return nothing taste the same the i tried the twinkie the cake is dry the cream filling is like "what is this "? i thought maybe it's just a bad batch i later bought another box the packaging was hard to open the printing was offline When i found a store with choc cupcakes just horrible the cake was dry with the same bad filling it taste like oil and the frosting on top was hard. then i found a store that had the sno ball cakes once again just horrible dry cake .what happpen to the moist cake and the sweet creamy fillings?please go back to the original ingredients.I thought it was just me that noticed the difference.
On here, reading and laughing- because I've been telling my mom that she needs to stop buying the chocolate donette— it is f-ing AWFUL!!!! I have had them many times before. Now they are nothingness covered in wax. EVERY word I have used to describe this has been said at least 5 times on here by someone else. It is sickening. And what makes me even more irritated is this new marketing campaign- they are trying to be 'ironic' and 'epic' and basically be like a car insurance commercial (which I HATE). 'best comback in the history of ever!'… i just about BARFED when I read that. I even recorded a hate video on my youtube when I read that. At first I thought they faked their retirement.. but after doing some research I now realize that the company switched hands. That one commentor is right– the accountants must be behind the recipe. BTW go to their facebook page, everybody that complains gets a comment thanking them, and inviting them to call Hostess. Maybe the workers know its no good- and maybe they are hoping the customers change things. I bet that place is like a prison now. I hear they even downsized their staff, and what they are offering position wise is a 'slap in the face' (I read). I know I'm pretty awful at writing this right now, grammar wise, but I really just am so overjoyed to be reading all of this. I'm not crazy, lol!!
Sad but true.
Just tried the hostess cherry pie, the cherry pies I've been eating for 25 years, and it was absolutely god awful! They changed the filling and it's no longer the tart cherry pie filling one would expect, I threw it out after one bite. Very disappointing, why would they change something that was so successful for so long?
It seems like they only got the name in the deal and forgot to get the recipes.
I tried the cherry pie again. So disappointed again. Pink foam, yuck! Worst come back ever.
The pies coming to my town are all smashed. It's unbelievable that someone is actually buying them. Next time I'm there I'll take pics.
When I first found out Hostess would be shutting down, the only Hostess product I cared about losing was the cherry fruit pie. When they were gone, I could find no good substitutes, so it was a relief to finally see the product back on shelves…until I tasted it, and realized that Hostess cherry fruit pies hadn't come back at all; I really had lost them.
The new ones have a crust that's browner and tastes different, and so little filling that my first bite rarely contains any (just dry, wrong-tasting crust). The glazing is wrong, too. And I had forgotten this until just now, but the new ones are less firm.
It seems they may not be bringing back Suzy Qs after all. I stopped by their Facebook page and they seem to be having trouble with all of their products. The shill who wrote the piece clams it is because of the negativity against these kinds of products. I guess they don't go to the store much as Little Debbie is a big seller.
I will buy Little Debbie knock offs as well as Mrs Freshly fruit pies from now on. The demise of Hostess will be soon and it will not come back again because of terrible quality.
The pies in my local grocery store have been coming in totally smashed. Unbelievable.
Sigh…..I was afraid this might be the case. I have been dying to find a Hostess cherry fruit pie, cause I remember how much I loved them years ago. I think I'll take a pass. All of the posters can't be wrong. Sad!
I miss going to the thrift stores and stocking up on those blackberry pies. These new ones are shipped, and stored frozen and it shows. The crust is blah, and the filling in like bland tasting jelly. Also I've seen a couple of times where the packaging was covered in mold, which happens because they aren't fresh.
I have now picked up the mini donettes twice and each time, to my disgusting surprise, they are chocolate on the inside. The packaging looked the same, until I read it upon much closer inspection. I like the donettes with chocolate on the outside and yellow in the middle. For some reason I have been swindled out of getting the ones with yellow cake in the middle. I hope having chocolate in the middle is not a permanent change for this product. Chocolate and yellow is how it has always been. I don't understand the idea of another company buying Hostess, and then changing all the Hostess product lines. There was no need to purchase them if they were going to change everything.
They actually have two versions. The yellow cake and chocolate cake. They had just released the chocolate cake variety right before they went belly up. I'm surprised they've brought that variety back. I do not care for them much either. The yellow cake are still out there! You'll just need to find them.
I am so bummed and miserable at best that ALL the hostess and Drakes have changed. I truly feel duped by the hype. I am going to miss them. Who did the taste tests that cleared these to be sold …I go to the store and stare at them and cry. I am afraid of when they come back out with anything else I have been missing…Suzy Q's, Chocodiles, Drakes fruit pies, Callahans…..
Yuck, I used to love the Hostess Apple Pies and the white powder Donettes. I got a bag of Donettes today at a local gas station and they have this weird, latex/peanut taste to them. It seriously have to be one of the most disgusting things I've ever eaten.
I used to be over the moon for these things but now they're awful!
When I was a kid on split sessions in high school AND lived across the street from a market, my breakfast lunch would be: Hostess Apple Pie/Devil Dog/Funny Bones. All three. Everyday. Only apple pie because I though the cherry tasted like acid. This was in 1966, so pretty genuine. I have often longed for those since but dared not buy one. I knew I'd be disappointed especially since I'm a pretty good apple pie maker.
But, Donette Gems. Yeah, that addiction happened to me late in life, during the 80's. A coworker alternated between donette gems and Stella D'oro Breakfast Treats and I grubbed from him everyday. I still buy Donette gems but not hostess. I buy anything that looks like Donette gems and so far haven't been dissatisfied.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I'M WRITING THIS!!!! Because now I want to go back to 1966 and eat a Funny Bone…..
Thanks for the great comment Clare!
I had exactly the same experience on these pies as you did. I'll be talking about it on my show today.
You are so obviously not alone. I used to love the apple pies, and even have fond memories of the occasional Twinkie that my mom would put in my lunchbox. I wanted my kids to try them just for fun one day. Boy! We were all disappointed! My kids thought I was lying at first, that they were as good as I had described.
The apple pie tasted gluey to me (if that makes sense) and it was a pitiful amount of filling compared to the amount of chewy (not the desired crispy) crust there was. It was terrible. I bought a chocolate and cherry one too, because I had never tried those ones before. Cheap gross chocolate pudding and the cherry had that glue taste and texture too. So sad.
It boggles my mind that those pies continue to sell. I swear the ones that are making it to Enid are completely smashed and look like a truck ran over them.
My old boss and I are gigantic nerds who grew up reading comic books, so we decided that our day-long trip to recover some HAM gear from the top of a small local mountain would be fueled entirely by milk jugs full of tap water and a grocery sack filled with Spider-Man-and-Captain-America-endorsed delicious Hostess fruit pies.
That decision was terrible.. I am sitting on a mountain peak in the Cascades surrounded by an incredible vista of forest and cloudy sky, but the only emotion in my heart is regret. Where is that sugar-glazed golden crust? Where is the fat bulge of tart real apple bits in tasty filling that I loved as a kid in the 70's and 80's? This smashed brown nonsense surrounding sad, fruitless sugar goo is a steaming urine stream raining down on both our childhoods, and it's all we have to eat for the rest of the day. Congratulations, New Hostess; you launched a party in our mouths and only Hitler was invited. What a shame.
I have to agree that the Cherry pie is nothing when compared with the former pie, which was packed full of a tart and sweet filling that was very tasty. I've tried the new pies and I am now giving up on them. Some well educated mental dwarf with an MBA figured out how to market the pies for about a dollar and taste/quantity was NOT a consideration. I'd pay a higher price for the old pies; the current set of pies can disappear forever if they want to depend upon my support.
I switched to JJ's Fried Pies about 2 years ago. I get them at Albertson's in Dallas. They come in boxes to keep them from getting smashed, and the best part…They are 50 cents!!
They come in Apple, Cherry, Lemon, Peach, Chocolate, and Berry.
If you like the softer crusts, you should see if you can find these.
Also good but twice the price is Krispy Kreme pies that also come in boxes.
Many stores that have a Krispy Kreme Doughnut section will have these.
Of course, none are as good as the Hostess Pies from 20 years ago, especially Blueberry.
I grew uploving the Hostess Pies as a kid in the 70s and 80s. Cherry was my favorite. Was delighted to see their return–UNTIL I ATE ONE. I've tried a "new" cherry pie twice over the past six months. I don't think there were any cherries in the things. I give up.
I can't figure out who's buying and eating them? Maybe younger people that had never tried them before?
My favorite (before the change): One 32oz "Big Gulp" of Mountain Dew and one Hostess Apple Fruit Pie. I called it my personal "Breakfast of Champions".
My favorite during the change (when there was no Hostess): Skip breakfast, hope for a better lunch.
My favorite now (with the "Sweetest Comeback Ever"): Give it up (I will never be a champion anyway).
Please Hostess, bring back my dreams!!!
It had actually been maybe 20 years since I'd had a Hostess Fruit Pie when I'd heard Hostess would go out of business. I found your article on a lark after they'd reopened, and it made me want one again. What rotten timing.
So I've tried the new pies, and it was just as awful as you described – sometimes better, sometimes worse. I've found some apple pies where the filling was nearly brown, and had the consistency of rubber cement. Other pies I'd found fared a lot better, though still not to the level of before. Still others I found were stuck to the inside of the wrapper – usually whenever it had been humid. It's another vote for the old wax wrappers they used to have, which wouldn't soak up the oils in the crust. That's why the crust gets so dry, IMHO.
My conclusion is if you are going to get one of these pies, you need to look at the expiration date, and only buy it if it is a long way off. They give these pies a lot of time to be called, "bad" by date. If it's almost a month until the expiration date, you're probably good. Any sooner and you're buying a mess. Hostess, whoever you are now, you're killing yourself with bad product.
By the way, in terms of replacements: 7-Eleven recently started selling their own brand of snack pies, and they're incredible. I've had a chocolate and an apple, but I don't know if they have any others. But they are great. They sell them in cardboard boxes, and not plastic wrappers. I'm sure that helps.
Another disappointed chemical pie fan here. I found one apple pie left in a San Pedro convenience store, and could not wait to experience the gooey sweetness again. I was just going over the bridge when I had my first bite… yecchh. I removed the wrapper and sent the pie out the window to the gulls at the center span of the bridge. Poor things.
Whatever it was, only the wrapper is the same. I was addicted to those pies for decades. They are just gone.
Another sad tale of Pie Gone Wrong.
Wow, did that suck. Now, I was always a Drake's cherry pie man myself, That said, I could make due with the Hostess. And seeing where Drake's isn't coming back, I just tried the first Hostess pie since they've been back. Blecch! May not be the most mature way of expressing my disappointment, but it is the most accurate. Damn.
I too miss Funny Bones.
I bought hostess cupcakes – GROSS! I bought hostess chocolate mini donettes – GROSS! I bought hostess powdered sugar mini donettes- edible, but not as good as before. I will never buy Hostess again. EVER!!
Hostess new items are not even up to the low standards of interstate brands a company I believe they merged with, absolute garbage products. MAKE QUALITY PASTRIES. RAISE THE PRICE IF THE INGREDIENTS COST MORE, TRUST ME THE SWEET TOOTH LOVERS WILL BUY THEM.. See Entemanns' for Good Pies..
I'm so sad!
I've enjoyed hostess Apple pies since I was a kid! I'm 46 now.
When I heard they were going out of business, I stocked up on them.
Now they're back and taste like crap! I can't believe it! They were the best and nothing was even close!
I've tried Franz Apple pies and they've improved to almost look and taste exactly like the original hostess Apple pie, but still not the same.
I've gotta tell you they were one of the great American foods that was a part of my life, and now it's gone!
So disappointed! Why in the hell did they change it in the first place? It's the worst of all of them now!
I agree with you all on the taste of the "new" Hostess cakes and pies. I would like to share my opinion about the Zingers though. I only eat the Raspberry flavored coconut ones and I truly couldn't tell a difference from the ones of my youth and the ones today. Don't get me wrong I know there is a difference because the Raspberry Zingers I remember were made by Dolly Madison and not Hostess. The ones being sold today are made by Hostess! I will say this though, I've notice that these Zingers too appear to be smashed some times and are way smaller and it used to be you got 4 in the package now it's only three. Well that's my two cents.
The new hostess fruit pies suck! They're nothing like the addictive ones the union-workers made. If you're craving a delicious fried cherry pie. . .try the 7-11 branded ones that they stock. They're awesome. I'd still miss the old Hostess but these are getting me by.
Take heart, you're prayers have been answered! Yesterday I walked pass the Hostess section at my local Ralph's grocery store and noticed a brand new product… but before I spill the beans I need to empathize with the OP. I have loved all Hostess products since childhood, but my favorite was always the fruit pie. I loved it all and even before the Original Hostess left the scene, I often lamented the loss of many of my favorite flavors that became available only regionally or disappeared altogether (miss you blueberry!). The new Hostess pies are horribly dried out with spackle like filling and mummified crust that falls to crumbs at a glance. Now back to the good news! Yesterday I found the new box of Hostess MINI fruit pies!!! These are boxes of individually wrapped half sized and now square pies that come in a package of 6. The new versions have less than half the calories (due to smaller size), but are NOT the dried out husks the full sized versions have become. The filling is moist and gooey, the crust soft and slightly doughy and the glaze is fresher feeling with more translucency. If you love the fruit pies of old, run out and try a box!!!
Wow! I've always thought they needed to create little bite size fruit pies and now they've done it! I'll try to find some. I also miss Blueberry!!!
They are not the same! its horrible, hostesss was my favorite hands down.
1. twinkies, post bankrupty resurrection I took two bites and trashed teh rest
2. THe cupcakes and suzy qs haven't been as …"chocalety" now they just tast like an off sweetness.
3. the doneetes are not the same yellow cake style. They are slightly yellow but very bland and dry. haven't even seen teh big box of donuts. Wouldn't even try it anyhow.
4. I picked up some chocodiles and to my disappointment they were just the new twinkies dipped in chocolate. orginal chocos were nothing like twinkies, i would chill them and crack teh chocoalte off first
5. ho hos and king dons, they held up over the years but now just have that same unpleasant sweetness
pre bankruptcy drakes was my replacement as the changes made by hostess actually improved them in my tastes at least.
The snack aisle is dead to me, in the land of tastykake I would jump on a hostess when I saw it, now I don't even want to look at them they have changed so much from my childhood /teen/ and young adult memories…more than 10-12 years ago was teh last I remember a Good hostess product as I remembered them from childhood.
Donut shops! Ive moved to donut shops for my sweets, its really the only haven in a world of crappy hostess. I don't even want to try drakes again.
and dunkin donuts don't count, they went teh way of hostess long long ago.
A very good version of the cherry and apple pie
from hostess is Aldi's Baker' s Treat pies. Really flavorful
and completely reminds me of the old hostess pies.
I've had them both warm and cold yummy!
The Hostess pies are not the same as they use to be. They come in a box now, but the pie crust is thick and crumbles and there is hardly any filling inside.
My favorite fruit pies now are Little Debbie.
What happened to the Dolly Madison fruit pies and zingers? They use to be my favorite too.
Hostess products are absolute garbage. We used to buy chocolate donettes and the fruit pies ALOT. When they came back, they did nothing but make us all sick. We tried a bunch of times. But its always the same. The donuts have metallic specs all over them and hurt our stomachs. The fruit pies leave a strange aftertaste and reacts a lot different with me than they used to. The same can be said by my whole family. Hostess gives the usual cue card response whenever you approach them about it. Clearly there needs to be a class action lawsuit against them since they can't file bankruptcy again.
I confess that I was a Hostess Lemon Pie junkie for decades. I have only seen the reincarnated apple versions, and I kind of knew that the pies of the past are gone forever. This is what happens when union busting assholes get a hold of an american institution which, by the way, was still profitable. If I knew who those profit whore bastards were I'd burn their houses down. Hostess is dead, but I will always remember them fondly.
The Hostess Apple pies were the only thing I was looking forward to coming back when I heard Hostess was being resurrected. I had been eating the pies for more than 30 years, and like so many others was very disappointed in the new version.
At random today when I stopped in 7 Eleven to get a Slurpee, I saw one of their apple pies. I was not expecting much, but I love apple pie. I tried it, and to my surprise it was the old Hostess apple pie taste. I don't know who makes the pies for 7 Eleven, but they are fantastic, and if not identical to the old Hostess apple pies, they are close as anyone has got. I've found a new favorite apple pie snack.
Try aldis fry pies!!! They taste like the old hostess pies!!!
When Hostess went under, I was afraid all was lost…as far vanilla zingers and Orange cupcakes were concerned. Then they came back out…I was overjoyed, but hesitant, as I could SEE the difference as they sat on the shelf. I waited over a year to try them, as I didn't want to tarnish my fond memory of my favorite snacks. Finally broke down and bought both yesterday…1 3pack of vanilla zingers, 1 package of Orange cupcakes. YUCK. The snacks I used to hide from my kids, to secretly eat after they went to bed…went straight to them after 1 bite. Disgusting. Get it together Hostess. Geez. The signature swirls on the cupcakes….hard and crunchy sugar, like old-school candy cigarettes. Zingers are tiny, dry and not even enough frosting to cover the cake. That was my favorite part to eat first, the excess frosting…now there's none. (Zinger people know what I'm talking about) lol. The cupcakes, both Orange and chocolate, are lumpy, disgusting, dry crap. The frosting crumbled off about as fast as the cake fell apart. And the filling in both the cupcakes and zingers was awful…almost marshmallowy? With a horrible after-taste that coated my tounge. I thought I was crazy…then I found this blog…so of anyone can tell me any decent replacements, it would be greatly appreciated as I will NEVER buy a Hostess product again.
Ho-ho's OMG, I started buying them by the box as soon as they were available at my grocer's. While slightly sweeter, they were very close to original. But the last 3 boxes each had 2-3 stale rolls where the celophane package had come open. Today, the box I bought, evey single one had a gaping hole in the celephane. REALLY? They are selling food products and are trying to save money by using inferior glue on the packaging??
Have been eating Hostess products since the early 70's. My favorites were foil-wrapped ding-dongs, and the apple, cherry and blackberry pies. Used to buy all three and stuff them down after my paper route before dinner. they were awesome. The perfect wrapper with white rippled sleeve – you could smell them through the wrapper. They were more expensive, but so superior to the other brands it wasn't an issue. Now, they are just nasty. Just plain old nasty. I hear a company from Mexico bought Hostess.
I have tried the "new" Hostess Cherry Pies with great disappointment. The preservatives to give them longer shelf life makes them taste distinctively different. In addition, the shipping in colder weather makes the fruit gel coagulate and be much thicker than the original freshly baked pies.
It's been many months since I last had a disappointing hostess pie. I decided to risk a fruit pie today that I have walked by countless times on the shelf, only not trying because I thought it was a cheap alternative. I was wrong. TastyKake. You have redeemed me with Fruit Pies. The TastyKake Cherry Pie was identical to the former Hostess Pie. Thicker glazed crust. Delicious fruit filling. I can't wait to have another.
I really hope they rectify this problem with the fruit pies! first of all I have never found any lemon pies which were my favorite… but after reading all these reviews, I guess I'll have to find a replacement… which I'm sure will be most difficult! I will have to say though that the orange cupcakes are still good.
Im so disappointed in the Hohos . I was so looking forward to eating them and they were so dry. Not wasting any more money. I have a friend who works for little Debbie. He said he thinks they freeze them until ready to ship but not sure about that. Anyway. Tasted dry and stake ?
I was in grade school back in the 60s and Hostess was my FAVORITE brand. My lunchbox usually had either a lemon or blueberry pie or occasionally the coconut donut gems. They were 10 cents each back then. The look and taste were spectacular, especially to a 10 year old kid. Jump ahead about 40 years and Hostess has basically collapsed in terms of quality. The pies have some kind of translucent gel that has a hint of flavoring to it. The donust are literally midgets and the prices are just beyond reality. I tried the new Hostess a year or so back when the new owners relaesed the NEW products. I tried the chcoclate cupcakes and was very disappointed. I have decide to drop Hostess from my shopping list permanently. My memories of the golden years of Hostess will have to suffice…
I just tried a Lemon Pie that was packaged in their "new" box. And was shocked at how bad it had become. Every now and then I'll buy some treat that I liked as a kid and wow here is another item gone. Their chemists been hard at work to swap out any little bit of goodness and pleasure for the sake of the bottom line. Can't they at least add some food coloring to the filling to make it yellow? I mean, it's grayish. Maybe beige. Don't they realize that I'd pay more for a good product? If they need to increase the price to cover real sugar and better grade, more natural ingredients, then ok. My hunch is processing. I will bet these are cheaper to produce or something like that. But if they do not taste good it won't matter how inexpensive they are. People won't buy them. Like me.
I found a pie that reminds me of the old Hostess Fruit Pies, especially the Apple Pies. They are called Cutie Pies and they are miniature pies in the old paper package not a box. These have the solid crust, sugar coated, like the old days. Seems like everyone has gone to a box and all pies are now soft and squishy. These are firm like the good old days. Walmart carries them.
Try a Canadian made Hostess Twinkie. The cream centers aren't as annoyingly sweet as the American version seems to be. And the cake part seems more "real" if you know what i mean. Have'nt ever seen the Hostess Pies for sale up here. Its just Twinkies, King Dons and some sort of coconut cupcake that i cant remember the name of.
I don't think that it's simply that they're not the same, it's also that our taste buds have learned to realize the difference between a pastry with so much preservatives that it tastes like cardboard compared to a real pastry dough. I've never tasted a Hostess Apple Pie, I guess because I learned very young to make my own fired pies, but something I do remember is the Mrs. Baird's Devil Dog…..I guess the Hostess Pie must have had a pie crust type of dough, all the recipes that I see for Fried Pies seem to have a pie dough recipe…being from Texas I learned from my grandmother eons ago (I'm 78) that she used a buttermilk biscuit dough for her friend pies with a pinch of sugar added to the dough, she rolled them out about 7 inches or so & not too thin, put the fruit filling in it, folded it over crimped it good with the tines of a fork and fried them in her cast iron skillet. We never put a thin sugar glaze on them, and they were not as firm like cardboard as the manufactured ones, but they were melt in your mouth flavorful and a handful.
I am taken aback by the new hostess apple pies. The old ones were not healthy,vbut tasted great. How wrong of the new company not to make the new hostess products the EXACT same way or much better.
When I really need a goody fix my wife and I drive out to Dairy Queen out on I-35 , then we get fried pied on the other side of 35. Very tasty, large and a boatload of fillings, all home made.
I agree, the taste is not the same as old Hostess products. The Twinkies are just not the same, and they are not as moist and tasty. Also, the Suzy Q's are certainly different then the old recipe. I don't know why these items have changed, but it is noticeable to those of us that grew up with these products. However, the cupcakes seem to be the same, which is a good thing. I personally am disappointed with the new Hostess. If the the original Hostess had been managed correctly, we would still have the same delicious products.
Sadly Hostess was run very well. The Union forced Hostess to close not the owner or managers
You can get great fry pies in amish areas.
I just bit into a Hostess apple pie (in a box) that was stale on the outside and tasted like the box it was in. I broke it open, the filling was hard like dried glue. I spit it out. I hope the crust I ate doesn't make me ill. Yuck! Never going to buy another one of those!
I think if I chewed on a rubber glove for a while, I'd be more satisfied than by eating a hostess pie. Fucking gross shit. Goodbye Hostess.
i wasnt a regular hostess apple pie consumer, but like many sweet things i have nostalga and cravings once in a while that draws me to certain sweet thibgs. you kno what imtalking about, when the summer breaks and all u can think about is that diary queen banana split? yeah my fall season was always full of dreams of apple cheerry or even lemon hostess fruit pies, and the only reason i can think its tied to the fall season is probably because thats when school staryed and mother always pack something from hostess, most commonly twinkies and ding dongs but occaision hostess fruit pies.
anyhow i encountered my seasonal fruit pie cravings and couldnt seem to find any. lerhaps they were so,d out. so i missed that years cravings. the following year i couldnt find the fruit pies either. since i had moved down south i thought maybe its a regional thing and hostess wasnt in my region, but then boom the third years cravings hit my like a rock when i was scrolling thru the isles of a supermarket and tere they were calling my name. being that i hadnt had any fruit pies in a while, i bought a dozen or so different varietys.
wasnt gonna let this pie thing get away from me i said to myself. but then i arrived home sat down in front of some tv program i couldnt remember, with my favorite lemon pie. opening the package something didnt look right. but i had faith in hostess as i never once had a bad pie bad ding dong or even a bad twinkie from hostess. hostess was the brand of trust in my opinion. but then i took a bite of the pie. my trust was shattered. the crust was awful, and this lemon thing… what was that?….quickly i tossed it out and went for the ever classic cherry pie. and whn i opened it. i could see a trend happening here. soft gooey crust, color was all worng. this was not the pie or the company that i trusted all thru my childhood. something happened to hostess. a quick google search on the internet and i was enlightened. whoever is making these pues needs to remove the name hostess from them. because this was nothing like a hostess fruit pie. the whole thing breaks my trust in the new hostess. trying to make a buck off someone elses good name and tarnishing it for life, im appaled they tried to take the pride of hostess and destroy it in such a way.. the original fruit pies were a bit pricey but always worth it. i never turned down a hostess priduct due to thier price. but theres no amount of money to make me enjoy these new pies. bring back the priginal pies. or drop the name hostess altpgether. cuase this new pie is just unamerican.
So disappointed I am making my own cherry pies from scratch. I call them pocket pies. Sorry, only bake enough for my personal consumption. 73 and living good again!
I've found that "Mrs Freshleys" brand is almost a dead-ringer for the old school Hostess pies.
Not only are the fruit pies terrible, but all the products (ding dongs. Suzie-q's, Twinkies, host cupcakes, snowballs) are bad. I remember as a teenager, growing up on the farm, would stop at the little country store and purchase a cup cake or one on the other Hostess products, grab a good cold soda and have a glorious breakfast! they were always FRESH and delicious. Not that way anymore. back in that say they also had a banana flip pie that was incredible, a pineapple pie that was to die for! What we see today is a far, far piece of what we used to see. You know there are several things that are the same. Velveeta cheese, Miracle Whip just to mention a couple of things. Sure miss the good ole' days!!!!
I believe everything like this is going down hill due to all the preservatives added to get a longer shelf life. "Back in the day", baked items such as this could only be on the shelf for a few day at best. Now, if you look, what used to be rotated out daily can be sold for a week or so.
My father ran a route for Bond Bakery and made the same route daily. This meant fresh bread every day. Now, I think bread routes are weekly.
So, even a fried pie that in the past would be on the shelf for a few days, is on the shelf for a week or two.
Sacrifice longevity for quality.
I'm not going to go into the "less fruit" in a fried pie.
I thought I was the only one who ate these pies.
I remember the very first time I ate one.
It was 1968 and it was a brand called Mikey's or Micky's and it was love at first bite…LEMON!
My Grandparents were given a large bag full from one of Grandad's grateful customers (he was one of first and last plasterers in his area, who specialised in stucco-ala pintura) I'd never tasted a piece of pie like that.
This discussion it what make me angry when someone says "things were just as bad back in the good ol' days" NO THEY WERE NOT!
I've had many of the Hostess flavours, and berry was my favourite for most of my life, but truth be told, I could or can get a better berry pie from just about any bakery than what I've ever tasted in one of those little pies.
But I have to confess; those hostess lemon pies, well, I've still never had a lemon pie as good as they were.
Neither store bought nor homemade.
I've eaten a couple of these new phony ones, maybe three or four hoping that maybe I just got a rare bad one, and just kept hoping, and I finished all of them only because my older brother and me, were drilled about never wasting food.
But yes, They are bad!
The classics were filled with lemon custard, and had a semi crispness to the shell, and the filling took up most of the shell.
It was an oddity to get one that wasn't filled completely, which I didn't mind because the casing was just as tasty.
Now the filling (thank you Jesus!) DOESN'T fill half of the shell, and here in California, maybe they are using a different fruit substitute than what you and your readers have tasted, yours might be derived from cow's hoofs and ours might be derived from barnacles, I don't really want to know, but this "stuff" is a bright transparent yellow coloured citrus flavoured adhesive. I'm not certain it's food at all. You are right, about the nostalgic eats vanishing. I had to think about your remark about my choices shrinking…I think I have more to choose from, but, for sure, little by little, the familiar ones disappear.
I, too, can't say how disappointed I've been in the "returned" Hostess pies – I was the one always buying/eating their cherry pies. Yum! And now, being hooked on Mrs. Baird's white bread, can't find them here in Moore/So. OKC, as the plant making them in Texas is discontinuing that production. It's hard for me to find soft bread any more! Much less, good cherry or lemon fried pies!
This article is sheer gold. Thank you for your service to the pie-loving community.
(I had a random memory today — sparked by reminiscing about microwave burritos and the super cheap ones I ate as a kid — of pies from my childhood in the 80s. Googling narrowed it down to the Hostess pies, but I also gave me this blog post. I will stick with fond memories rather than trying to recapture my childhood.
LOL! Thanks!
Years ago Hostess Fried Cherry Pies were pretty darn good. Being a 73 year old southern boy it was never anything close to a real homemade one but good, convenient, and reasonably priced
Over the last several years they have gotten worse and worse, in my opinion. I rarely buy them any more.
Yesterday, I noticed some Hostess Peach Pies on the Walmart shelf. The label said better tasting and better crust.
As that was the only flavor on the shelf, I decided to try one.
It was absolutely one of the worst fried pies I have ever eaten. In fact, after a couple bites I threw it in the trash. It was way, way too sweet and had a very noticeable aftertaste. The crust seemed just like the recent ones I had eaten and was dry and tasteless.
I would like to think my old favorite, the cherry one would be better but I don't want to gamble my money to try one
Sorry Hostess, but you have lost my business on fried fruit pies.
Sincerely and respectfully but severely disappointed.
They suckered me in with the new and improved as well. I threw mine away also. Not sure why it's so difficult to make the "old" recipe!!


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Everyone is accustomed to the tight schedules in modern medical offices, where half-hour appointments are back-toback all day long. So, for a new technology to be practical in this environment, it needs to work at the speed of today's fast paced medical practice. Patients want a quick, accurate and comfortable diagnosis and doctors want a diagnostic tool that keeps their practice running efficiently.
Developers at Techniscan Medical System faced these challenges while developing a new imaging system for these examinations, the Whole Breast Ultrasound (WBU™) system.
In the early stages of development however, results often took hours to compute using many computers connected together. Even 16 computers clustered together using the latest Xeon processors were far too slow to allow the scanning of numerous patients in a single day.
To answer this challenge, Techniscan ported its proprietary inverse scattering algorithm from a traditional FORTRAN and MPI system to NVIDIA® CUDA™. After testing this configuration, the developers were sold as they realized that they were able to run the system much faster with no sacrifice in the quality of the results.
The Tesla computing system gives the WBU system the horsepower it needs to meet the healthcare industry's pace. A configuration of four Tesla GPU processors is able to run through Techniscan's algorithm in less than 20 minutes. By comparison, the traditional 16-processor computer system took more than twice the time.
Techniscan has now replaced every one of the clusters built into the scanners with two massively parallel NVIDIA® Tesla™ D870 deskside GPU Computing systems, which race through the inverse scattering code.
"CUDA has allowed us to tap into the processing power of the GPU with tremendous ease, saving us time and money" says Jim Hardwick, Senior Software Engineer at Techniscan. "A single host system and two Tesla D870s are considerably cheaper than the 16-core cluster. This is significant not only for production and sales, but also reduces research and development costs in engineering."
By using Techniscan's system with NVIDIA's GPU computing technology, radiologists can perform a complete ultrasound scan and see the results within a 30-minute patient visit. This eliminates the delay in test results so patients and doctors have a fast and efficient device that can be relied upon to deliver results at the pace of modern medicine.
For more information, visit: www.techniscanmedicalsystems.com
The TechniScan WBU™ system is an investigational device only and is not yet cleared by the FDA.

subset: commoncrawl


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|Winnebago County Sheriff's PoliceNews Media Release
|News Release Number2011-031B
|Information: murder/ Perryville and Linden Rd.
|Date: November 12,2011
|Time: 1:43a.m.
|Page of 1
On Saturday November 12, 2011 at approximately 1:43a.m. Winnebago County Sheriff's Deputies were sent to Perryville and Linden Rd. in regards to a shooting. Upon arrival the deputies located a vehicle in a field off the roadway with a male behind the wheel of the vehicle. The male was deceased and had an apparent gunshot wound. Preliminary information developed at the scene indicates that shots were fired, possibly from another vehicle, and a round penetrated a window of the victim's vehicle and he was struck, then lost control of the vehicle and crashed. At this point the name of the victim is not being released until a positive identification has been made and the victim's family is contacted. Winnebago County Sheriff's Detectives are conducting a follow-up investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department (815/3196300) or Crime-Stoppers (815/9637867). UPDATE ( 11:30a.m. / 11-12-11) THE VICTIM HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS:- BRANDON M. WRIGHT (MALE 23YRS OLD/ DOB 12-30-87) OF ROCKFORD. UPDATE ( 9:00A.M./ MONDAY 11-14-11) - THE INVESTIGATION HAS RESULTED IN A WARRANT BEING ISSUED FOR FIRST DEGREE MURDER FOR THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT. THIS WAS AFTER REVIEW WITH THE WINNEBAGO COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY. THE CHARGE AGAINST ANAYA IS MERELY AN ACCUSATION. HE IS PRESUMED INNOCENT ULESSS PROVEN GUILTY IN COURT. ANAYA IS NOT IN CUSTODY. - LUIS EDUARDO ANAYA (AKA/ "CHINO" ) MALE/ 22YRS OLD DOB 12-13-88/ ROCKFORD,ILLINOIS ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ON ANAYA IS ASKED TO CALLTHE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT (815/3196300) OR CRIME-STOPPERS (815/9637867).


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Leonora's Cozy Classic
Like this entry? Favorite it below!
- Name:
- Leonora
- Location:
- Los Angeles, CA
- Square Feet:
- 480
- Division:
- Tiny
- What I Love About My Small Home:
- My cozy bungalow is classic 1930s California, and filled with mid-century flea market finds and family treasures. In the mix are wood Danish chests, a vintage Gucci coffee table, a West Elm couch, and a really cool 1950s "space clock" that was my dad's. Set in the Silver Lake Hills, my little home has a gorgeous western view from the kitchen, and late afternoon is what I call the "golden hour," when sun floods the kitchen and living room, perfect for a bottle of rosé or some fresh blood oranges from the garden.
- Biggest Challenge of Living in a Small Space:
- I'm a writer, so I've spent a great deal of time working from home. The bedroom is too small for a makeup station, so the back room had to function as both an office and boudoir. I had a small desk custom-made so I could also fit in a vanity (a refurbished sewing machine table).
- If I am the Grand Prize winner of Small Cool, the item(s) or project(s) from my home design wishlist that I'd like to spend my winnings on are::
- The patio is delightful but could use a makeover. It's also small, so I'd love to find a small loveseat, get a coffee table, succulents, and lighting. I'm also saving up for some art from my favorite L.A. artist-duo, Simmons & Burke.


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Steve Ball Presents Winning Paper, Dec. 14, 2001
SOCORRO, N.M., December 11, 2001 -- New Mexico Tech student Steven Ball recently was singled out by the White Sands Missile Range Chapter of the International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) as having written the best technical paper among several undergraduate entries in the organization's annual student paper competition.
Ball, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering at New Mexico Tech, also was allowed to present his award-winning research paper, "Power Grid Modeling and Simulation," to an attentive luncheon audience at the ITEA Modeling and Simulation Workshop, held earlier this month in Las Cruces.
"Steven's presentation was absolutely outstanding," said John Meason, director of Tech's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center and one of several ITEA members who attended the luncheon. "He knew his material and communicated that knowledge superbly to his audience. His delivery was very professional.
"In fact, I have had occasion to listen to many seasoned veterans whose deliveries and styles were much less effective than Steve's," Meason added.
As part of his ITEA "best paper" award, Ball also received a $1,000 non-renewable scholarship to apply to costs incurred while attending the state-supported research university.
In addition to his studies at New Mexico Tech, Ball currently works as a research associate at the university's Institute for Complex Additive Systems Analysis (iCASA).
Earlier this year, Ball was listed as one of the co-authors of an article published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, titled "Discovery of Radio Emission from the Brown Dwarf LP944-20."


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The future of philanthropy is here.
Salesforce.org Philanthropy Cloud takes it to a different level.
It's the only global platform that connects employees, customers and partners with the causes they care most about.
It's the only platform for social purpose backed by the world's largest nonprofit and the world's most innovative company.
It's the only global use of digital technology that brings social and personal purpose together.
And now, it's available for purchase anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.
Philanthropy Cloud is brought to you by United Way, the world's largest privately-funded nonprofit, and Salesforce.org, the nonprofit subsidiary of the world's most innovative company, Salesforce.
United Way has long partnered with 60,000+ companies worldwide on workplace giving, employee volunteerism and other social purpose activities. But companies wanted a simpler, easier way to help their employees change the world [Interactive Infographic].
We listened. And we, along with Salesforce.org, created Philanthropy Cloud.
- It gives companies an advantage in the talent war, giving young employees more power to engage with social issues 24/7, and to connect with change makers and follow employees.
- It makes employee engagement dramatically easier, more efficient and more effective.
- It helps companies streamline, modernize and expand existing philanthropic programs.
- It makes measurement easier.
- Its technology outpaces the competition.
Watch Philanthropy Cloud in Action:
Fill out the form below to learn more:
Screenshots of Philanthropy Cloud:
Philanthropy Cloud and Social Impact in the News:
- Channel Pro Network: A Cloud To Change The World
- Comcast Newsmakers: The Future of Giving
- eWeek: Salesforce, United Way Enable Employee Giving in Philanthropy Cloud
- Fast Company: Salesforce.org And United Way Are Teaming Up To Change Corporate Giving
- Inside Philanthropy: Next Up for a Pioneer in Corporate Philanthropy: Transforming Workplace Giving
- Internet Retailing: Salesforce.org, United Way launch Philanthropy Cloud
- IT Business: Salesforce.org partners with United Way to launch Philanthropy Cloud
- Star Tribune: United Way launches new online workplace giving tool
- Triple Pundit: Unite Your Purpose And The World, In The Cloud
- Triple Pundit: Social Impact in a Network World
- Triple Pundit: Five Social Impact Trends That Inspire Us
- VentureBeat: Salesforce.org and United Way Announce Philanthropy Cloud to Match Corporations with Nonprofits
Philanthropy Cloud catalyzes the power of the business community as a philanthropic force multiplier, offering shared value for both employers and employees.
Any unreleased services or features referenced herein are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase these services should make their purchase decisions based upon features and products that are currently available.


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'True Blood' Season 6 Spoilers: Bill the Prophet, Sookie's New Man and More!
Earlier this week we caught a fresh look at a new 'True Blood' season 6 trailer that showed off some impressive new abilities for Bill Compton, having been resurrected from the blood of vampire god(dess) Lilith. That new role in the world will undoubtedly put him at odds with Sookie Stackhouse, but will she have another new man to put her attention on? Get the latest spoilers on 'True Blood' season 6 inside!
We're just weeks away from the June 16 premiere of 'True Blood's' sixth season, in which war between vampires and humans reaches a boiling point, and a newly empowered Bill becomes a lightning rod of trouble for Bon Temps. Rather than paint Bill as a god, however, showrunner Brian Buckner previewed to TVGuide that Bill's new form would prove a little more down to Earth than viewers have seen thus far.
We prefer prophet [over "god"]. Bill's more than just vampire and has powers we've never seen a vampire have. Bill and Sookie are not going to get on so hot. But their not getting on is kind of awesome.
Buckner also previewed that Sookie would have the mysterious "Warlow" to contend with, the oldest vampire seen on the show, but it remains uncertain if Rutger Hauer's mysterious "Macklyn" and Warlow will turn out to be one and the same. Perhaps Sookie's new love interest can help her cope, as Buckner teased "she's looking to date somebody with whom she has more in common."
'True Blood' season 6 features the showrunner change from Mark Hudis to Bryan Buckner, season 5 guest star and former 'Last Resort' star Robert Patrick has been upgraded to series regular, while season 6 also features the return of Anna Camp's Sarah Newlin, Luke Grimes as the "Jim Morrison of vampires," 'Rubicon' star Arliss Howard as the sinister Governor Truman Burrell, 'House's' Karolina Wydra, Rutger Hauer as mysterious vampire Macklyn, and 'Eastenders' star Robert Kazinsky as a series regular and new Fae love interest to Sookie.
Premiering June 16, True Blood' season 6 will take place over 10 episodes, down from the usual 12, largely to accommodate series star Anna Paquin's pregnancy with co-star Stephen Moyer.
You can check out 'True Blood's' sixth season trailer below, and tell us what you want to see from the June 16 premiere in the comments!


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Gail Gitcho/Pearce: 202-225-4780
Chris Gallegos/Domenici: 202-224-7082
Jude McCartin/Bingaman: 202-224-1804
For immediate release: September 25, 2003
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a bipartisan, bicameral effort to support New Mexico Tech and Socorro County, Rep. Steve Pearce with Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman have successfully worked with the Department of State to ensure that Antiterrorism programs remain at New Mexico Tech.
Until the end of 2002, New Mexico Tech conducted a Rural Border Patrol Operations course for the Department of State's ATA program under a cooperative agreement with Louisiana State University (LSU). In January, New Mexico Tech received word from LSU that its Rural Border Patrol Operations program was in line to be moved elsewhere.
Earlier in the year, the New Mexico lawmakers wrote to Secretary Powell noting that New Mexico Tech had invested significantly in the ATA training program, particularly through the construction of a state-of-the-art small arms firing range. In addition, they pointed out that New Mexico Tech provides an exclusive training area, which consists of 3,137 acres, for the Rural Border Patrol Operations program - at no cost to the ATA program.
Rep. Steve Pearce said, "The antiterrorism program will not only boost the area's economy, it also improves both bilateral and international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. I am pleased that the State Department is renewing their commitment with New Mexico Tech. Many foreign students will continue to receive some of the best antiterrorism training the United States has to offer."
"Ultimately, there was not a good enough reason for the State Department to abandon its mutually-beneficial relationship with New Mexico Tech, or the facilities the school offers to support the ATA. I am very happy that we have been able to get the department to reconsider. The State Department and New Mexico Tech have been, and will continue to be, good partners in this program," Domenici said.
"New Mexico Tech is and has been a leader in the fight against terror. In the post-9/11 environment we live in, we are fortunate as a nation to be able to tap into its expertise. I am glad that Secretary Powell came to see that eliminating this program at New Mexico Tech would have been a mistake. The fact that he has changed his position is good both for New Mexico Tech and Socorro County," Bingaman said.
The Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance Program was initiated in 1983 as a means of providing specialized training and equipment to nations facing terrorist threats. ATA is actively training police and security forces throughout the world to combat, deter and solve terrorist crimes in their countries.


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As seen in the Nov. 27, 2007 Tomahawk Leader:
Judging by the numbers from a recent health-screening day, Sacred Heart Hospital Foundation's claim to be making a difference in Tomahawk's health and wellness is very true – nearly 300 community members attended this year's event.
On Saturday, Oct. 20, the local foundation sponsored free Community Health Screenings. This event, one of the foundation's 2007 projects, provided preventive health services and information for area residents. Following are results from some of the screenings – and, as you review them, just stop to think about the differences that could be made:
•171 diabetes screens identified 21 individuals as pre-diabetic and 10 tested positive for the disease. Participants received recommendations for next steps from Ministry Diabetes Services.
•Of the 94 PSA prostate screens, nine were abnormal and three had no prior family history.
•224 cholesterol tests were collected of which 93 were abnormal (41 percent).
•227 kidney function tests were collected; 82 were abnormal (36 percent).
•Dermatologist Dr. Chila screened 54 individuals for skin cancer. Four suspected carcinoma, 24 pre-malignant keratosis and two other malignancies were identified.
•37 breast physical exams were conducted with one recommendation for follow-up.
•40 body composition analyses were completed with suggestions made by Ministry Rehabilitation Services to those that fell outside the healthy range.
•Of the 29 hearing tests conducted, six passed and 23 were referred for follow up.
•Colorectal kits distributed that day also have identified numerous individuals needing follow-up examinations.
"These results, along with the wonderful feedback we received from participants, tell us we are offering a much needed service to our community," says Debbie Gessler, foundation vice chairperson. "Many shared that, if not for the foundation, they would not have been able to have these tests performed either due to no insurance, high deductibles or due to non-coverage by their insurance carrier."
This annual event, sponsored by Sacred Heart Hospital Foundation, in cooperation with Sacred Heart Hospital, Ministry Medical Group and Ministry Health Care, is planned to be held on Saturday, Oct. 18 next year. For more information about the screenings or other foundation activities, contact Susan Cronick at 453-7770.
(Editor's Note: Also look for the link to Sacred Heart Hospital/Ministry Health on our Town Square Business Directory: www.traveltomahawk.com)
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Apple's iWork '09 ($79) is an excellent investment for Mac users who need a well-designed and easy-to-use productivity suite. Though iWork doesn't offer an integrated business e-mail solution such as Microsoft Outlook, it does include a core group of apps– Keynote, Numbers, and Pages –with plenty of intuitive features like interoperability across apps to make that absence easy to overlook. Apple has significantly updated all three products to enhance and streamline workflow with numerous interface tweaks and feature enhancements. Like previous versions–to calm Windows-to-Mac switcher anxiety–iWork files are fully compatible with its Microsoft Office counterparts.
iWork '09 also introduces iWork.com public beta, a new Web service. This fledgling sharing site lets you share documents online, invite viewers who can make comments, and allows for downloads in iWork, Microsoft Office, and PDF formats. Sadly, it does not let you edit online, so true online collaboration is unavailable. The beta is free, but Apple gives no word yet on the pricing structure once iWork.com reaches release status.
Setup and Interface
As in the previous iWork installment, you won't need the latest and greatest Mac to run iWork '09. At minimum, you'll need an Intel, PowerPC G5, or G4 machine with a 500MHz or better processor, plus a minimum of 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended) running OS X 10.4.11. Installation was seamless in our tests, taking just under 10 minutes.
iWork's appearance hasn't changed much since iWork '08. The minimalist layout and easy to navigate toolbars remain; home and small business users will find the suite accommodating. The iWork '09 toolset still outmatches online solutions (minus collaboration abilities) such as Google Docs and Spreadsheets, ZOHO, and ThinkFree, so Mac users will have more functionality firepower than the common online offerings. Smart tools in iWork like the Contextual Format Bar in Pages and Keynote's new Magic Move features are the type of the things you won't find in online favorites.
Past versions of Keynote have always won us over, and new features in Keynote '09 only make iWork better. Easy-to-use graphics tools and a variety of animation effects help you make eye-catching presentations, and a slew of new transitions and intuitive animation effects add to this presentation program's appeal.
The new Magic Move tool lets you automatically animate images, graphics, and text by choosing from several preset slide transitions. Keynote will automatically resize, rotate, and change the position of objects between slides with one of several 3D effects. We especially like the options for text animation, which let you make creative transitions by switching letters from one slide into a new message on the next using unique new visual effects such as Sparkle, Anagram, and Swing.
New styles and animations are available for 3D charts in Keynote '09, letting you make graphs with beveled edges, cylinder shapes, and 3D textures. We like that the new build effects use 3D motion to animate your charts, making them more eye-catching, too.
To reduce file size for your presentations, Keynote '09 has implemented a way to optimize video files. Now you can clip your videos to just the segment you want, and Keynote trims any unused video frames. You also can easily convert images to slide resolution to trim even more.
Pages '09 offers feature-rich word processing and layout tools alongside intuitive graphics features to make your projects both easy to make and easy on the eyes. Though not as deep as Microsoft Word for formatting and layout options, Pages now offers even more variety with 40 new templates, including stationary sets and a variety of newsletter designs. Added support for EndNote X2 (sold separately) makes adding bibliographic references to your project extremely easy, and new support for MathType 6 (sold separately) makes adding mathematical equations a snap.
New features to Pages '09 include a full-screen view to eliminate distractions while you write. While you work in full-screen, just mouse to the top and left side of your screen to quickly reveal Pages' Contextual Format Bar and a navigation pane. There are several third-party apps available that offer similar distraction-free writing and we were happy to see this feature added to Apple's word processor. While Microsoft Word offers a full-screen reading layout, Apple's use of the black background with mouseable menus only when you want them makes it even more distraction free.
Pages '09 also adds dynamic outlines, letting you collapse and expand your bullet points with the click of your mouse, drag-and-drop topics to anywhere you like, and add elements such as images and video. Helpful options, including the ability to collapse outlines to the first line of lengthy topics, make it easy to get to the information you want to modify quickly, keeping your outlines about ideas.
You also can now use data from any Numbers (Apple's spreadsheet app noted below) table directly in Pages. But what makes this feature truly useful is that your table or graph will automatically update in Pages with the click of a button when you update data in the Numbers file.
Numbers '09 has now been in the wild for a year and–with several new enhancements adding even more time-saving features–it's obvious Apple has been paying attention to its audience. While it keeps the familiar feel of Microsoft's Excel, Numbers '09 offers much smarter ways of dealing with data, tables, and charts. While engineers, accountants, and science-related professionals may require some of Excel's more robust tools, those with small businesses or other spreadsheet-related needs will find Numbers '09 easy to work with. New, Apple-designed templates for common spreadsheet needs (such as a check register and savings calculator) are also included giving beginners easy starting points.
Select from several common spreadsheet types to create easy-to-read financial documents.
Formula writing is even easier with Numbers '09 with added features like color-coded placeholders and plain-language help tags and pop-up menus for commonly used values. Figuring out how to calculate how much to put away for your child's education over the course of time, for example, is made much easier with clearly labeled functions that require only a couple of clicks to include in your spreadsheet.
The function browser in Numbers '09 has also received a much-needed upgrade, now with more than 250 functions, complete with built-in help that explains each function along with examples so you can quickly figure out which ones you need for the project at hand.
New chart options let you combine line, column, and area series into a mixed chart letting you create advanced charts with trend lines and error bars. Even more impressive, if the presentation style is different–with animated 3D charts for a Keynote presentation or simple 2D diagrams for printed materials in Pages–all of the data is pulled from the same Numbers file using only a couple of clicks from within each app.
Service and Support
We found the help database within iWork '09 very easy to navigate with information covering topics in all three programs. Several video tutorials make some of the more complex processes much easier to understand. When neither of those fulfilled our needs, a quick search of Apple's iWork support site and online forums became the best resource. iWork buyers receive 90 days of unlimited free telephone support for installation, launch, or reinstallation. Three years of telephone support is offered for a hefty $49 per incident through AppleCare. Users can also seek help at the Genius Bars at Apple stores or attend free workshops offered by stores.
iWork '09 makes many of the already user-friendly features from last year's version even easier. While there is some learning curve to get up and running for former Microsoft Office users, iWork '09 offers an extremely intuitive interface and has plenty of advanced time-saving features to make it a worthy replacement for the much more pricey Microsoft solution. The lack of an integrated business-level e-mail client is still a disappointment, but Apple's included Mail program preinstalled on Macs will suffice in most cases. Though iWork.com is a welcome addition for sharing iWork files online, we would have liked a more collaborative online solution, but we expect this is probably slated for future versions.