Tastykakes[1] are about the same price as Twinkies but have half the shelf life (or less, depending on the product) due to fewer preservatives and better ingredients. They don't have the distribution that Twinkies have, but it's grown to include the entire East Coast at this point, I think. Still pretty bad for you but several rungs up the garbage ladder, for sure. I don't understand how Twinkies are able to compete in their market.
It is true. The shelf life of those Tastykakes is three weeks. A Twinkie's is six. The shelf life of a Tastykake pie is seven days. They haven't changed much or at all since I was a kid.
Have you tried a Tastykake (and a Twinkie)? The difference is obvious if you can spare the calories.
I have tried almost all of the Tastykakes that I could purchase here on the east coast. They seem quite average in terms of quality. While I have never eaten a Twinkie and Tastykake side by side I do concede that Twinkies these days are a bottom of the barrel level of quality and TastyKakes are at least a small level above. I'm just looking at that ingredient list and it seems quite processed.
I think you misinterpreted my original comment, but I applaud your diligence in sampling the entire Tastykake product line. The pies are my favorite, though I rarely eat them as I value my health. I would not touch a Twinkie unless I were starving, or perhaps as part of a paid stunt if the money was right.
