Pepperidge Farm

Pepperidge Farm was founded in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, who named the brand after her family's property in Fairfield, Connecticut, which in turn was named for the pepperidge tree, "Nyssa sylvatica". In 1961, the company was purchased by the Campbell Soup Company.

Its products include Milano, Dark Chocolate and Nantucket cookies, Goldfish crackers, and varieties of bread.

History

Margaret Rudkin began baking bread in 1937 for her youngest son Mark who had asthma and was allergic to most commercially processed foods. She developed a recipe without preservatives or artificial ingredients which her son could eat and which also tasted good. Her son's doctor encouraged her to bake more bread and recommended it to his other patients. She approached the owner of a local grocery store to see if he would be willing to sell her "Pepperidge Farm" bread, named after the Fairfield, Connecticut, farm where she and her family lived. The grocer was skeptical until she cut him a slice. After tasting it, he took all the loaves she had brought and placed an order for more. Her husband Henry, a Wall Street broker, began taking loaves of bread with him to New York to be sold in specialty stores. She soon moved the growing business out of her kitchen and into her garage, then into a factory in 1940. Rationing during World War II forced her to cut back production because she would not use inferior substitutes for her top-quality ingredients. Finally, in 1947 Margaret opened a state-of-the-art commercial bakery in Norwalk.

On a trip to Europe in the 1950s, Rudkin discovered fancy chocolate cookies that she believed would be very popular in the United States. She bought the rights to produce and sell them, and the Distinctive Cookies line was born. Under her management, Pepperidge Farm continued to expand into other products, including frozen pastry items and the Goldfish snack cracker. In 1961 she sold the business to the Campbell Soup Company and became the first woman to serve on the board. She drew on her knowledge and experience to write "The Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook" in 1963, which was the first cookbook to make the bestseller list of the "New York Times" (right).

Cookies

Distinctive Cookies

* Bordeaux
** Chocolate-Dipped Bordeaux
* Brussels
** Brussels Mint*
*** Delicate oatmeal sandwich cookies
* Cardiff*
*** small wafers
* Chantilly
*** raspberry sandwich cookies
* Chessmen
** Chocolate Chessmen
*** shortbread butter cookies
* Geneva
*** Oval cookies with a layer of chocolate and pecans
* Lido
*** Thick, round, chocolate sandwich cookies
* Lisbon*
*** Orange cookies dipped in chocolate
* Melbourne*
*** Long, narrow almond cookies
* Milano
** Mint Milano
** Orange Milano
** Milk Chocolate Milano
** Raspberry Milano
** Chocolate Raspberry Milano
** Amaretto Milano
** French Vanilla Milano
** Double Chocolate Milano
** Black and White Milano
** Chocolate-Dipped Milano
** Mini Milano
** Sugar Free Milano
** Sugar Free Mint Milano
*** Oval chocolate sandwich cookies
* Montieri
** Apple Tart
** Peach Tart
** Raspberry Tart
*** Round cookies with a fruit filling covered by lattice top.
* Naples*
*** Oval cookies with a layer of chocolate
* Nassau*
*** Thick, heart-shaped peanut butter cookies in a chocolate sandwich
* Orleans*
** Orleans Sandwich*
*** Round cookies with a layer of chocolate
* Pirouettes
** Chocolate Laced Pirouettes*
** Raspberry-Filled Pirouettes*
** Cappuccino-Filled Pirouettes*
** French Vanilla-Filled Pirouettes
** Chocolate Hazelnut-Filled Pirouettes
** Mint Chocolate-Filled Pirouettes
*** Thin cookies wrapped in tube shapes
* Tahiti
*** Round sandwich cookies similar to Lido, but with coconut
* Venise*
*** Octagonal sugar cookies
* Verona
** Apricot-Raspberry
** Blueberry
** Strawberry
** Apple Caramel
*** Circular cookies with fruit centers.
*Zanzibar*

Items with an asterisk denote a discontinued or seasonal product, or a product sold only in collections.

Old Fashioned Cookies

* Cinnamon Sugar*
* Chocolate Chip*
* German Chocolate 3-layer cake*
* Ginger Man*
* Lemon Nut Crunch*
* Molasses Crisp*
* Shortbread
* Sugar
* Raisin Bran**No longer sold outside of variety packs, or discontinued, or seasonal.

Breads

* 100% Natural Breads
** 100% Whole Wheat
** 9 Grain
** German Dark Wheat
** Honey Flax
** Sprouted Wheat
* Whole Grain Breads
** 100% Whole Wheat
** 15-Grain
** Golden Harvest Grains
** Honey Oat
** Honey Whole Wheat
** Oatmeal
** Double Fiber
* Small Slice Breads
** 100% Whole Wheat
** 15-Grain
** Oatmeal
* Farmhouse Breads and Rolls
** 12-Grain
** 7-Grain
** Buttermilk White
** Cinnamon Raisin Swirl
** Country White
** Crunchy Oat
** Hearty White
** Honey Wheatberry
** Nutty Oat
** Oatmeal
** Soft 100% Whole Wheat
** Sourdough
** Whole Grain White
* White Breads
** Canadian White
** Italian
** Original White
** Sandwich
** Toasting
** Whole Grain White
* Rye & Pumpernickel Breads
** Deli Swirl
** Pumpernickel
** Seeded Rye
** Seedless Rye
* Light Style Breads
** 7-Grain
** Oatmeal
** Soft Wheat
** Whole Grain White
* Very Thin Breads
** 100% Whole Wheat
** White
** Whole Grain White
* Texas Toast
** Parmesan
** Garlic

External links

* [http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/ Official site]