Tim Tam

Tim Tams are a chocolate biscuit made by Arnott's Biscuits, Australia. A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.

According to Arnott's, around 35 million packs are sold each year – nearly 400 million biscuits, an average of approximately 1.7 packs per Australian and 2.5 packs per New Caledonian.cite news |first = Roz |last = Pulley |title = Welcome to Cairns... Tim Tam capital of OZ |work = The Cairns Post |publisher = News Corporation |page = 3 |date = 2005-09-24 |accessdate = 2006-10-20 |language = English] Tim Tams were first put onto the market in 1964. They were named by Ross Arnott, who attended the 1958 Kentucky Derby and decided that the name of the winning horse Tim Tam was perfect for a planned new line of biscuits.cite web | url = http://www.arnotts.com.au/products/TimTam.aspx | title = Arnott's Product Range - Tim Tam | accessdate = 2006-10-20 | year = 2005 | publisher = Arnott's Biscuits Limited | language = English ]

Varieties

In recent years Arnott's have developed variations of Tim Tams including Chewy Caramel, Mocha, Double Coat, Chilli Chocolate, Classic Dark Chocolate, Black Forest Fantasy, Creamy Truffle Temptation and the latest Choc Orange, as well as a range of special edition varieties. In September 2005, Arnott's launched Tim Tam Balls, a smaller spherical version of the biscuit. A special edition strawberry variety was released in September 2006 with a portion of sales to benefit a breast cancer charity.

In 2004, Arnott's caused a controversy when they released a range of alcohol-flavoured varieties of their products, including Tia Maria Tim Tams. Suggestions were made that selling these biscuits in supermarkets was irresponsible as minors could get hold of the product. However, it would take several thousand Tim Tams for the alcohol to take effect. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/04/1075853910088.html Alcohol-flavoured treats attacked] , "The Age", 4 February 2004.]

For people living outside of Australia, New Caledonia or New Zealand, it is possible to import Tim Tams, but no longer through Arnott's (they have permanently closed their online store); some international supermarkets are supplying Tim Tams:

*In the United Kingdom, a similar looking biscuit by McVitie's, the Penguin, is widely available, and pre-dates the Tim Tam by about thirty years. However, many supermarket chains now import and sell Original, Chewy Choc Fudge and Chewy Caramel Tim Tams.

*In the United States, Tim Tams were sold on a trial basis in supermarkets in 2001 under the brand name "Double Trouble". Several companies sell mail order Tim Tams (along with many other Australian foods) in the United States. Tim Tams can be found on the shelves of Cost Plus World Market retailers under the name Arnott's Originals. Also, as of September 2006, World Market is also carrying the Chewy Caramel and Double Coat varieties.

*In Canada, Tim Tams are imported and sold by the Loblaws chain of supermarkets.

*In Ireland, Tim Tams are available from the Costcutter chain of supermarkets.

*In Israel, Tim Tams are available from kosher supermarkets and department stores and other retail outlets. [ [http://www.austrade.gov.au/Tim-Tams-to-Tel-Aviv-the-Australian-Israel-trade-relationship/default.aspx Tim Tams to Tel Aviv: the Australian-Israel trade relationship] , Austrade, 6 September 2004.]

* An factory in Indonesia makes Tim Tams for the South East Asian market. The Indonesian-made product is labelled in English: "Specially formulated for the South East Asian market" and "Not for sale in Australia or New Zealand". The 'special formulation' is less sweet than the Australian Tim Tam, as is preferred in South-east Asia. In addition it uses compound chocolate in order to withstand the rigours of a tropical climate without melting.

*Tim Tams are also imported to and sold the Palestinian Territories, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and Japan.

There are also a number of Tim Tam "copycat" versions by competing companies, including New Zealand's Chit Chats and the controversial "Temptin" produced by Dick Smith's food company, Dick Smith Foods. [Needham, Kirsty: [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/17/1050172707606.html Branding rivals will never take the biscuit, says Mr Tim Tam] , "The Sydney Morning Herald", 18 April 2003.]

Tim Tam Slam

The "Tim Tam Slam" is the practice of biting off the opposing corners of a Tim Tam, and using the modified biscuit as a 'straw' to suck up a hot beverage (usually tea, coffee, hot chocolate, Milo, or liquor such as Irish Cream). Ideally, the inside of the biscuit should collapse but the outside should remain intact. Just before the biscuit falls apart, it is placed in the mouth. The thicker chocolate coating on the "Double Coat Tim Tam" offers a more stable structure to help ensure that the biscuit does not collapse prematurely - refrigerating them also helps to preserve the outside structure while allowing the inside of the biscuit (cookie) to melt. The Chewy Caramel variety also has an advantage for performing the Tim Tam Slam since the caramel centre helps to hold the biscuit together for a slightly longer time. The Arnott's company prefers the name "Tim Tam Suck" and ran an advertising campaign promoting it under this name. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20020606210613/www.timtam.com.au/Facts/TimTamSuck.asp Arnott's Tim Tam Official Website (Internet Archive cache 6 Jun 2002)] Accessed 14 Jan 2008.] [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4692/is_200112/ai_n17786163 Australian Business Intelligence site search results] Accessed 14 Jan 2008.]

A Tim Tam Slam has been performed by Natalie Imbruglia and host Graham Norton on the "So Graham Norton" television series in the United Kingdom. American actress Jennifer Love Hewitt also performed one live on Rove McManus's Australian talk show "Rove Live" after professing her love for the biscuit.

Ingredients

Colors (E102, E110, E129, E133, E150), milk solids, cocoa, salt, raising agent(E500), emulsifier (E322: soy) and flavoring. May contain traces of peanut, other nut, egg or seed.

External links

* [http://www.arnotts.com/varieties/TimTamOriginal.aspx Arnott's Australia product page]

References