National Oreo Cookie Day Date in the current year: March 6, 2024

Oreo is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two wafers, which are usually chocolate, and sweet crème filling. A lot of people across the world have enjoyed its delicious taste, but few know that this famous cookie was introduced over a century ago.

Oreo was developed by the National Biscuit Company, currently named Nabisco. The company started producing the cookie at its factory in Chelsea, New York City (the former factory is now the site of the Chelsea Market complex). The cookie consisting of two chocolate wafers with crème filling between them was an imitation of the Hyrox cookie produced by Sunshine Biscuits since 1908.

The first Oreo cookie was sold to a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey on March 6, 1912. This date is considered the birthday of the Oreo cookie and is celebrated as National Oreo Cookie Day. The name Oreo was trademarked two years later, on March 14, 1914.

The design and flavor of the Oreo changed a number of times over the following years. The modern-day crème filling was developed by Sam Porcello, the principal food scientist at Nabisco. He replaced the lard in the filling with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil due to health concerns, which also made the Oreo vegetarian-friendly.

The classic Oreo cookie contains eleven main ingredients: unbleached flour enriched with B vitamins and iron, sugar, palm or canola oil, Dutch process (alkalized) cocoa, high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch, leavening agent (monocalcium phosphate or baking soda), soy lecithin, vanillin, chocolate, and salt.

In addition to the classic Oreo, Nabisco has produced a multitude of different Oreo varieties. The main Oreo varieties sold in the United States include Double Stuf Oreo with twice as much filling as the classic Oreo, the bite-sized Oreo Mini, Golden Oreo with vanilla-flavored wafers, Chocolate Oreo with chocolate-flavored crème filling, Mint Oreo with mint-flavored crème filling, and more. In 2021, the company introduced Gluten Free Oreo for people who are allergic to gluten or have celiac disease.

Since the early 2010s, Nabisco has regularly released limited edition Oreos with special flavors. They are usually seasonal, holiday-themed, dedicated to special events, or limited to specific markets. For example, Green Tea Oreos are sold in China and Japan, Blueberry Ice Cream Oreos are available in some Asian countries, Coconut Delight Oreos are exclusive to Indonesia, and Chinese consumers have access to some truly exotic Oreo varieties such as Hot Chicken Wing and Wasabi.

Interestingly, Oreo fans have been debating for years about the right way to eat Oreos: some just bite them like regular cookies, others split them in half... Nabisco claims that the best way to enjoy Oreos is “twist, lick and dunk”: twist the halves of the cookie apart, lick the filling, and then dunk the wafers into some milk before eating them.