"A Gob is green. It comes out your nose and it indicates an infection"
Are they whoopie pies? Are they gobs? Have you never seen them before? Do you have feelings of simultaneous attraction and repulsion due to their resemblance to pregnant Oreos?
The Hults family discovered these gems of culinary delight at the Amish market/grocery auction. We get them stale and deeply discounted, then we put them in the fridge to hide their staleness and save them for treats in the downstairs fridge. Then I discover them. Then their dangerous proximity and my shameless hedonism combine to produce their very sudden goneness.
They are also sold in SHEETZ convenience stores (my Happy Place), and I seldom pass up an opportunity to partake of their light creamy middles and airy bready cookie sandwichness. And the perfect thing to chase a Whoopie Gob? Gallikers Lime Iced Tea. I'm pretty sure that both SHEETZ and Gallikers are Pennsylvanian phenomena, so. . . .sucks to be y'all.
I was recently extolling the glory of whoopie pies to a lifelong Pennsylvanian friend and he informed me in no uncertain terms that those are called "Gobs" not whoopie pies. And this was not "by the way, they are sometimes mistakenly called whoopie pies by the uninitiated", this was "I've lived here my whole life and I've never even heard the term whoopie pie. You freak. Don't let the door hit you on you way out of the state". I contested this, on account of the authentic honest-to-beardness Amish label on the treats that reads "Whoopie Pies" and also the recipe in AK's Amish cooking book called "Whoopie Pies". He allowed that they are unquestionably of Amish origin, but were never again to be referred to in his car as anything but gobs or Amish gobs. Hmmmm.
Well sure enough, this Saturday while carpooling with the very same fellow, we happened upon a small bakery in the Unfortunatetly Not A Sheetz Convenience Store in Shelocta, PA. Advertised and on display? Both "Gobz" and "Pumpkin Gobz" (trying to co-opt the successful SHEETZ marketing ploy of putting "z"s at the end of every thing. Oh the shame).
We've got questions, you've got answers. Who will authoritatively resolve this burning social issue? And how important will this question be to voters in 2008? Will you vote based on the economy, the war, or on The Gob Issue?
On an equally important note, AK finally finished my hat and MY HEAD IS SOOOO HAPPY! Really. If you knew how happy your head was? Mine would be that happy squared. I don't look like the clean cut and impeccably dressed gay man who designed the knit pattern, but I don't look too terribly wack either. And most importantly I don't look -- as I FEEL when I'm outdoors in a snowstorm with a purposely bald and NAKED head -- stupid.
More muppets to come. . .
posted by Chris at
7:14 PM
7 Comments:
Congrats on the hat. My own growing forehead has re-enforced my belief that a man needs a good lid.
As for the whoopie vs gob debate: Maybe it is a regional thing, as in this Philadelphia area they are only known to me as whoopie pies. "Gobs" is a technical or numerical term along the lines of "lots". To demonstrate, here is the proper sequence: One > several > some > many > lots > gobs > heaps > tons > loads
I hope that clears things up for you.
I'd say if the man wasn't amish, (and was a man, not a chef) how would he know. If the recipe calls them Whoopie Pies, well then they are obviously whoopie pies! But does it really matter what you call them, if you want your wife to make them for you I would call them Whoopie Pies or it seems to me you won't get any and that would be ashame, now wouldn't it! ;)
S.
In that picture, they almost look like they're about to sprout eyes and come to life like a Muppet.
I've got some interesting regional flavor over on my most recent blog post. Check it out.
Oh dear, you have profoundly disturbed the order of the universe. Karen, who has never, ever responded to anything said in a blog will now speak,
j
GOBS! GOBS! GOBS!! What is wrong with you people. We hold these truths to be self evident, any self respecting Western Pennsyltucky folk know these only as GOBS! I have had GOBS sent to me while I lived in CA. I send my brother to the J-town folk festival to get me GOBS! Joanie Korch makes all kinds of GOBS! Original and Pumpkin GOBS! Do not speak of whoopie pies in central or western PA. Please, get it straigt or you will have to move again!
Please, never ever refer to these delicious tasty treats by anything but the correct nomenclature of GOBS while living within a 3 hour radius of J-town or the burg!
I may lose sleep tonight over this blog. Jeepers.
PS- Sheetz rules. I have known a few wedding party's to stop here. Iced tea by the gallon- only Gallicker's of course. Gallicker's Lemon Iced Tea is preferred in the Korch house. Welcome to my world.
Furthermore, Chris, recall that whenever Alaska is in the awkward position of not knowing what some thing is, she falls back on her old standby "Oh thats something (adjective) that comes out of your (body part) and indicates infection."
j
I just googled GOBS and found this: http://www.bookofjoe.com/2006/01/origin_of_the_g.html. It pretty much end the debate. They sure do look yummy!
S.
Well being a central PA native w/ in 3 hour radius of J-town… I don’t know if I would kick you out of my car for calling a gob a Woopie pie at least not while its sitting still!!! So don’t let it happen again… As for the Philadelphia area they drink “wooder” not water and have shingles on their “ruf” not roof… So I don’t know if that option counts when it comes to GOBS vs Woopie pies…
On the other hand if I wanted the better half to bake I would be calling them what ever is preferred… perhaps shmoopty?
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