Talk:Jaffa Cakes

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I'd argue that the Jaffa Cake fansite should be removed as its tottaly useless and generally bad ([1]) EAi 18:17, 2 May 2005 (UTC)

I'd agree. I changed the link to a somewhat nicer Jaffa Cake fansite, though maybe there shouldn't be a link to one at all? There certainly doesn't appear to be an official fansite. ([2]) Anon. 17:03 20 July 2005 GMT

Contents

[edit] Contradictions in article

"Jaffa Cakes are classed as biscuits ,eventhough they are called cakes" from the intro and the cake or buscuit states they proved it was a cake to avoid VAT.81.109.24.232 16:49, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

"In the United Kingdom, Jaffa Cakes are classified as cakes, even though they are really biscuits" - changed to "resemble". If they are classed as something, they are in fact "really" that thing, by definition. 82.10.111.59 19:10, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

By definition, within the limited scope of the defining authority! "Deemed to be a cake for tax purposes" doesn't necessary translate well to common usage or to any other technical scope. Personally I'd say they were biscuits, but the distinction doesn't overly concern me. I've no idea how a proper chef would distinguish cakes from biscuits, which is probably the better measure. (McVitie's themselves are not a good source since there was a fairly large monetary incentive to go with cake.) I remember hearing a radio piece on the court case at the time - allegedly one of the more bizarre arguments hinged on whether the orangey bit rested on the base or hung off the chocolate! (No, I have no reference for that. Just what I remember.) --db 86.7.20.47 17:11, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Radiohead

Theres a brief sentence at the bottom: "British superintellects Radiohead have Jaffa Cakes on nearly even one of their concert riders, the stipulations which the band set for the venues they play." Firstly, Superintellect isn't a word, that I'm awarre of. Secondly, even if it were, i's a pretty subjective comment. Thirdly, it doesn't even think to mention they're a band. Fourthly there are spelling mistakes. Fifthly it is un-cited. Could do with re-writing and having a citation tag, or just removing. Patch86 18:00, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] the picture

That's one ugly picture of a jaffa cake. Too much blue. Can anyone take one that doesn;t make it look like a poo? --bodnotbod 22:42, August 26, 2005 (UTC)

New image added - is that better? CLW 18:38, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Marketing - 'Orangy tangs'

I'm just wondering whether this marketing campaign from 1997, where they used 'Orangey Tangs' should be added to the Marketing section to provide a more detailed marketing history.

Image:Battle_Droid.gif Assassin Droid talk 17:20, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure I heard that the flavouring was as much apricot as orange, in spite of marketing to the contrary... 82.10.111.59 19:11, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Brand

Tesco sell "jaffa cakes". Presumably they're allowed to do this because it's a generic term rather than a brand name. Hence, where did the name come from? Is there a Mr Jaffa?

Jaffa is a generic term for anything flavoured with chocolate and orange. (For example in Australia we have sweets called Jaffas, which are balls of chocolate covered with orange candy.) I assume "Jaffa" and "Jaffa cake" cannot be trademarked for this reason, like the terms "chocolate cake" or "strawberry" can't, which is why you'll see them by different manufacturers. As for where it originates, not sure but Jaffa is also a type of orange, from Isreal. --Jquarry 22:36, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ian Richardson claim

I've moved this here temporarily, pending a reliable source:

"In 2006 the actor Ian Richardson claimed that it was his father that had originally invented the Jaffa Cake."

I could only find a reference to it here here. — Matt Crypto 07:46, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

That's sounds so obscure it's probably true. Made up trivia and urban legends generally involve more interesting or talked-about people than Ian Richardson, so I think it's likely he said it. Be useful to have a reliable cite though. This is a bit like Michael Nesmith of the The Monkees, whose mother invented Liquid Paper. Crazysuit 15:22, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Ian Richardson directly confirmed this in an interview on The Steve Wright Show in July 2006 on BBC Radio 2. He said that his father used to continually bring test samples home for his family to try and now Ian Richardson can't stand the sight of them! - Richard Bignell 13 November 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 20.133.0.14 (talk) 14:00, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Measured with a ruler?

I genuinely think whoever did that needs to back away from wiki--I'll bring the food 01:47, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

It just shows it was someone with an engineer's mind. And btw, a real engineer would use a caliper, not a ruler. :-) bogdan 00:17, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Apricot Centre

Has anyone bothered to read the ingredients on a packet? The centre is not made of orange, it is made of apricot, and I think QI can back me up on that argument (sources are not available though). Alex Holowczak 13:11, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

This is easy enough for any Brit to check for themselves. From the tube right in front of me: "INGREDIENTS: Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Plain Chocolate (20%)[Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fat, Butter Oil, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E476), Cocoa Butter, Natural Vanilla Flavouring], Sugar, Wheat Flour, Whole Egg, Water, Dextrose Monohydrate, Concentrated Orange Juice (8% Orange Juice Equivalent), Glucose Syrup, Citric Acid, Humectant (Glycerine), Gelling Agent (Pectin), Vegetable Oil, Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Disodium Disphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Dried Whole Egg, Natural Flavourings, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Natural Colour (Curcumin)." --db 86.7.20.47 17:11, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia from Spaced

Removed the following non-sensical statement:

"*In episode five of Series One of the British sitcom Spaced, the protagonist Tim says to have some Jaffa Cakes in his coat pocket as an answer to the equation that can predict all behavior in the universe."

It's a badly worded sentence so I'm not sure what it means, but I believe what happens is that one of the other characters is talking about an equation for predicting the future when Tim realises he has some Jaffa Cakes in his coat pocket. If someone can check the DVD and phrase it in a way that makes sense then, well, feel free I guess.

[edit] Buffy

Not having the DVDs, I can't provide the exact quote, but I recall one of the last episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer made reference to Jaffa Cakes. It was when the town had been all but deserted, and some of the group returned from a scavenging expedition. Amongst their spoils were Jaffa Cakes, which Giles was extremely happy about. Optimus Sledge 21:43, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other fruits

I just bought some "Cherry Jaffa Cakes" which have the filling of cherries instead of oranges! Is that just an isolated incident (the company producing them is from Poland) or is it part of a bigger conspiracy? bogdan 00:15, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jaffa Cakes in Popular Culture

This section has two statements which shouldnt be here.

the first is "Pucko from the EDIT boards believes that Jaffa Cakes are 'gash' " I do not think the opinion of someone on a message board has any relevance to the article.

The second is "A 'jaffa' is also a slang term for a man with a low sperm count, i.e. 'seedless'..... " Again not relevant as this term relates to the Jaffa seedless orange and not the Jaffa Cake. Deckchair 12:29, 18 September 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Different sponge

They changed the spongy bit of Jaffa Cakes about 10-15 years ago. The base used to be a firmer sponge and when they changed it to a more er.. spongy sponge, it really put me off. I can't have been alone. The new 'spongier' sponge was advertised as a virtue on the packets. Safeway's Jaffa Cakes still had the firmer sponge and we used to get those instead for a while. I still hanker after the old style. This change in formula is not mentioned in the article. Jooler 16:43, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fat Content

This needs rewritting:

A test was taken on how much a jaffa cake weighs. The first jaffa cake weighed 11.78g, the second one weighed 11.79g and the final cake weighed 13.13g which shows there could be double the fat content in each jaffa cake so a Jaffa Cake could be 8.2% fat.

One cake weighing more than another proves nothing at all about the fat content. If it can be demonstrated that the weight difference is entirely in the part of the cake that contains fat, then the claim may have credibility, but more details need to be specified. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.46.233.8 (talk) 09:38, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism - cake or biscuit?

Somebody seems determined to vandalise this page, by creating new accounts and changing words like "cake" to "biscuit" and "biscuit" to "bread". Someone who knows more about it please block them. It only takes a few seconds to revert the edits, but blocking would seem to be the appropriate action. Info 151 22:27, 16 May 2008 (UTC)