Bamba (snack) facts for kids
Peanut-butter-flavored Bamba
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| Course | Snack |
|---|---|
| Place of origin |  Israel |
| Created by | Osem |
| Main ingredients | Peanuts, maize, Sunflower oil, salt |
| Variations | Sweet Bamba, Nougat-filled Bamba, Halva-filled Bamba |
| 544 kcal (2278 kJ) | |
Bamba (Hebrew: במבה) is a super popular snack from Israel. It's made from maize (which is like corn) that's puffed up and then covered in a yummy peanut-butter flavor. The Osem company makes Bamba in Kiryat Gat, Israel.
Bamba is one of the most loved snacks in Israel. It first came out in 1964. Today, Bamba makes up a huge part of the snack market in Israel, about 25%! There's a similar snack in Germany called "Erdnussflips" that came out in 1963. Instead of peanut butter, it uses peanut dust. Other companies also make similar snacks, but Bamba is special. Osem chose the name "Bamba" because it sounded like something a baby would say.
Contents
What is Bamba?
Bamba is a light and crispy snack. It's made from puffed maize that gets its amazing taste from peanut-butter. Bamba is a healthy choice because it doesn't have any preservatives or food coloring. It's also made with extra vitamins and has good fats called Unsaturated fat. A small serving of Bamba (about 28 grams) has about 160 calories. Many people describe Bamba as being like "Cheez Doodles without the cheese."
How Bamba is Made
Making Bamba is a cool process! It starts with corn grits, which are tiny pieces of corn. These grits are "popped" using high pressure. This turns them into long, white, puffed lines of Bamba that don't have any flavor yet.
Next, these long lines are cut into small, bite-sized pieces. Then, they go into a special drying room. Here, they are baked with hot air for just 20 seconds. This makes them super crispy! The peanut butter that gives Bamba its famous taste comes from Argentina. It's added at the very end. Workers pour liquid peanut butter into big spinning drums. As the drums turn, all the little Bamba pieces get perfectly coated. After that, the warm Bamba travels along a conveyor belt to cool down before it's packaged up and ready to eat!
Different Kinds of Bamba
When Bamba first came out in 1964, they tried a cheese flavor, but people didn't like it much. So, Osem quickly tried new things. They launched Bamba in different flavors like corn, grill, and caraway, but the peanut butter flavor became the most popular and is still the main one today.
Over the years, Osem has created many exciting Bamba flavors:
- Sweet Bamba: This one is strawberry-flavored and is round instead of the usual oblong shape. It's also red! It used to get its color from artificial dye, but now it's colored with beetroot.
- Bamba Hazelnut: This looks like regular Bamba but has a creamy, brown hazelnut filling.
- Nougat-filled Bamba: Introduced in 2008, this version has a sweet nougat filling.
- Halva-filled Bamba: This came out in 2010 and has a delicious halva filling.
- Chocolate-filled Bamba: Also launched in 2010, this one is filled with chocolate.
- Bamba-filled Bamba: In 2013, they even made Bamba filled with peanut-butter paste!
- Bissli-Bamba Mix: In 2014, Osem mixed Bamba with their other popular snack, Bissli, in one package.
- Banana Punch Bamba: This flavor was introduced in 2015.
- Round Bamba: In 2016, they made coin-sized, round Bamba.
- Bambini: A mini version of the snack, also from 2016.
- Pretzel-shaped Bamba: A fun shape for Purim in 2017.
- Caramel Biscuit Cream-filled Bamba: Another creamy filled Bamba from 2017.
- Ice-coffee filled Bamba: Introduced in 2018.
- Cappuccino Cream-filled Bamba and Bamba with Chocolate: Both came out in winter 2019.
In 2017, the American store Trader Joe's started selling Bamba under their own brand name, importing it directly from Osem in Israel.
Bamba and Peanut Allergies
Since Bamba is made with peanuts, it's important for people with peanut allergies to be careful. However, Bamba has been part of some interesting studies about peanut allergies.
Research has shown that when babies eat peanuts early in life, they might be less likely to develop a peanut allergy later on. A study in 2008 found that because Israeli babies eat a lot of Bamba, peanut allergies are not very common in Israel. Another study, called the LEAP study, also showed that children who were at high risk for peanut allergies had a much lower chance of getting them if they ate softened Bamba sticks when they were very young. In fact, these children showed an 81% reduction in peanut allergy!
Scientists think that Bamba could even be a safer way to help people with peanut allergies get used to peanuts, compared to eating raw or roasted peanuts. This is because Bamba has less of the strong allergy-causing parts of peanuts.
Bamba's Advertising
Bamba's advertisements often feature a cute cartoon character called "Baby Bamba." He's usually shown wearing a blue diaper, with one tooth, and a single ginger curl on his bald head. In 2020, for International Women's Day, a girl "Baby Bamba" was introduced. She wears a pink T-shirt and has pigtails. In March 2021, the baseball team New York Mets even announced that they were partnering with the Bamba brand!
See also
In Spanish: Erdnussflips para niños
- Bissli, another popular snack made by Osem
