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 puffed corn and tastes like yummy peanut butter. An Israeli company called Osem makes it in a city called Kiryat Gat.
Bamba is one of the most popular snacks in Israel. It first came out in 1964. About a quarter of all snacks sold in Israel are Bamba! Other companies make similar snacks, but Bamba is special. The company Osem named it 'Bamba' because it sounds like a word a baby might say!
Contents
What is Bamba?
Bamba is a light, crunchy snack made from puffed maize (corn) and flavored with peanut-butter. It doesn't have any artificial colors or things to make it last longer (preservatives). Bamba is also made with good fats and has extra vitamins added to it. It's also certified kosher, which means it follows special food rules. Some people describe it as being like "Cheez Doodles without the cheese."
How Bamba is Made
Making Bamba is a cool process!
Popping the Corn
First, corn grits are "popped" using high pressure. This turns them into long, white, puffed lines of plain Bamba.
Cutting and Baking
These long lines are then cut into small, bite-sized pieces. Next, they go into a drying room. Here, they are baked with hot air for about 20 seconds. This makes them super crispy!
Adding the Peanut Butter
The delicious peanut butter is added at the very end. A worker pours liquid peanut butter into big spinning drums. As the drums turn, the puffed corn pieces get completely covered in the peanut butter.
Cooling and Packaging
After getting coated, the warm Bamba travels along a conveyor belt to cool down. Once it's cool, it's ready to be packaged and sent to stores!
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 other flavors like corn, grill, and caraway. The peanut butter flavor became the most popular and is still the main one today!
Over the years, Osem has created many fun variations:
- Sweet Bamba: This one is strawberry-flavored and is round, not oblong. It used to be red with artificial dye, but now it gets its color from beetroot.
- Nougat-filled Bamba: Introduced in 2008, this Bamba has a sweet nougat filling inside.
- Halva and Chocolate-filled Bamba: In 2010, they added Bamba filled with halva (a sweet treat) and Bamba filled with chocolate.
- Bamba-filled Bamba: This came out in 2013 and is Bamba filled with a peanut butter paste!
- Bissli-Bamba Mix: In 2014, Osem mixed Bamba with another popular snack called Bissli in the same bag.
- New Shapes and Flavors: They've also made coin-shaped "round Bamba," tiny "Bambini," Pretzel-shaped Bamba for holidays, and even flavors like banana punch, caramel biscuit cream, ice-coffee, and cappuccino cream.
Bamba is so popular that in 2017, the American store Trader Joe's started selling Bamba imported directly from Osem in Israel!
Bamba and Peanut Allergies
Since Bamba is made with peanuts, people with peanut allergies need to be careful. However, something interesting has been discovered about Bamba and allergies!
Studies have shown that in Israel, where babies often eat Bamba from a young age, peanut allergies are much less common. One study found that Jewish children in the UK had ten times more peanut allergies than Israeli children. This suggests that introducing peanuts early in a child's diet might help prevent allergies.
Another big study, called the LEAP study, also showed that children who were at a higher risk for peanut allergy had a much lower chance of getting it if they ate softened Bamba early in life. This has made medical experts in the United States think about how Bamba could help reduce peanut allergies in children around the world.
Bamba Advertising
Bamba's advertising often features 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 head. For International Women's Day in 2020, a female "Baby Bamba" was introduced. She wears a pink T-shirt and has pigtails. In 2021, the baseball team New York Mets even announced they were partnering with the Bamba brand!
See also
- Bissli, another snack by Osem
- List of brand name snack foods
