Tim Tam facts for kids
A plate of Tim Tams
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| Type | Snack food |
|---|---|
| Owner | Arnott's Biscuits Holdings |
| Country | Australia |
| Introduced | 1964 |
Tim Tam is a very popular chocolate biscuit from Australia. It was first made by the company Arnott's in 1964.
A Tim Tam has two crispy, malted biscuits. These biscuits are held together by a yummy chocolate cream filling. The whole thing is then covered in a thin layer of textured chocolate.
Contents
The Story of Tim Tam
The idea for the Tim Tam biscuit came from a person named Ian Norris. In 1958, he traveled around the world. He was looking for ideas for new snacks.
While in Britain, Ian found a biscuit called the Penguin. He thought he could make an even better one!
The Tim Tam biscuit first went on sale in 1964. It got its name from Ross Arnott. He went to a horse race called the Kentucky Derby in 1958. The winning horse was named Tim Tam. Ross thought this name would be perfect for the new biscuit.
Later, in 2008, a company called Pepperidge Farm started bringing Tim Tams to the United States. Tim Tams are still made in Australia. The packages in the US say "Australia's Favorite Cookie." (In America, they call biscuits "cookies.")
How Tim Tams Are Made
The first Arnott's bakery opened way back in 1865. It was in a place called Newcastle, New South Wales. Most Tim Tams are still made in Australia. They are made in bakeries in cities like Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane.
In 2009, Arnott's spent a lot of money, about A$37 million. They built a super modern production line in their Brisbane factory. This helped them make more Tim Tams and create more jobs.
At the Huntingwood bakery in Western Sydney, the machines are very fast. They can make about 3,000 Tim Tams every minute! Each workday, they use 20 tons of cream filling. They also use 27 tons of chocolate coating.
Here's how they make them:
- First, they mix the biscuit dough. It has sugar, flour, colors, and flavors. This mixing takes about 20 minutes.
- Next, the biscuits are cut very thin, about 1 millimeter thick. Each biscuit gets 11 small holes punched into it.
- Then, they are baked in gas ovens for 90 minutes.
- After baking, cold air cools the biscuits down.
- The biscuits are then flipped over. They get filled with the creamy center.
- Finally, they are dipped in chocolate and cooled again.
Different Kinds of Tim Tams
Since the 2000s, Arnott's has made many different kinds of Tim Tams. Some are only available for a short time.
Some popular flavors include:
- Double coat (extra chocolate!)
- Dark chocolate
- White chocolate
- Caramel
- Dark chocolate mint
- Honeycomb
- Choc orange
In 2011, a cheese-flavored Tim Tam was made for people in Indonesia. These are made by a company called Halo Arnotts there.
In 2014, Arnott's worked with a famous Australian dessert chef, Adriano Zumbo. They made special flavors like salted caramel, choc brownie, and raspberry white choc. Later, they added Red Velvet. Also in 2014, peanut butter Tim Tams were released. However, these did not actually contain peanuts.
Other fun flavors have been released over the years. These include Choc Raspberry, Coconut Cream, Choc Banana, and even "mocktail" flavors. The mocktail flavors were like drinks such as piña colada or espresso martini.
In 2016, toffee apple and pineapple flavors came out. In 2017, they launched new flavors with Gelato Messina. These included chocolate mint, salted caramel and vanilla, coconut and lychee, and black forest.
In April 2024, Arnott's released a Tim Tam flavor inspired by Jatz crackers. This was first a joke on April Fools' Day in 2023.
In the United States, you can find original, dark chocolate, and caramel Tim Tams. In 2017, a dark chocolate-mint flavor was made just for the American market.
Tim Tam Marketing
Arnott's has used many ways to tell people about Tim Tams.
In 1994, a famous actress named Cate Blanchett was in a Tim Tam TV ad. She played a woman who asked a genie for "a packet of Tim Tams that never runs out." Arnott's has used the genie idea in ads since then.
In 2006, Arnott's worked with the National Breast Cancer Foundation. They made a special pink Tim Tam. This helped support the pink ribbon campaign for breast cancer awareness.
In 2012, a fan on Facebook wished Tim Tams grew on trees. So, Arnott's "planted" a Tim Tam orchard in a public park! This was a fun way to get people talking about the biscuits.
In 2016, the singer Sophie Monk was in TV ads for the Tim Tam mocktail flavors.
In 2022, Tim Tams were even shown on a cooking show called Snackmasters.
National Tim Tam Day
To celebrate the biscuit, Arnott's made February 16th "National Tim Tam Day." They do fun things to promote it. For example, in 2019, a town called Tamworth, New South Wales was briefly renamed "Tim Tamworth."
For National Tim Tam Day 2022, Arnott's sold special Tim Tam items online. These included perfume, slippers, and a mug. In 2024, they gave out "Tay Tam" biscuits in Melbourne. This was to honor the singer Taylor Swift who was performing there.
The Tim Tam Slam
The Tim Tam Slam is a fun way to eat a Tim Tam. It's also called the Tim Tam Shotgun or Tim Tam Suck.
Here's how you do it:
- Bite off a small piece from both ends of a Tim Tam.
- Dip one end into a hot drink, like hot chocolate or tea.
- Suck the drink through the biscuit, using it like a straw.
- The biscuit's inside gets soft, and the chocolate outside starts to melt.
- Then, you quickly eat the whole yummy, melted biscuit!
Arnott's even used the name Tim Tam Suck in an ad campaign in 2002. In 2019, they released a special "Slams"-branded Tim Tam biscuit.
Similar Biscuits
Many other companies make biscuits that are like Tim Tams.
- Woolworths has "Choccy Slams."
- Coles sells "Chocolate Surrenders."
- Aldi has "Just Divine" biscuits.
- British supermarkets also have their own versions.
In New Zealand, a company called Griffin's Foods makes "Chit Chats." In the Netherlands, Jumbo supermarkets sold "Dip&Nip Cookies." In 2021, Trader Joe's in the United States released "Aussie-style Chocolate Crème Sandwich Cookies."
In 2003, Arnott's had a disagreement with Dick Smith Foods. Dick Smith Foods made a biscuit called "Temptin." Arnott's felt it looked too much like a Tim Tam. They settled the issue without going to court. Dick Smith Foods had also made a Tim Tam copy called "TTs" before.
