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 super popular brand of chocolate biscuit from Australia. It was first made by the Arnott's company in 1964. Each Tim Tam has two crunchy, malty biscuits with a creamy chocolate filling in the middle. The whole thing is covered in a thin layer of yummy chocolate.
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How Tim Tams Started
The idea for the Tim Tam biscuit came from a person named Ian Norris. In 1958, he traveled around the world looking for new ideas for snacks. While he was in Britain, he saw a biscuit called the Penguin. He thought, "I can make an even better one!"
Tim Tams first went on sale on September 10, 1964. The name "Tim Tam" was chosen by Ross Arnott. He went to a horse race called the Kentucky Derby in 1958. The winning horse was named Tim Tam, and Ross thought it was a perfect name for the new biscuit. Later, in 2008, another company called Pepperidge Farm started bringing Tim Tams to the United States. Even today, Tim Tams are still "Made in Australia."
Making Tim Tams
The first Arnott's bakery opened way back in 1865 in a place called Newcastle, New South Wales. Most Tim Tams and other Arnott's snacks are still made in Australia. They have bakeries in big cities like Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane. In 2009, Arnott's spent a lot of money to build a new, super modern production line in Brisbane. This helped them make more biscuits and create more jobs.
At the Huntingwood bakery in Western Sydney, the machines can make about 3,000 Tim Tams every minute! Each workday, they use 20 tons of the creamy filling and 27 tons of chocolate coating. First, the biscuit dough is mixed for 20 minutes. Then, it's cut into thin pieces, and 11 small holes are punched into each biscuit. They bake in hot ovens for 90 minutes. After baking, cool air helps the biscuits chill down. Then, they are flipped over, filled with cream, dipped in chocolate, and cooled again.
Different Kinds of Tim Tams
Since the early 2000s, Arnott's has made many different kinds of Tim Tams. Some are special limited editions that are only available for a short time. You can find flavors like double coat, dark chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, dark chocolate mint, honeycomb, and choc orange.
In 2011, a special cheese-flavored Tim Tam was made just for people in Indonesia.
In 2014, Arnott's worked with a famous Australian dessert chef named Adriano Zumbo. They created new Tim Tam flavors like salted caramel, choc brownie, and raspberry white choc. Later that year, they also launched a Red Velvet flavor and peanut butter-flavored Tim Tams.
Around Valentine's Day in 2015, Arnott's released Choc Raspberry and Coconut Cream flavors, again with Chef Zumbo. In October 2015, they added Tim Tam Choc Banana. In 2016, they tried "mocktail" flavors like piña colada and espresso martini. They also introduced toffee apple, pineapple, and mango flavors. In 2017, they launched four new flavors with Gelato Messina, including chocolate mint and salted caramel.
In April 2024, Arnott's made a Tim Tam flavor inspired by Jatz crackers. This was a fun idea that started as an April Fools' Day joke in 2023.
In the United States, you can usually find the original, dark chocolate, and caramel Tim Tams. In 2017, a dark chocolate-mint flavor was also made for the American market.
Tim Tam Fun and Ads
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 other ads too.
In 2006, Arnott's made a special pink Tim Tam to help support the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
In 2012, a fan on Facebook wished that Tim Tams grew on trees. So, Arnott's "planted" a Tim Tam orchard in a public place called Martin Place. This fun event got a lot of attention online and helped sell more Tim Tams.
In 2016, Arnott's asked Sophie Monk to be in their TV ads for the Tim Tam mocktail flavors.
In 2022, Tim Tams were featured on an Australian cooking show called Snackmasters.
National Tim Tam Day
To celebrate the biscuit, Arnott's decided that February 16 would be National Tim Tam Day. They do fun things to celebrate. For example, in 2019, a town called Tamworth, New South Wales was temporarily renamed "Tim Tamworth"!
For National Tim Tam Day in 2022, Arnott's sold special Tim Tam items online, like perfume, slippers, and mugs. They brought the store back in November 2022 with more items like body lotion and candles.
For National Tim Tam Day in 2024, Arnott's gave out free Tim Tams in Melbourne. They even renamed them "Tay Tam" for a short time to honor the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who was performing there.
The Tim Tam Slam
The Tim Tam Slam is a super fun way to eat a Tim Tam! It's also known by other names like Tim Tam Shotgun or Tim Tam Suck. Here's how you do it:
- First, bite off a little bit from opposite ends of the Tim Tam.
- Then, dip one end into a hot drink, like hot chocolate or milk.
- Quickly suck the drink through the biscuit, like it's a straw!
- The biscuit inside gets soft, and the chocolate coating starts to melt.
- Before it falls apart, pop the whole yummy biscuit into your mouth!
Arnott's even used the name Tim Tam Suck in an advertisement back in 2002. In 2019, they released a special "Slams"-branded version of the Tim Tam biscuit.
Similar Biscuits
Many other companies make biscuits that are similar to Tim Tams. For example, Woolworths has "Choccy Slams," and Coles has "Chocolate Surrenders." Aldi sells "Just Divine" biscuits.
In New Zealand, a company called Griffin's Foods makes a biscuit called "Chit Chats" that is like a Tim Tam. In the Netherlands, Jumbo supermarkets sold "Dip&Nip Cookies." In 2021, Trader Joe's in the United States released their own version called "Aussie-style Chocolate Crème Sandwich Cookies."
