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The Oreo Cookie Test

Today we gave Matthew, our five year old son, the Oreo cookie test to see if he was truly part American, or a Kiwi kid through and through.

His father reasons that Oreos are so disgusting, so unpalatable, such a foul substitute for a real cookie that only Americans like them as part of some perverse cultural quirk.

Matthew has been asking for Oreos for weeks. "Mum, mum," he'll say. "I know what to do with Oreos! First you twist them, then you lick them, then you dunk them!" He has been watching the commercial on television .

Michael was skeptical. "He won't like them," Michael reasoned. "Matt's never grown up in America. He'll take one taste and spit it out."

Well, today we tested that theory when we finally bought some. We laid it all out in front of him - the glass of milk and Oreos on a plate - and waited in anticipation.

Matthew screwed the little black wafers apart in his hand and licked his tongue tentatively across the white inside. He sandwiched the wafers together again, dunked the cookie into the milk, and tasted. We waited for the verdict.

"Mum," he said, "These are delicious!" And he dunked it again.

I smiled. That's my boy.

Posted by deb at July 23, 2003 09:21 AM