For All Things Fig Newton
The Rich History
The Fig Newton, a complex and somewhat underrated snack food, was first mass produced by The Kennedy Biscuit Works, later renamed Nabisco, in 1891. A machine invented by James Henry Mitchell (bless his heart) enabled Fig Newtons to be manufactured. The machine was made of two funnels; one on the inside, filled with fig jam, and the other encasing the first, covering the jam from the first funnel with dough. The inspiration for the name of the cookie was the town of Newton, Massachusetts, which was in close proximity to the Kennedy Biscuit Works company. The name of Fig Newtons has changed through the years. Initially, they were just called Newtons. Then when Kennedy Biscuits merged with the New York Biscuit Company in 1898 and became Nabisco, the cookie was renamed Fig Newton. Years later in 2012, Nabisco once again named them Newtons. The history repeating change was made because the word "fig" was considered less desirable in the name, and because Nabisco started making other flavors of the cookie.