Nilla
Encyclopedia
Nilla is a brand owned by Nabisco
that is most closely associated with its line of wafer
biscuit
s. The name is a shortened version of vanilla
, a flavor common to all Nilla-branded products (Nilla wafers have been flavored with synthetic vanillin
since their introduction).
Nilla wafers are round wafers that are often eaten with milk
as a snack. "Nilla wafer" is used colloquially as a genericized trademark
for similar products. The brand was registered in the United States in 1968, having been first used in late 1967.
cream pie
or with banana pudding
. A banana-flavored Nilla wafer was also offered at one time. The wafers are also used in icebox cake
which is a no bake cake made by layering wafers with cream and pudding. Nabisco
also offers Nilla-branded pie crusts designed to save time for cooks who would otherwise have to crush the wafers by hand. The pie crust brand was registered in 1993. Nabisco also sponsored the "B'Nilla Bowl" game in 2001.
, Nabisco was combined with Kraft Foods
and spun off from Phillip Morris in 2007.
has written several popular blogs about his love for Nilla Wafers.
The Guy Clark
song "L.A. Freeway" contains the line "Throw away all your papers and that moldy box of Vanilla Wafers".
In Richard Wright
's "Black Boy", he mentions Nilla Wafers several times and shares that they are his favorite food.
Internet comedian Brock Baker has stated that his screen name McGoiter came from a cartoon character of his own invention who had a supply of Nilla Wafers.
Mr. Church, the head of the U.S. Department of Military Sciences in Jonathan Maberry
's sci-fi novel Patient Zero, has a particular fondness for Nilla Wafers and is often seen eating them. This is a source of some amusement and bafflement to the other characters.
The antihero of the Monster Nation zombie novel by David Wellington, unable to remember her old name, decides to call herself Nilla after eating a packet of wafers.
Nabisco
Nabisco is an American brand of cookies and snacks. Headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey, the company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Kraft Foods. Nabisco's plant in Chicago, a production facility at 7300 S...
that is most closely associated with its line of wafer
Wafer (cooking)
In cooking, a wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, and dry biscuit, often used to decorate ice cream. Wafers can also be made into cookies with cream flavoring sandwiched between them. They frequently have a waffle surface pattern but may also be patterned with insignia of the food's...
biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
s. The name is a shortened version of vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
, a flavor common to all Nilla-branded products (Nilla wafers have been flavored with synthetic vanillin
Vanillin
Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde, an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. Its functional groups include aldehyde, ether, and phenol. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. It is also found in Leptotes bicolor, roasted coffee and the Chinese red pine...
since their introduction).
Nilla wafers are round wafers that are often eaten with milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
as a snack. "Nilla wafer" is used colloquially as a genericized trademark
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
for similar products. The brand was registered in the United States in 1968, having been first used in late 1967.
Uses
Several varieties of Nilla wafers are manufactured, including a reduced fat version. Nilla wafers are often used in homemade recipes as an ingredient, particularly for bananaBanana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
cream pie
Cream pie
A cream pie is a type of pie filled with a rich custard or pudding that is made from milk, cream, flour, and eggs. It can come in many forms, including vanilla, lemon, lime, peanut butter, banana, coconut, and chocolate. A constant feature of all cream pies is the whipped cream topping...
or with banana pudding
Pudding
Pudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.In the United States, pudding characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.In the United Kingdom and...
. A banana-flavored Nilla wafer was also offered at one time. The wafers are also used in icebox cake
Icebox Cake
An icebox cake , zebra cake , or chocolate ripple cake/log is a dessert consisting of whipped cream and chocolate wafers. The back-of-the-box recipe on Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers indicates that the wafers are stacked to form a log with whipped cream cementing them together, and then the log...
which is a no bake cake made by layering wafers with cream and pudding. Nabisco
Nabisco
Nabisco is an American brand of cookies and snacks. Headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey, the company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Kraft Foods. Nabisco's plant in Chicago, a production facility at 7300 S...
also offers Nilla-branded pie crusts designed to save time for cooks who would otherwise have to crush the wafers by hand. The pie crust brand was registered in 1993. Nabisco also sponsored the "B'Nilla Bowl" game in 2001.
History
Briefly owned by Philip MorrisPhilip Morris (tobacconist)
Philip Morris was a British tobacconist and a cigarette importer whose name was later used for Philip Morris Inc. Ltd. established in New York in 1902.In 1847, Philip Morris opened a shop on Bond Street in London...
, Nabisco was combined with Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
and spun off from Phillip Morris in 2007.
Cultural references
Comedian and published humorist Daniel DickeyDaniel Dickey
Daniel Dickey is a popular comedian, director and published humorist. He had been featured on MTV's Room Raiders, MTV's True Life , directed several shorts for Nick Cannon's Wild 'n Out and later worked as a red carpet corespondent for NBCUniversal...
has written several popular blogs about his love for Nilla Wafers.
The Guy Clark
Guy Clark
Guy Clark is an American Texas Country artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell....
song "L.A. Freeway" contains the line "Throw away all your papers and that moldy box of Vanilla Wafers".
In Richard Wright
Richard Wright (author)
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
's "Black Boy", he mentions Nilla Wafers several times and shares that they are his favorite food.
Internet comedian Brock Baker has stated that his screen name McGoiter came from a cartoon character of his own invention who had a supply of Nilla Wafers.
Mr. Church, the head of the U.S. Department of Military Sciences in Jonathan Maberry
Jonathan Maberry
Jonathan Maberry is the multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Ghost Road Blues, the first of the Pine Deep Trilogy, a series of supernatural horror novels...
's sci-fi novel Patient Zero, has a particular fondness for Nilla Wafers and is often seen eating them. This is a source of some amusement and bafflement to the other characters.
The antihero of the Monster Nation zombie novel by David Wellington, unable to remember her old name, decides to call herself Nilla after eating a packet of wafers.