Shake 'n Bake

Shake 'n Bake, manufactured by Kraft Foods, is a flavored bread crumb-style coating for chicken and pork. The product is applied by placing raw meat pieces in a bag containing the coating, closing the bag, and shaking so the particles adhere. The coated meat is then baked in the oven.

First introduced in 1965 by General Foods, it is currently marketed under the Kraft brand.

Concept

Shake 'n Bake mimics the texture on the outside of fried foods and is similar to a bread crumb coating. It provides a baked alternative preparation to that of fried chicken and other fried foods that use cooking oil. Shake 'n Bake has been marketed as a healthier and less-greasy alternative to frying, with slogans such as "Shake 'n Bake: It's better than frying" and "Why fry? Shake 'n Bake."

Ingredients

Shake 'n Bake Original Pork flavor contains the following ingredients: enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate Vitamin B1, riboflavin (vitamin B₂), folic acid), salt, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, sugar, contains less than 2% of paprika, dextrose, dried onions, spice, caramel color, yeast, annatto (color), and natural flavor. Barbecue flavor Shake 'n Bake includes sugar, maltodextrin, salt, modified food starch, spice, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, brown sugar, mustard seed flour, dried onions, dried tomatoes, dried garlic, beet powder (color), citric acid, natural flavor, caramel color, vinegar, and sodium silicoaluminate as an anticaking agent.

Advertisements

Shake 'n Bake is particularly noted for its television commercials in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, starring such child actors as Carly Schroeder, Taylor Momsen, and Philip Amelio. In the ads, the aforementioned children help make Shake 'n Bake with their mothers, enthusiastically exclaiming "And I helped!"

Advertisements for Shake 'n Bake in 1981 included Ann B. Davis, who played Alice the housekeeper on The Brady Bunch. The ad copy includes the catchphrases, "Gotta be crispy, gotta be golden, gotta be juicy" and "You just shake then bake, and that chicken's so crisp and juicy and golden it makes me look golden, if you know what I mean."

In 1990, two commercials were produced which show what pork chops and chicken look like after frying. They then show that pork chops and chicken are more crispy, more juicy, more plump, and more tender when used with Shake n' Bake than frying. They end with "Why fry? Shake n' Bake."

In 1998, a new commercial was tried with a different catchphrase; "I made Shake 'n Bake, and Mama helped". This was only aired a few times and is the least recognized commercial.

In popular culture

The term "shake and bake" has seen multiple uses in popular culture:

• In The Simpsons Homer is seen to like Shake n' Bake. When working as a food critic he claims Marge's cooking only has two moves, shake and bake, to which Marge replies "You love Shake n' Bake, you used to put it in your coffee."
• The "Shake n' Bake" is Portland Trailblazer Jamal Crawford's signature move, which is meant to evade the defender during a drive to the basket.
• "Shake 'n' Bake" is used in sports vernacular for a kind of play where an offensive player escapes the guard of a defensive player, particularly done in an emphatic or dramatic manner.
• In the film The Air Up There, Charles Gitonga Maina's character is taught "the Jimmy Dolan shake n' bake move" (fake left, fake right, between your opponent's legs) however he was not allowed to use it when he played at Lynn University because his coach would not allow it.
• The phrase was used in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby as the catchphrase of the lead characters for leaving his competition behind (in the dust).
• "Shake 'n Bake" is a slang term used among medical professionals and cancer patients, referring to the anti-fungal drug amphotericin, which causes chills and a high fever.
• "Shake 'n' Bake" is military slang for the combined use of high explosive and white phosphorus artillery rounds.

The term is often used to describe something that has been made quickly or pre-made, and installed/implemented with little effort and low cost. Examples include:

• Cheaply-made un-original films.
• Description of a method of making methamphetamine.
• A wild land firefighters emergency fire shelter is sometimes referred to as a "Shake 'n Bake bag".
• A "Shake n' Bake Sergeant" was a Vietnam War-era term for a young, non-commissioned officer (NCO) of the United States Army who gained his stripes quickly through attending an NCO school with little actual time in the military.

External links

• Kraft Foods