"Why do they call it Ovaltine? The mug is round. The jar is round. They should call it Roundtine. That's gold, Jerry, gold!"
Well, I'm going to ruin Jerry Seinfeld's joke, that delighted hack comedian Kenny Bania so much. The original name for the product was Ovomaltine, from the Latin words for "egg" and "malt," which were two of the substance's main ingredients. However, Ovomaltine was misspelled on some trademark registration papers, meaning in English-speaking countries its name is Ovaltine.
Whatever you call it, this product was developed by a chemist, Dr. Georg Walder, and his son Albert in Bern, Switzerland, back in 1904. Ovomaltine/Ovaltine is a powder that's mixed in with hot or cold milk, to make a quasi-milkshake. It was quite a hit, as it was being exported to England by 1909, and by 1915 it was being manufactured in the U.S. It's enjoyed pretty much around the world. Some of its more favored homes, besides the places already mentioned, are Brazil, China, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Ovaltine was marketed as a nutritional, energy drink. Olympic athletes guzzled it down in 1932. During Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's initial 1953 ascent of Mt. Everest, Ovaltine was in their packs. I think it's a bit of stretch to call it a health beverage, but it does lack fat, and has Vitamin B6, iron, Vitamin D, and calcium (the milk also provides/augments some of these nutrients, obviously).
The maker of Ovaltine/Ovomaltine is complicated. After several acquisitions over the years, the Ovaltine trademark is currently owned by Associated British Foods, although it's made by Walder AG, which in turn is a subsidiary of Twinings. To add to the fun, in the U.S. Ovaltine is owned by Nestle. Both of these current manufacturers bought the rights from Novartis, and the Himmel Group owned it for a time in the 1990's. Confused yet? I sure am. For one final convoluted item, the cookies I got were made in Jamaica, by International Biscuits Ltd. out of Kingston. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, Ovaltine also makes chocolate bars, Easter Eggs, cereals, and cookies/biscuits.
Anyway, here's what I thought: These were rectangular in shape, about 5 cm. by 4 cm (about 2 inches by 1.5 inches), light brown in color, with "Ovaltine" and a star symbol embossed on them. The main ingredients included wheat flour, Ovaltine malt drink mix, milk powder, reduced cocoa, sugar, salt, and corn syrup. The taste was pretty solid. Not spectacular, but good. I didn't detect much chocolate, though. They weren't that sweet, but they were still a decent cookie. I've never actually had Ovaltine that I can recall, but these cookies were alright.
Finally, mention Ovaltine to many people, and their first thought will be the scene in the popular holiday movie "A Christmas Story" (1983), wherein the young Ralphie decodes a "Little Orphan Annie" secret message from the radio show, only to discover it's a "crummy commercial" for Ovaltine. While it is a funny moment, this is actually a fabrication. While Ovaltine was a sponsor for the radio show, and advertisements for it ran before and after the program, the secret messages were previews for the following shows' plots. Also, yet another Ovaltine reference in popular culture came in 1974's "Young Frankenstein," as it's one of a long series of after dinner beverages that Frau Blucher offers Dr. Frankenstein.
Therefore, I'll conclude by advising: Be sure to eat your Ovaltine.
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