Column by J1 Reporter Carli Ahsan

To many, there’s only one right way to eat an Oreo. It is a topic that can get extremely heated between Marian girls. Do you split it? Do you dunk it? Do you eat it whole? Don’t choose the wrong one.

Personally, I dunk it in milk. It is the classic and superior method. Oreos are made to be paired with milk. Their slogan is “Milk’s Favorite Cookie.” Dunking it allows the cookie to get soft, but not soggy to the point of it falling apart. It provides the perfect combination of cookie, cream, and refreshing milk. 

The amount of time you leave it in the milk is a science that needs to be perfected by each dunker. It depends on your opinion of how soft the cookie should be, but the times range anywhere from two seconds to one minute. Two seconds would allow the Oreo to pick up some milk, but not change the consistency of the cookie. One minute could make the cookie fall apart and possibly fall into the milk, every dunker’s nightmare. 

After testing it out, I’ve come to the conclusion that about 55 seconds is the best amount of time to keep the Oreo immersed in the milk. 55 seconds makes the cookie soft all the way through, but not to the point of falling apart.

Recently, a popular hack has been discovered. Dunkers poke a fork into the cream of the Oreo before dunking it into the milk. This lets you dunk the Oreo without getting milk on your fingers and making a mess. 

What do you do when you don’t have milk to dunk your Oreo in? 

The next best option to dunking is splitting the Oreo. When you split the Oreo you divide it into two by pulling the two cookies apart from each other. Although splitting the Oreo can be a challenge considering that sometimes the cream in the middle falls apart or the cookies break, it is definitely better than simply eating the Oreo how it comes in the package, or what some people refer to as the “traditional” method. 

When you split the Oreo, you eat one of the cookies first, the one without cream. Once you’ve eaten the plain cookie, then you move onto the cookie with the cream. This lets you get the perfect mix of cream and cookie. 

Although the traditional method to eating an Oreo eliminates the possibility of making a mess, each bite you take has a disproportionate amount of cream and cookie. There is twice the amount of cookie in your bites, so you don’t get a strong enough taste of the cream to be satisfied. The cream is most people’s favorite part of the Oreo, so with the chocolate cookie completely overpowering that flavor, it makes the experience of eating the Oreo pointless. 

Although there are many brands that try to live up to the classic Nabisco Oreos, there is no substitute. The Great Value Twist and Shouts come in a package that isn’t resealable. Once you open them you either have to eat the whole thing, let them dry out because you have to leave the package open, or get your own bag and transfer all of the remaining cookies yourself. Nabisco Oreos are very customer friendly with their resealable packages.

Even if the classic Oreos don’t suit your taste, Nabisco has created many different varieties of flavors and sizes, ensuring that you will enjoy at least one kind of Oreo. The most popular choices are the traditional Oreo, the best choice, Double Stuf Oreo, which can be too much cream at times, Golden Oreo, which doesn’t give you the classic chocolate and cream flavor, and Oreo Thins, which are too small, causing you to basically eat the whole package before you’re satisfied.

If none of those flavors or sizes are appealing to you, Nabisco also offers Chocolate Oreos, Seasonal Winter and Halloween Oreos, Mint Oreos, Creamsicle Oreos, Peanut Butter Oreos, Red Velvet Oreos, Birthday Cake Oreos, and even Strawberry Milkshake Oreos. Along with those flavors, Nabisco released different sizes such as Oreo Minis, which are just mini bite sized Oreos, and Oreo Thins Bites, which are mini Oreo Thins dipped in either chocolate fudge or white fudge.

With the large variety in flavors and sizes, there is no other brand that is a better choice for your Oreo needs than Nabisco.