Ever wondered about the origins of the fortune cookie? They are almost certainly not Chinese.
The fortune cookie may trace to Japan, reported the New York Times, but they were made popular in America by Chinese or Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century. Several U.S. companies claim to have made the first fortune cookies.
The largest in the world is Wonton Food, Inc., based in New York City. The factory opened in Chinatown in 1973, but has since moved to Brooklyn. They make over 4.5 million fortune cookies each day. In 1992, the company introduced fortune cookies to China.
Until World War II, fortune cookies were known as "fortune tea cakes" — likely reflecting their origins in Japanese tea cakes.
Fortune cookies moved from being a confection dominated by Japanese-Americans to one dominated by Chinese-Americans sometime around World War II. One theory for why this occurred is because of the Japanese American internment during World War II, which forcibly put over 100,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps, including those who had produced fortune cookies. This gave an opportunity for Chinese manufacturers.
Fortune cookies before the early 20th century, however, were all made by hand. The fortune cookie industry changed dramatically after the fortune cookie machine was invented by Shuck Yee from Oakland, California.
The machine allowed for mass production of fortune cookies which subsequently allowed the cookies to drop in price to become the novelty and courtesy dessert many Americans are familiar with after their meals at most Chinese restaurants today.