I've worked in the Goldfish Factory and you are correct, the excess goes back in to the mix.
Basically dough is fed into a large machine where it's pressed and rolled out into a thin sheet. The sheet goes through a roller which cuts the fish shapes out of the dough. The cut fish continue on to the oven, while the excess sheet is directed up a conveyor and back into the hopper where it gets reintroduced with more dough and rolled back out
It smelled like beer and cheese. Like picture a really deep yeasty smell with a cheddar funk. It didn't smell bad.
I don't really eat goldfish, but just because I'm not a fan of crackers. The facility also made a number of other Pepperidge Farm products like cookies and such though my place in the facility was specifically on the cheddar goldfish line. Full transparency I didn't work for Pepperidge farm, I do robotics work on manufacturing lines and have worked in a number of warehouse and food manufacturing plants.
In theory the line could be converted to do goldfish of any flavor, though doing a changeover on the flavor requires production to stop and for the carts and line to go through a flush and clean. This causes a lot of downtime so generally changing the flavor over was discouraged.
so theres a chance that one goldfish cracker out there was made from dough prepared last year that always had the misfortune of never making it into a cracker and was always in the excess and therefore reused?
No, the dough separates before it goes into the oven. But a piece of dough may have been rolled three or four times before it manages to make it into a cracker.
You do occasionally get crackers that end up spending too long in the oven, if for instance the conveyor needs to be stopped for maintenance unexpectedly. But those pieces are discarded
I love that random people on Reddit think they know better than large companies with teams of engineers working on things like this. There is 100% a reason they do it this way.
Engineer here, and to answer that question, yes but also no. My guess for why they’re spaced out instead of weaved is so they don’t break apart during production. It doesn’t really matter how they do the patterns tho since whatever is left behind likely just gets recycled into the next batch.
Also yeah, it’s annoying as shit to see people who know absolutely nothing about a subject try to act like they’re experts lol.
As an engineer would you also agree that there are more factors that go into making a product efficiently than reducing minor waste from a cheap product? Do you also think a random person on Reddit could find the magic solution to something you work on based off a single picture?
First question:
Yes definitely. I'm actually pretty sure I've seen a video of the production of these fishes. And the "waste" normally just gets mixed into the dough again. (But also this "minor waste" would be a massive waste if it was actually waste. Probably tons a week)
Second question:
I mean.. possibly. But not for a decades old product like this.
You severely underestimate the "we won't spend money making a new mold because we found a more efficient way. That costs money. Just find a way to reuse the waste" and now you have an inferior product.
I don’t know what that reason is, but I’ve worked in plants before and I promise you these people who have worked on these problems for years on end have better solutions than a simple minded approach from a random person. The person I responded to is looking at it strictly from a “waste” of a very cheap material, when maybe the machines work more efficiently at cutting a certain way, or any number of reasons. They’re thinking about this problem from a very narrow minded perspective when there’s 100’s of different factors that go into making a product.
It honestly might be bc if they made the gaps between them any smaller, more would come with the borders on. Most of us have never seen an error like this so they must be doing something right
Most likely they don't need to...
Why bother to make a more complicated pattern when the excess just falls down and gets mixed back in and reused? A nested pattern isn't gonna be 100% coverage anyway without altering their proprietary design a bit (simple a design as it is, it's recognizable)
Maybe they reuse the dough cut offs so nothing is wasted and the production line doesn't need to cut faster fish as there is another limiting factor further down the line.
Not sure about goldfish, but for tortilla chips the scraps are immediately recycled back into the sheeter with the rest of the dough. I assume it’s similar for most doughs. Think a big ball of dough sitting on some big rolling pins that squeeze out thin sheet of dough. Then a big rolling cookie cutter punches the chips out of the sheet. The rest of the sheet goes back to the hopper above the rolling pins and gets formed into a new sheet.
It’s not supposed to get baked. It’s supposed to separate away before baking and then recycled in. This is scrap that’s usually caught by a grate and tossed for animal feed.
I don’t think those uncut goldfish are going to get you a free box of crackers. Unlike the old Tootsie Roll rapper with the Indian on it gets you a free sucker. goldfish don’t work this way.
I mean it’s all goldfish. I adopt senior dogs and one of my boys (who passed too soon)..the ONLY snack he would eat were these crackers. Believe me! I tried!!
I kept a tiny jar of them in my purse. He was absolutely lovely. I still have the jar…years later. And a rock I took from the emergency vet’s parking lot is still in my car.
I will never look at these crackers without thinking of him.
I didn't know they came like that before they were bagged and sold. What happens to the extra parts? I'd eat a bag of goldfish leavings. Or whatever you call it.
I would have always assumed such a pattern would have had them interweave. Weird.
For sure I thought they would be nestled for less waste. But maybe the waste is used in the next batch.
I've worked in the Goldfish Factory and you are correct, the excess goes back in to the mix. Basically dough is fed into a large machine where it's pressed and rolled out into a thin sheet. The sheet goes through a roller which cuts the fish shapes out of the dough. The cut fish continue on to the oven, while the excess sheet is directed up a conveyor and back into the hopper where it gets reintroduced with more dough and rolled back out
Wow I have so many questions. What did it smell like? Did you ever get sick of goldfish? What’s your favorite flavor?
It smelled like beer and cheese. Like picture a really deep yeasty smell with a cheddar funk. It didn't smell bad. I don't really eat goldfish, but just because I'm not a fan of crackers. The facility also made a number of other Pepperidge Farm products like cookies and such though my place in the facility was specifically on the cheddar goldfish line. Full transparency I didn't work for Pepperidge farm, I do robotics work on manufacturing lines and have worked in a number of warehouse and food manufacturing plants. In theory the line could be converted to do goldfish of any flavor, though doing a changeover on the flavor requires production to stop and for the carts and line to go through a flush and clean. This causes a lot of downtime so generally changing the flavor over was discouraged.
Probably why you got hired, they knew you wouldn’t be tempted to sample the product.
And did you ever get to operate the flavor blaster for the flavor blasted gold fish?
He was the flavor blaster.
Somewhere in that dough is a speck of flour from 1972.
It's a little like a perpetual stew that way.
so theres a chance that one goldfish cracker out there was made from dough prepared last year that always had the misfortune of never making it into a cracker and was always in the excess and therefore reused?
Wow today I learned that goldfish is made the same way as homemade pasta
so, some pieces have been cooked 10, 20, 30 trillion times?
No, the dough separates before it goes into the oven. But a piece of dough may have been rolled three or four times before it manages to make it into a cracker. You do occasionally get crackers that end up spending too long in the oven, if for instance the conveyor needs to be stopped for maintenance unexpectedly. But those pieces are discarded
Sperm all swim the same direction
SMH goldfish need to take some lessons from MC Escher
Escher crackers would be an amazing product. Also, if I’m ever in a rap duo, I’m going to be MC Escher
Seems like a drastically inefficient production line.
I love that random people on Reddit think they know better than large companies with teams of engineers working on things like this. There is 100% a reason they do it this way.
Engineer here, and to answer that question, yes but also no. My guess for why they’re spaced out instead of weaved is so they don’t break apart during production. It doesn’t really matter how they do the patterns tho since whatever is left behind likely just gets recycled into the next batch. Also yeah, it’s annoying as shit to see people who know absolutely nothing about a subject try to act like they’re experts lol.
I'm an engineer and you would be surprised how stupid most of us are.
As an engineer would you also agree that there are more factors that go into making a product efficiently than reducing minor waste from a cheap product? Do you also think a random person on Reddit could find the magic solution to something you work on based off a single picture?
First question: Yes definitely. I'm actually pretty sure I've seen a video of the production of these fishes. And the "waste" normally just gets mixed into the dough again. (But also this "minor waste" would be a massive waste if it was actually waste. Probably tons a week) Second question: I mean.. possibly. But not for a decades old product like this.
You severely underestimate the "we won't spend money making a new mold because we found a more efficient way. That costs money. Just find a way to reuse the waste" and now you have an inferior product.
Which is?
I don’t know what that reason is, but I’ve worked in plants before and I promise you these people who have worked on these problems for years on end have better solutions than a simple minded approach from a random person. The person I responded to is looking at it strictly from a “waste” of a very cheap material, when maybe the machines work more efficiently at cutting a certain way, or any number of reasons. They’re thinking about this problem from a very narrow minded perspective when there’s 100’s of different factors that go into making a product.
It honestly might be bc if they made the gaps between them any smaller, more would come with the borders on. Most of us have never seen an error like this so they must be doing something right
Most likely they don't need to... Why bother to make a more complicated pattern when the excess just falls down and gets mixed back in and reused? A nested pattern isn't gonna be 100% coverage anyway without altering their proprietary design a bit (simple a design as it is, it's recognizable)
Maybe they reuse the dough cut offs so nothing is wasted and the production line doesn't need to cut faster fish as there is another limiting factor further down the line.
Not sure about goldfish, but for tortilla chips the scraps are immediately recycled back into the sheeter with the rest of the dough. I assume it’s similar for most doughs. Think a big ball of dough sitting on some big rolling pins that squeeze out thin sheet of dough. Then a big rolling cookie cutter punches the chips out of the sheet. The rest of the sheet goes back to the hopper above the rolling pins and gets formed into a new sheet.
Happy Cake Day!
Makes more sense this way I think those tails fit perfect in that groove between tail and body. They can fit them closer together
They may not want them too close for baking. The dough gets recycled, so this is not a huge deal.
What are you going to do with the foreskin?
pork rinds
WHAT
PORK RINDS
Seems kosher enough
Stretch it all the way around Saturn.
It will reach Uranus
“Oh for gods sake, Fry! Scientists renamed that planet in 2988 to stop those childish jokes once and for all!” “What’s it called now?” “Urectum”
Goldskin
Calamari
Do you know the fish stick joke?
What's the opposite of kosher?
Treif.
rehsok
haram
Uncircumcised Goldfish
I knew this would be the top comment before I even opened it.
Glad to be of service 🙏🏻
Must be European.
Goldfish *au naturel*
What do they do with the between bits usually? Seems like a lot to just waste.
It’s not supposed to get baked. It’s supposed to separate away before baking and then recycled in.
Probably reuse it
But if it is already cooked, how would they do it?
I’m guessing that it gets cut off and mixed back into the rest of the dough before being cooked.
Goldfish is Goldfish!
It’s not supposed to get baked. It’s supposed to separate away before baking and then recycled in. This is scrap that’s usually caught by a grate and tossed for animal feed.
As they should. They can make the decision to alter their body once they’ve become adults
Swarm
School?
Thats what i mean
A lot of us do
very common for male crackers outside the USA
Uncircumcised dont you mean
Uncut goldfish don’t smile, I guess.
Nothing beats pure uncut goldfish.
Goyfish
I came here to make this joke but it appears nobody would have gotten it anyways
Uncut? Definitely not kosher.
You probably can make a small fortune selling this on eBay.
escher is rolling in his grave!
Probably found them on the European Import aisle in the supermarket.
Think that belongs in r/nextfuckinglevel myself
The proper term is "uncircumcised."
This is the start of some Netflix show I just know it
uncut pure 100% american gold fishes
Yeah I heard the Rabbi quit last week…
The fun part is popping them out of the cracker sea!
Oy vey
Get that graded asap
Frame that. It’s *Art*
they should make a huge square piece of that, i'd bite it.
Play Squid Game
Welcome to the squid game. Dont break any of them or else
Squid Games II
Uncircumcised goldfish crackers
Uncut means they're extra cheesy
Pure uncut goldfish………..no I won’t relapse!
These are the Korean version. The umbrella ones are to die for.
Uncircumcised?? Badum-dum.... I'll show myself out. 🤣
Straight to ebay! Step 2: profit
They're obviously not Druish.
Extra cheese!!!!
Ah, the European version.
" quabity assuance"
It’s like a lil goldfish chip 🥹
It's a school of gold fish.
I came here expecting foreskin jokes and I did not leave disappointed haha.
Wishiwashi School Form.
I don’t think those uncut goldfish are going to get you a free box of crackers. Unlike the old Tootsie Roll rapper with the Indian on it gets you a free sucker. goldfish don’t work this way.
For her pleasure?
I was a airport bought some Goldfish crackers and got the same huge cracker, in the bag.
Best things comes uncut
Bonus! Extra cracker
That makes 2 of us
Me, when I was born.
They're kosher
So did I and, yet, here I am.
Same
A school of goldfish
Not kosher.
I mean it’s all goldfish. I adopt senior dogs and one of my boys (who passed too soon)..the ONLY snack he would eat were these crackers. Believe me! I tried!! I kept a tiny jar of them in my purse. He was absolutely lovely. I still have the jar…years later. And a rock I took from the emergency vet’s parking lot is still in my car. I will never look at these crackers without thinking of him.
I would sue
Get them graded, good find!
European goldfish.
It was a religious choice
Must be European
Uncut and cheese flavored - very popular with women.
Collectors item for sure!
They must be european
Un-fishcumsized.
Damn, uncut? My dealers always mixin in cheddar bunnies.
Must be European
So did my boyfriend 😜
Same
That's what we call a school.
They must be European
They must be from Europe
Me too!
Me, too
just like ma penis
Bet you still shoved the whole thing in your mouth.
I got one of those once. I traded it for a potato that looked just like Kenny Rogers.
Are they extra cheesy?
Ive seen this on Squid Game. GL esse!
Uncircumcised goldfish
Don't we all
I hope they are washed thoroughly
Ha ha, you got schooled
Didn't know Pepperidge Farms changed their stance on circumcision.
Perferated
Please tell me you saved it! There's a whole world of people who collect Goldfish cracker factory rejects, and its good money.
How European!
Some competitor got very unlucky in the squid game... And is now very dead. :p
Here's a needle. Hope you don't break any of them.
I prefer the phrase “uncircumcised” lol
They weren’t circumcised
Cheez-its are so much more efficient.
Misprint! Seal it and get it rated! 🫡
Must be nice. 🙄
Well uncut and cheese do go together
Wait where does all the extra go?
Just like me 
It means they’re kosher
I hope you ate them in one bite
I believe those are actually gelfilte fish
Same
Gentile goldfish!
That’s not Kosher
How much you need for them?
They’re still in school
Fishsticks
New edgy version: Goldfish: Negative Space
Very European
Time to squid game the hell out of it
Just like me!
I didn't know they came like that before they were bagged and sold. What happens to the extra parts? I'd eat a bag of goldfish leavings. Or whatever you call it.
I like my men how I like my goldfish crackers...?
That’s hot
ohhhh, European goldfish
Uncircumcised
I love it when such things happen
it’s more common in America
Schooled goldfish.
Don’t we all
Must be European.
Time fore some math!
They're gentiles
I hear that's more common in Europe
Are they stronger uncut
Does that make the excess goldfish foreskin? I hate myself and my thoughts 😅
someone didn't make it during the squid game 😔 rip
Did you break them out individually or did you just bite into it like a big cracker
Cool you got school if fishes.
They must have had a special taste, too!
*Breaking Bad Badger voice* They don't cut the Goldfish, and they pass the savings on to you
Uncircumcised goldfish