Things have been around a lot longer than you think. One of the links in the last enewsletter of the year from 1440 was to an article about food products and what year they debuted. I found it fascinating, though I’m not sure why.
It starts with 1940, the year my father was born, and the year that York Peppermint Patties hit the market. The year after, when my mom was born, Cheerios came out (albeit under a different name at first), the “first ready-to-eat oat cereal made by puffing and shaping the grains”. Cheerios! We grew up with these as our primary breakfast cereal, because my mom wouldn’t buy cereals that had sugar as the first or second listed ingredient. Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, and Lucky Charms were special treats, only for once in a while. Cheerios has sugar listed as the third ingredient, but I don’t know how much better that actually was, considering corn starch was second, and also considering how much sugar we heaped on our bowls of Cheerios and milk. They don’t even make the top 15 list of healthiest cereals. đŸ˜€
During WWII deep-dish pizza and frozen dinners both premiered and Nutella arrived the year after the war ended. The years following saw Bazooka Gum, Reddi-Wip whipped cream, McDonald’s fries (their burgers were originally served with chips!), and frozen pizza. The Fifties gave us diet soda, Eggo waffles, Marshmallow Peeps (!), and the beloved classic green bean casserole which was marketed as a Thanksgiving side dish starting in 1955.
After that? Cocoa Puffs, Burger King’s Whopper, Rice-A-Roni, and Little Caesar’s pizza bring us to the beginning of the 60s. Sprite arrived in 1961, Goldfish crackers in 1962, Chips Ahoy in 1963, and then! I was born! And guess what was born in the same year? POP-TARTS. According to Wikipedia, Pop-Tarts were so popular that Kellogg could not keep up with demand. The first shipment of Pop-Tarts to stores sold out in two weeks, and Kellogg’s ran advertisements apologizing for the empty shelves, which of course only increased demand. My favorite (and Karin’s), brown sugar cinnamon, was one of the first 4 flavors, and is still one of the best. Frosted Pop-Tarts came out in 1967 and sprinkles on them started the year after. Weird to think that Pop-Tarts are also 60 years old!
The year my sister was born (1966), Doritos came out. The following year Slurpees arrived, and then Big Mac. And in 1969, the year my brother was born? Tic-Tacs! I’m pretty sure I’m the one keeping Tic-Tacs in business.
Anyway, I thought it was fun to see the birthdays for so many of the American junk food items, comfort food, and family favorites that have been around “forever”, at least most of MY life, and probably yours. Here’s the full article.
It’s hard to find most of these here in Sweden, though Tic-Tacs are widely available at least. You can find Pop-Tarts at the American and English specialty shops, though not always brown sugar cinnamon ones, and most of the time you can find Doritos in the regular grocery stores, along with all the big-name American sodas. You can find Cheerios, too, and even Rice Krispies (thank goodness), but alas, no Apple Jacks or Fruit Loops, still.
Now I’m craving Pop-Tarts, of course.
Mood: silly
Music: Colbie Caillat—The Little Things