If you grew up in North America, the name “Hungry Jack” conjures images of pancake mix, bottles of syrup, and canned refrigerator biscuits with the Pillsbury doughboy smiling from the label. It has nothing to do with a flame-broiled Whopper. Things are a bit different in Australia. There, in Sydney, Melbourne, or Perth, there are … Read more
If you grew up anywhere between the Mississippi Delta and the Appalachians during the mid-to-late 20th century, the lunch meat in your refrigerator was almost certainly made by Bryan. For Southern families, it was the go-to brand for hickory-smoked bacon, bologna, hot dogs, ham, souse, and even canned Vienna sausages and potted meat. I particularly … Read more
If you grew up in Mississippi or West Alabama during the mid-to-late 20th century, your kitchen was almost certainly stocked with Hardin’s Bread. It was everywhere. You saw the familiar logo at the front of local grocers and country stores. Its name was stamped on the metal push-bars on screen doors of corner markets from … Read more
The cinematic origin story of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and the almost cultish devotion of its fans, far exceeds anything actually found in the recipe. This snack is the subject of so much intrigue and media content that some readers may know the story by heart. Or at least the story we’ve been fed. Countless social … Read more
Few genres of internet content generate as much reliable engagement as cross-cultural food shock. The trope plays out hundreds of times on YouTube or TikTok. An American is handed a bar of British Cadbury Dairy Milk, takes a bite, and swoons. “Oh wow, this tastes like real chocolate,” they say, shaking their heads at the … Read more
The internet is drowning in breathless retrospectives of discontinued junk food, most of them treating the demise of every short-lived novelty snack, from 3D Doritos to green ketchup, as a tragic cultural loss. In reality, most forgotten snacks earned their demise. The novelty wore off, sales plummeted, and food conglomerates pulled the plug on products … Read more