All Corn Pops are not created equal

[vakkotaur]

On and off for some time I've heard timmowarner complain about the inferiority of Canadian Corn Pops as compared with United States Corn Pops. I didn't quite get what exactly he was going on about. Corn Pops were Corn Pops, right? Wrong.

When jmaynard was in Canada a few weeks ago he asked me if there was anything I wanted him to bring back. Naturally I suggested he bring some proper Smarties (which are like M&Ms but better, and not the pastel colored chalk discs that are called Smarties in the U.S.A.). I also asked for a small box of Corn Pops so I could finally see what the difference was.

Even upon just seeing the box, it was clear that this was (these were?) another cereal entirely.

See? The picture on the box shows Canadian Corn Pops to be something like Kix.

Top: Kix, Lower Left: Corn Pops - Canada, Lower Right: Corn Pops - U.S.A.

The taste is quite different. Obviously, the Canadian version doesn't have the sugar glaze that U.S. Corn Pops have. However, they don't taste like Kix either. I don't think it's just that the Canadian Corn Pops have some oat content. It could be any of a few things, or a combination of them.

The Canadian Corn Pops are not made with corn syrup, but with proper sugar, there is some baking soda, and there is "fancy molasses" in place of just "molasses." Also, the Canadian version doesn't have as many vitamin and mineral additives as the U.S. version. Instead it seems to just have iron, zinc, and the B vitamins.

Comments

[yakko.livejournal.com]

The lower-right bowl is the ONLY Corn Pops!

[timmowarner.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm glad you thought to include Kix in that! So now I finally know that our Corn Pops aren't just Kix.

I vastly prefer the proper American Corn Pops for their texture, and slightly for their taste.

I *do* really like Canadian ones as well, but I wish I could have them the way they're meant to be. When I was a kid in Ontario, Corn Pops were the same as what you still have in the States.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Given the different manufacturers (General Mills, Kellogg) they wouldn't be the same. That's something I didn't mention, but can be seen in the photo. I did go looking for any other cereal that might be similar but I didn't find anything.

[tilt-longtail.livejournal.com]

remember when TRIX were ROUND and then they became FRUIT SHAPED? That made them yucky. I think they are round again.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

I can't say I really recall that, as I tended not to have Trix. I grew up with Cheerios and Corn Flakes (not frosted) and Chex. I did try some Trix a few years ago (http://vakkotaur.livejournal.com/105023.html) and was struck by how candy-like and artificial they seemed. Then sometime later I sampled some ice cream flavor Skittles (http://vakkotaur.livejournal.com/308049.html) and found that they were Trix without the pretense of being cereal. I haven't bothered with either Trix or Skittles since.

[yakko.livejournal.com]

I also remember when Trix didn't make my mouth feel like it had been coated in wax.

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

I remember that!

Heck, I also remember when Lucky Charms only had four marshmallow shapes: pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers.

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree with your assessment of Smarties. However, anything with a high sugar content has become sort of a moot point ("Don't point that moot at me!") with me since I was declared diabetic.

[thecanuckguy.livejournal.com]

Ewww! US corn pops do *not* look appealing! Are they as crunchy as they look too? And they look like they taste like corn - only corn should taste like corn, dammit!

And where/when was jmaynard in Canuckistan? Anywhere near ChezMe? (I'd love to meet him some day - I'm sure one day we'll be by your neck of the woods again, it's only a 10 hour drive, but it'd be nice to have visitors here too ... )

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

US Corn Pops are as crunchy as look. I'm not sure how much like corn they taste. I think they taste more like sugar (well, corn syrup) than anything.

And jmaynard was in Alberta, so it wasn't as if he could pop over to Winnipeg. When he mentioned he might going to Canada for work I asked where and did remind him that you and Dakko were in Winnipeg and timmowarner was also in Manitoba. But things didn't work for any visits due to the distances involved.

[timmowarner.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you were in Winnipeg.

Or was it Dakko I didn't know was there?

I only thought there was one of you in Winnipeg!

[timmowarner.livejournal.com]

Oh, and you're crazy.

US Corn Pops look and taste great.

And have awesome texture.

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

They taste better than they look!

[melissasutton.livejournal.com]

A very interesting comparison - thanks =)

My only saddness is you can only get Quisp now if you go online and order it from a company that still makes all the retro brands for old folks that remember better years!

I miss Quisp

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Are you sure? I still see Quisp at County Market here in Fairmont, though not at Hy-Vee. I tried it once, out of curiosity and my reaction to it was, "Oh, this is Quaker's version of..." but it's been a while so I don't recall what I considered it to be equivalent to.