Chex Mix

Commercial Chex Mix

Chex Mix is a type of snack mix that includes Chex breakfast cereal (sold by General Mills) as a major component. There are several commercially produced varieties of Chex Mix, as well as non-commercial, homemade versions of the snack. Though contents vary, the mixes generally include an assortment of Chex cereals, chips, hard breadsticks, pretzels, nuts or crackers. Recipes for homemade Chex mix are printed on Chex cereal boxes and are available online.

History

Chex cereal was introduced in 1937 by Ralston Purina.^[1] By 1952, recipes for "Chex party mix" appeared on boxes of Chex cereal. However, it was not until 1985 that pre-packaged products were introduced commercially by Ralston Purina and the trademarks registered.^[2] Chex party mix became popular as a holiday treat when purportedly in 1955, the wife of a Ralston executive in St. Louis served the snack at a holiday function.^[3] However Chex party mix was not a unique idea: it was one of many popular "TV mixes" – snacks which could be consumed without interrupting television watching – which appeared in the 1950s with the introduction of television. For example, a 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook includes a recipe for a snack mix made with Kix cereal.^[4]

In August 1996, General Mills acquired the Chex product line from Ralston Purina along with other brands.

In February 2009, Comedy rap troupe 'The Lonely Island' released a their début album 'Incredibad' which features the song 'Dreamgirl ft. Norah Jones' which is sponsored by Chex Mix and features a large amount of advertisement for the product with such lyrics as 'Chex Mix, number one food snack in the land'.

Homemade Chex party mix

Homemade Chex Mix

Homemade Chex party mixes, that is non-commercial forms, are a holiday season party staple in many American homes. A 2008 General Mills contest, declared the "original Chex party mix" - the recipe printed on Chex cereal boxes - "America's favorite". This recipe differs slightly from the commercial products. It contains wheat, corn and rice Chex, butter, bagel chips, pretzels and nuts and is seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, and Worcestershire sauce.^[5] The sweet "Muddy Buddies" mix was the runner up.^[6]

Commercial contents and varieties

All Chex mixes contain some form of Chex cereal. Other ingredients generally include rye chips, breadsticks, pretzels, nuts and crackers. In total, General Mills produces 13 varieties of Chex mixes, not including limited editions.^[7] These flavours can be broadly divided into three categories: salty, Chocolate, and Sweet 'n Salty. Sometimes, limited edition varieties of Chex Mix are released. Past examples of these include Winter Chex Mix Cocoa and Summer Chex Mix Ranch. In 2009, two new flavors, Spicy Szechuan and Teriyaki, were introduced and made available exclusively at convenience stores.

Salty

• Traditional
• Cheddar
• Bold Party Blend
• Sweet Potato Sour Cream & Onion
• Peanut Lover's
• Hot 'n Spicy
• Barbecue
• Jalapeño Cheddar
• Chipotle Cheddar

Sweet 'n Salty

• Caramel Crunch
• Honey Nut
• Trail Mix

Chocolate

• Turtle Shell
• Dark Chocolate
• Peanut Butter
• Muddy Buddies

See also

• Gardetto's
• Munchies

References

1. ^ Ralston Purina Company (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 22, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
2. ^ United States Patent and Trademark Office
3. ^ http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq.html#chexmix
4. ^ Lovegren, Sylvia. (2005). Fashionable food: Seven decades of food fads. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, pp. 214
5. ^ http://www.chex.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=6709&CategoryId=340
6. ^ Original Chex mix recipe Life magazine, June 1952.
7. ^ http://www.chex.com/Snacks/Products.aspx

External links

• Chex Homepage
• Original Chex party mix recipe from Life magazine, June 1952.