Maybe consumerism is a bad thing. Pope Francis says so, and defined as he does, emphasizing how it leads to the disposability of everything, including one another, it makes sense. On the other hand, the dazzling array of choices available to the consumer makes consumerism more appealing than ever. It's like TV -- back in the 1960s and 1970s, when TV was limited but universal and the programming was mostly dumb and samey, the smart people saw it as the "idiot box" that would doom society. Now that TV is smarter, the same people think it's fine that we're glued to the screens all the time. I'm not sold that it's improved enough to justify this change on the hearts of the intelligentsia. Two words: "Real" "Housewives."
However, that was all a means of getting us to our topic for the day, which is related to the crazy choices for all kinds of consumer goods, including breakfast cereals and candy. And that leads us to this:
Reese's Puffs, a joint effort between Reese's home company Hershey's and food giant General Mills. Would we, in the dim past, have ever expected these two titans to join forces? No, of course not. Hershey's would not have had the means to bring a cereal to market, and General Mills would have come out with some dopey peanut butter mess that no one bothered to try. Truly this is an age of wonders.
So hell yeah, I bought a box and ate it. One of the best things about it was the back of the box, which gave us a tour of why on earth people might legitimately not love this cereal:
I'm not sure which one of these covers me, for I can't say I loved Reese's Puffs. I did like them quite a bit. One of the best things about them is that they are not super-sweet; unlike other cereals they were not like eating milk-drowned candy for breakfast. I think this is because they are at heart Kix, another General Mills cereal, famous for being "Kid-Tested / Mother Approved" (the slogan they've used since 1978, although you note that it doesn't say that it passed the kid test). Kix is notable for lower sugar than other kids' cereals, and in my experience, correspondingly lower enthusiasm. Still, it was better than old-folks' cereal like raisin bran or Grape-Nuts, so if that was all Mom would get, it would have to do.
At my age Kix is about as sugary as cereal ought to get. The Reese's Puffs are the same way, but with the added bonus of genuine PB and chocolate taste. So I did like them -- it did not rise to love, though. As always, I turn to the Cereal Project and its suzerain, Mr. Breakfast, who tells us that the cereal has been around since at least 1999. Well, I didn't have this blog in 1999, so I didn't have the excuse to eat it as a service to my readers; also I did not have a coupon, which are suddenly available on Coupons.com, so I think they're making a push for the brand. Anyway, it was good, I liked it, but I don't think I'll bother with it again.
My lack of enthusiasm may come from me being spoiled by the vast array of caloric Reese's comestibles out there. If you look on the Hershey's product site for Reese's, you'll see EIGHTY-SIX different things sold under the Reese's name. When I was kid there was exactly one (1) -- a package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups with two cups in it. Reese's Pieces weren't even a glimmer in E.T.'s giant eye yet. We never imagined there would be such a thing as a white chocolate Reese's:
Weird, isn't it? It's like what Evil Kirk would eat in the Mirror Universe.
And how was White Reese's? Just okay. I think it was better in the idea than the execution. I like white chocolate all right, but it does not work with all flavors, and I think it just doesn't play that well with peanut butter. It seems to go better with fruit flavors, I think. But that's totally personal opinion, and others may find it works fine.
Anyway, that's the state of play right now in Reese Town, and God knows what they'll come up with next. Spumoni Reese's! Reese's Whiskey! Reese's Pizza! Who knows? It's the wild west out there.
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