Erik Eats Cereal: Cocoa Krispies

I'll freely admit, I loved Rice Krispies growing up.  I loved them as a cereal, I loved them as a sugary dessert in bar form, I loved to snack on them sometimes.  I was young enough that I had no idea what was causing all those little sounds in there, but eventually was able (without any outside help) to understand just what the cereal was made out of and how air pockets work.

So what happens when they take a winning formula and add chocolate?

Let's get taste out of the way first this time.  There is a pretty rich chocolate flavor in the cereal, which I guess is better in some way than simply having it be a subtle background flavor.  I'm sure that if I had this as a child it'd be considered downright delicious.

However, as an adult, I really don't like flavors that overpower everything.  ...well, okay, I like some flavors that overpower everything else, but they're usually harder to find in dishes than "chocolate."

However, until they find a way to add chocolate to a cereal without it simply turning all of the milk into a brown sludge, I don't think I'd make any my "go to" cereal right now.  Again, subtle flavors instead of overpowering ones.

As an adult I've actually worked with chocolate in savory meals and it adds a really nice nuance to flavors involving meat and (in one case) fish.  In sweets, of course, you really want chocolate to be the star, but if I'm having a cereal as part of a "complete breakfast" then having chocolate with an egg, or with orange juice, or many other things just feels...off.

Then again, I like Nutella on toast, so what do I know?

Now, let's talk about the most important thing here:  What the heck does Crackle do for a living?

A lot of people seem to believe that you can determine the jobs of the other two by their hats: chef and soldier, respectively.  However, if you look back in the old, old, old days, you'll see that all three were actually chefs.  Oh, and they had their own cartoons and got into fights.

Oh, and they're also space aliens.  Did you know that?  No, seriously, it's true.

From Planet K!  For Kellogg!

Oh, and there was also a fourth gnome named "Pow" who had a more military aspect to him, because he represented the "powerful nutrition" in every bite of cereal.  However, he only showed up in two commercials during the 1950s.

So I like to think that Crackle is still a chef, he just chooses to wear whatever hat he wants to.

And on that note, let's go out with the Rolling Stones doing their jingle for the cereal.