"pop food" news and stories

The more I look at that headline the more it looks like a story from The Onion, but it's true.

Fredric Baur, a chemist who worked for Proctor & Gamble and designed the Pringles Potato Chip can, died earlier this month at age 89. His request was that part of his ashes be buried in one of the Pringles cans, and that request was granted. The rest of his ashes were put into a regular urn. Both containers were buried at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Springfield, Township, OH.

Baur created many products for the company, but he'll probably be best remembered for the Pringles can, because it didn't just allow for the chips to be stacked, it really became part of pop culture.

I have a faint recollection of eating Spam when I was a kid. I know that my mom bought it once in a while, but I tried it a while back and I don't think it's something I would try again (that film on top...gah). I think the only way I would try it is if it's in a recipe where it's cooked a lot or smothered with other flavors.

Like the recipe after the jump. It's for Spaghetti Carbonara and it comes courtesy of spamrecipes.net.

Like Gael over at Pop Culture Junk Mail, I didn't even realize that Hostess got rid of the magician guy who was on the front of their pies since the early 70s. I don't usually buy snack pies anymore, though I do love them (both Hostess and Drake's).

I know that products and companies and logos have to change over the years, but I always feel a little sad when a classic character or design is changed. Really, did the change improve sales? You would think that keeping a classic character would endear a company to loyal customers even more.

Now if someone could answer this question. What exactly was the magician? Was he human? The body shape suggests a banana, or some sort of legless apple slice. Or maybe the Penguin from Batman.

If you're from New England, then Cape Cod Potato Chips are probably a staple in your cupboard (or wherever you may keep your chips). The original kettle chips are quite tasty, but let's talk about the various flavored chips that Cape Cod also sells.

The Sea Salt & Vinegar chips are strong and crunchy, while the Beachside BBQ chips taste a little different than other BBQ chips, as they have molasses and chili pepper. The Jalapeno & Cheddar chips are very strong when you open the bag but taste great. The Cheddar Jack & Sour Cream are so flavorful that you don't need any kind of dip to go along with them (Cape Cod also makes a new Honey Dijon chips and Buttermilk Ranch, but my local store was out of them).

We've had X-Men and The Fantastic Four, so why not a movie about cereal mascot superheroes?

Our sister blog Cinematical has news about a new computer-animated film called Cereal Heroes. It's about cereal box mascots that are accidentally brought to life and have to go on the run and stay safe in the modern world.

This sounds so crazy that it just might work. I'm not sure if I want to see it as an animated film or try to get actors to play the mascots. But if the writing is sharp, this has great satire potential. Imagine the Quisp guy flying around and Tony The Tiger saving the world and the Rice Krispies guys getting into trouble. Maybe Cap 'n Crunch can have a cool speed boat that he pilots to save the day.

Which cereal characters would you like to see come to life in a movie like this?