Honey Bunches of Oats - observation/problem

[ramonesfreak]

Ive been eating this stuff a long time. A few months back I got a box wherein the contents were hard as a rock. I almost broke my teeth. Like they over cooked everything. Strange. Life goes on and a few more boxes are fine, like normal.

Just opened a new box. Again, very hard. Tooth shattering hard.

Anyone experience this?

What the hell is going on!!!!!!!

-dont even get me started on Ho Ho's. After 40 years of no Ho Ho's, I recently bought a box. Not even close to what they were. I remember being in 4th grade and being able to peel off the chocolate layer in 1 piece.....no way can you do that now. They don't even taste the same...but this is a topic for another day I guess

[flipper35]

We get the generic Honey Bunches from Aldi and they are still good.

Zingers and Oatmeal Creampies are abut the only thing still similar to what they used to be in the crappy for you but tasty category.

[Por_sha911]

Some shots in the dark:
Expiration date?
Buy a box with a different lot # (maybe just a bad batch?)

[ramonesfreak]

Sometimes I wonder about fruit roll-ups. I dont even know if they make those anymore. The 80's had some fun lunch box treats that's for sure

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Some shots in the dark:
Expiration date?
Buy a box with a different lot # (maybe just a bad batch?)

brand new fresh box. and now 2 boxes with same problem but probably 2 or 3 months apart.

They are not stale. They seem over baked, or whatever process they use....and its mostly the flakes that are like eating glass

Thought I was going crazy and had wife try and she agreed (for once) that the issue was the cereal, not me

[Por_sha911]

Check the lot # and contact the manufacturer.
Buy a box with a different lot # - maybe just a bad batch.
Oh well, "every silver lining's got a touch of grey"

Side note, just because the cereal is bad is not proof that you aren't crazy...

[ramonesfreak]

correct. And, I could be a cereal killer too


(never take cereal from a stranger)

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

-dont even get me started on Ho Ho's. After 40 years of no Ho Ho's, I recently bought a box. Not even close to what they were. I remember being in 4th grade and being able to peel off the chocolate layer in 1 piece.....no way can you do that now. They don't even taste the same...but this is a topic for another day I guess

Once they took out the trans fats, everything changed. Ho-Ho's, Twinkies, Suzie-Q's: they all taste more like cardboard than the glorious delicacies they once were... Which is why I prefer a good Italian bakery - their cakes and such were always significantly better than the packaged stuff.

...now I'm hungry.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Z-man

Once they took out the trans fats, everything changed. Ho-Ho's, Twinkies, Suzie-Q's: they all taste more like cardboard than the glorious delicacies they once were... Which is why I prefer a good Italian bakery - their cakes and such were always significantly better than the packaged stuff.

...now I'm hungry.

My Grandfather ran the Langendorf Bakery cake and cookie division up in Berkley Ca in the 50's - 70's. Among their baked goods there were these things called "Banana Dreamboats". It was a spice cake baked in the strawberry shortcake cup style with a banana cream filling. It had a huge following, people still talk about them. They were discontinued when the bakery was bought out in the early 80's.

[rfuerst911sc]

Cereal killer........... that's gold ! 😁

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Z-man

Once they took out the trans fats, everything changed. Ho-Ho's, Twinkies, Suzie-Q's: they all taste more like cardboard than the glorious delicacies they once were... Which is why I prefer a good Italian bakery - their cakes and such were always significantly better than the packaged stuff.

...now I'm hungry.

sugar, fat, flour, the stuff that dreams and yumminess are made of. Throw in some chocolate and you've got nirvana!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Cereal killer........... that's gold ! 😁

"hey, that place is successful. Let's buy it!"
"Yeah, and then we can discontinue a bunch of stuff to make it better and more successful!"

Reminds me of Joseph Schmidt chocolates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schmidt_Confections

It seems to me that it was a very successful chocolatier in the SF and SJ area for over 20 years. Their stuff was sold all over the world and was amazing.

Hershey bought them, and 4 years later, shut them down. WTF Hershey?!? Why didn't you just leave them alone you wankers!

[MBAtarga]

Years (many) ago when I would occasionally treat myself to my favorite candy bar - Butterfinger! I experienced something similar. Most of the time, I'd get one where the interior just splinters apart when you take a bite. That was just heavenly and I loved it. Then I'd buy another and the center wouldn't splinter - it would be more like a toffee filling and just crunch. They were always a disappointment.

[john70t]

It's not just our older taste buds. Much of the 'bad stuff' has been removed. Future history might reverse these definitions.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/19/palm-oil-ingredient-biscuits-shampoo-environmental
Palm oil’s world domination is the result of five factors: first, it has replaced less healthy fats in foods in the west. Second, producers have pushed to keep its price low. Third, it has replaced more expensive oils in home and personal care products. Fourth, again because it is cheap, it has been widely adopted as cooking oil in Asian countries. Finally, as those Asian countries have grown richer, they have begun to consume more fat, much of it in the form of palm oil.

https://tessawatkins.com/blog/2015/06/vomit-chocolate/
To stop this process, milk in the store is pasteurized. This exposure to high temperatures destroys the enzyme (they are very sensitive to heat… as anyone who has studied enzyme chemistry can attest) meaning the milk can no longer sour itself as quickly and has a longer shelf life. The alternative is to lypolyze the milk slightly and actually partially sour it intentionally. This reaction produces some of the bad chemicals but prevents the milk from fully souring. This is the method the chocolate manufacturers go for in the U.S.

[ramonesfreak]

Anyone remember these? These were my favorite. Back in the 70s I would stay with my grandparents and I would walk to the corner store with my grandma and she would buy me one and I would eat it as we walked home. Simple times.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

Sometimes I wonder about fruit roll-ups. I dont even know if they make those anymore. The 80's had some fun lunch box treats that's for sure

They do.

Turns out that nurses are crazy for fruit roll ups, go figure.

Marathon bar, loved those.

So that is what happened to the Banana Dreamboats, GD corp-rat takeovers.

[rcooled]

I've never tried HBofO, but I thought this lady in one of their TV ads was pretty cute...

[porsche930dude]

maybe you are not soaking them long enough.

[ramonesfreak]

Nope. Been eating them daily a long time. Definitely something going on at the factory

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by masraum

sugar, fat, flour, the stuff that dreams and yumminess are made of. Throw in some chocolate and you've got nirvana!

True heavenly perfection cannot be attained without a good cup of coffee.