Rice Krispies

Rice Krispies (known as Rice Bubbles in Australia) is a breakfast cereal that was created by Eugene Mckay for the Kellogg company, and later marketed by Kellogg's in 1927 and released to the public in 1928. Rice Krispies are made of crisped rice (rice grains that are cooked, dried and toasted). The kernels bubble and expand forming very thin and hollowed out walls that are crunchy and crispy. When the cereal is exposed to milk or juices, the walls tend to collapse suddenly, creating the famous "Snap, crackle and pop" sounds.

In 1963, The Rolling Stones recorded a short song for a Rice Krispies television advertisement. Rice Krispies cereal is widely known and popular with a long advertising history, with the cartoon characters Snap, Crackle, and Pop touting the brand. They are also an important ingredient in Rice Krispie bars and squares made by combining the cereal with melted marshmallows.

Variants

Present day

File:Vintage Rice Krispies Box.JPG

Vintage Rice Krispies box

As well as 'plain' Rice Krispies, a number of different versions have been sold by Kellogg's. Their names vary depending on where they are sold, but there are essentially these basic versions in existence today:

• Rice Krispies with a sugar-frosted coating (including "Ricicles" and "Frosted Rice Krispies")
• "Cocoa Krispies," a chocolate flavored version
• "Rice Krispies Treats Cereal", first introduced in 1939, is a cereal based on the aforementioned treat. It contains bunches of krispies fused together by a marshmallow coating.
• Rice Krispies with berry flavors (including "Berry Krispies" and "Berry Rice Krispies"
• "Rice Krispies with Vanilla Flavour", sold in Canada
• "Chocolate and Vanilla Rice Krispies", introduced in 2007, is a cereal containing the mixed flavors of chocolate and vanilla rice krispies.

Many generic versions of Rice Krispies (including frosted and chocolate variants) have been produced by other manufacturers under many different names. One type of brand is Great Value's Crisp Rice, which is a generic brand. Another is Malt-O-Meal's Crispy Rice.

Discontinued

Rice Krispies with dehydrated miniature marshmallows ("Marshmallow Rice Krispies", also known as Marshmallow Krispies, along with a tropical version, Fruity Marshmallow Krispies) were sold briefly in the U.S. and Canada. Despite surviving longer in Canada than the U.S., they were finally discontinued altogether during the mid-late 1990s.

Rice Krispies with banana flavor (including "Banana Bubbles" and "Banana Krispies") have also been sold in the past.

Rice Krispies with strawberry flavor including 1983's "Strawberry Krispies" and 1997's "Strawberry Rice Krispies". (Australia had a strawberry version of Rice Bubbles which was discontinued along with other similarly coloured and sweetened foods in the mid 1970's due to concerns the additives caused cancer).

An extremely sweet, artificially-colored, cereal known as "Razzle Dazzle Rice Krispies" in the late 1990s.

Honey Rice Krispies, these were rice krispies coated with a thin layer of honey, they were available in the UK in the mid to late 90's

Other uses of Rice Krispies brand

In 1941, Kellogg's employee Mildred Day concocted and published a recipe for a Camp Fire Girls bake sale consisting of Rice Krispies, melted marshmallows, and margarine. It has remained a very popular snack dubbed rice krispie treats. Kellogg's themselves have now produced commercial varieties of both marshmallow and chocolate-based treats under the name "Rice Krispies Squares" in Canada and the UK, as well as versions under the original "Rice Krispies Treats" name sold in the U.S.

In Australia, Rice Bubbles are often made into a well-known treat, the chocolate crackle. This is usually found at school fetes and consists of Rice Bubbles, copha and cocoa, amongst other things.

In addition to the products above, the 'Rice Krispies' branding has also been associated with other products containing (or related to) Rice Krispies. These include commercial versions of 'Rice Krispie treats' known as 'Rice Krispies squares', cereal bars, and a multi-grain cereal known as "Rice Krispies Multi-Grain" (formerly "Muddles") sold on the UK market. Primarily aimed at children, 'Multi-Grain' contains a prebiotic and is claimed by Kellogg's to promote good digestive health.

Taglines

• What do your Rice Krispies say to you? (1990 - 1998)
• Snap, Crackle, Pop, Rice Krispies! (1968 - present)
• Snap, Crackle, Pop wake up call to the world. (1998-1999)
• Childhood is Calling (2006-Present)
• Moms Just Know (2007-2008)
• Can you hear it? (Canada, present)

The "snap, crackle, pop" sound

The cereal is marketed on the basis of the noises it produces when milk is added to the bowl. The onomatopoeic noises differ by language:

• English: "Snap! Crackle! Pop!"
• Canadian French: "Cric! Crac! Croc!"
• Spanish: "Pim! Pum! Pam!"
• German: "Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!"
• Danish: "Piff! Paff! Puff!"
• Finnish: "Riks! Raks! Poks!"
• Dutch: "Pif! Paf! Pof!"
• Afrikaans: "Knap! Knaetter! Knak!"

Controversy

In the summer of 2006, Kellogg's teamed up with Autism Speaks for a campaign called "Know the Signs". The claimed intent was to promote autism awareness via Rice Krispies cereal boxes. However many adult autistics protested the partnership with Autism Speaks citing (amongst other things) the ignoring of the adult population and in their video allowing one mother to talk about her autistic daughter. Kellogg's has since removed the promotion and campaign from their website.

External links

• Official site
• Official Canadian Site for Recipes and Product Information
• Rice Krispies Cereal and Recipes
• Ingredients, nutritional information
• How it works
• Marshmallow Rice Krispies info and commercial
• Why Rice Krispies go "Snap! Crackle! Pop!"