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26 Jun 2011 10:37

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Culture: Happy birthday, Cheerios. Our breakfast would suffer without you

  • And the way they’re made is fascinating: Roughly 70 years ago, the country’s most popular brand of cereal (specifically its Honey Nut variation, introduced in 1979) started puffing out of guns at hundreds of miles an hour — so fast that it turns the tiny balls of dough into the tiny little inner tubes that float around in your soy milk every morning. Kix, a fellow healthy cereal, gets made in a similar way. The cereal, notable for its health claims, recently received scrutiny from the FDA, who felt General Mills marketed the oat lumps like a drug. That case is still pending. One case that isn’t pending is the case that Cheerios are awesome. Just sayin’. (photo via Flickr user riebart) source

07 Aug 2010 14:02

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Biz: Thomas’ English Muffins: A bland-tasting source of corporate espionage

  • What the heck?The recipe behind this breakfast delicacy, which is way behind the bagel in our books, is tightly guarded and few know how to make the “nooks and crannies” that give it its texture. In fact, just seven people in the world know how.
    playing turncoat
    One of the seven, Chris Botticella, recently left the owner of Thomas’ English Muffins, Bimbo Bakeries USA. He had been hired by Hostess, which had tried to figure out this formula for years to no avail. But Botticella didn’t leave right away and kept his Hostess hiring secret. A $500 million-a-year business laid in the balance, and he was legally barred from joining Hostess. In other news, English muffins suck. source

25 Feb 2010 09:29

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Biz: Denny’s Twitter presence is no grand slam, apparently

Menus across the country link to this random Twitter page that has nothing to do with the restaurant. It’s a mistake that they simply haven’t fixed. source