Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Encyclopedia
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is a brand of breakfast cereal
produced by General Mills
and Nestle
. The cereal was first produced in 1984. Cinnamon Toast Crunch aims to provide the taste of cinnamon toast
in a crunch cereal format. The cereal consists of small squares or rectangles of wheat
and rice
covered with cinnamon
and sugar
. Because of its rice content, when immersed in milk, one can hear "snap" sounds coming from it, similar to Rice Krispies
. The product is currently marketed with the mascot of a jolly baker named Chef Wendell.
Chef Wendell has appeared in several children's books, including "Chef Wendell, Where Are You?"
featured plain squares but currently features an artificial "cinnamon swirl" coloration in each piece. Starting in 1987 there were three animated
bakers
as the mascot
s, none of which were originally named; the two besides Wendell are sometimes incorrectly credited as Bob and Quello. The other two bakers were considerably more youthful in appearance than Wendell. One of them was tall and thin with brown hair and the other had black hair and a stocky build. According to an inquiry response from General Mills Customer Service:
"These little guys were cute bakers complete with chef hats and aprons. Wendell was the only baker that was named, and due to consumer feedback, we chose to feature him as the 'Cinnamon Toast Baker' where he has remained in this title role since 1991."
swirls in every bite!". However, the cereal is also currently advertised directly to adults, as a healthy breakfast choice with a great taste they grew up with. They also advertise Cinnamon Grahams with Golden Grahams
which features two brothers arguing over which is best, Golden or Cinnamon Grahams. As of 2010, the advertisements include usually 2 cinnamon toast crunch cereal pieces themselves and the result is always one eating the other.
in 1996 and Peanut Butter Toast Crunch in 2005. French Toast
Crunch was usually shaped like many little French toast slices, reminiscent of the style of Cookie Crisp
. More recently, it resembles Cinnamon Toast Crunch, only lighter in color. Peanut Butter
Toast Crunch was a cereal consisting of flakes similar but darker to Cinnamon Toast Crunch. This cereal was discontinued by 2006. French Toast Crunch was discontinued in May 2008. It was re-introduced into Canada later on. As another offshoot, Monopoly Cereal was a limited edition product created in April 2003 by General Mills. The cereal was like Cinnamon Toast Crunch but with the addition of marshmallow
s based on the pieces in the Monopoly
game, such as houses and hotels.
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
produced by General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
and Nestle
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
. The cereal was first produced in 1984. Cinnamon Toast Crunch aims to provide the taste of cinnamon toast
Toast
Toast is bread that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. This browning reaction is known as the Maillard reaction. Toasting warms the bread and makes it firmer, so it holds toppings more securely...
in a crunch cereal format. The cereal consists of small squares or rectangles of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
covered with cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. Because of its rice content, when immersed in milk, one can hear "snap" sounds coming from it, similar to Rice Krispies
Rice Krispies
Rice Krispies is a breakfast cereal that was created by Clayton Rindlisbacher for the Kellogg company, and later marketed by Kellogg's in 1927 and released to the public in 1928...
. The product is currently marketed with the mascot of a jolly baker named Chef Wendell.
Chef Wendell has appeared in several children's books, including "Chef Wendell, Where Are You?"
History
Originally the cerealCereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
featured plain squares but currently features an artificial "cinnamon swirl" coloration in each piece. Starting in 1987 there were three animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
bakers
Bakers
Baker's is a supermarket chain operating primarily in the metro area of Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Kroger.-History:Abraham Baker opened his first grocery store in Walnut, Iowa in 1927. His first Omaha-area store opened in Bellevue, Nebraska in 1947, and his first in Omaha itself opened in 1957...
as the mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
s, none of which were originally named; the two besides Wendell are sometimes incorrectly credited as Bob and Quello. The other two bakers were considerably more youthful in appearance than Wendell. One of them was tall and thin with brown hair and the other had black hair and a stocky build. According to an inquiry response from General Mills Customer Service:
"These little guys were cute bakers complete with chef hats and aprons. Wendell was the only baker that was named, and due to consumer feedback, we chose to feature him as the 'Cinnamon Toast Baker' where he has remained in this title role since 1991."
Slogans
The cereal's original slogan was "I'm feeling like Cinnamon Toast Crunch." During this time, the three bakers were the mascots, it had no real slogan, but it featured the three bakers singing the cereal's name with each baker singing one word in its title. Starting in 1995, it was given the slogan: "The taste you can see." In January 2007, Cinnamon Toast Crunch experimented with a new slogan, "It's That Intense," but switched back after poor reception. In 2009 the slogan became "Crave those crazy squares".Advertisements
Current advertisements for this cereal portray adults in some form unable to "see what makes them so popular", the adult guesses something completely off the wall, and usually related to the adult's profession, whereby the kids correct them and loudly say "It's the cinnamon sugarCinnamon sugar
Cinnamon sugar is a mixture of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar used as a spice for desserts. While premixed versions are available commercially, it is simple to prepare at home, and more economical.-Proportions:...
swirls in every bite!". However, the cereal is also currently advertised directly to adults, as a healthy breakfast choice with a great taste they grew up with. They also advertise Cinnamon Grahams with Golden Grahams
Golden Grahams
Golden Grahams is a brand of breakfast cereal owned by General Mills. It consists of small toasted square shaped cereal pieces made of whole wheat and corn. The taste is a mix of honey and brown sugar...
which features two brothers arguing over which is best, Golden or Cinnamon Grahams. As of 2010, the advertisements include usually 2 cinnamon toast crunch cereal pieces themselves and the result is always one eating the other.
Spin-offs of the cereal
There have been two off-shoots of the cereal: French Toast CrunchFrench Toast Crunch
French Toast Crunch is a breakfast cereal launched in 1995 artificially flavoured to taste like French toast, by the General Mills company.The cereal pieces originally looked like mini slices of French toast, but General Mills changed the cereal to a style similar in appearance to Cinnamon Toast...
in 1996 and Peanut Butter Toast Crunch in 2005. French Toast
French toast
French toast or Eggy Bread, is a food made with bread and eggs. It is a Christmas time dessert in Portugal and Brazil.Where French toast is served as a sweet dish, milk, sugar, or cinnamon are also commonly added before frying, and it may be then topped with sugar, butter, fruit, syrup, or other...
Crunch was usually shaped like many little French toast slices, reminiscent of the style of Cookie Crisp
Cookie Crisp
Cookie Crisp is a breakfast cereal introduced in 1977 by Ralston Purina and attempts to recreate “the great taste of chocolate chip cookies and milk.” It is currently manufactured by General Mills in the United States since Ralston Purina’s spin-off of cereals in 1997 and Cereal Partners in other...
. More recently, it resembles Cinnamon Toast Crunch, only lighter in color. Peanut Butter
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
Toast Crunch was a cereal consisting of flakes similar but darker to Cinnamon Toast Crunch. This cereal was discontinued by 2006. French Toast Crunch was discontinued in May 2008. It was re-introduced into Canada later on. As another offshoot, Monopoly Cereal was a limited edition product created in April 2003 by General Mills. The cereal was like Cinnamon Toast Crunch but with the addition of marshmallow
Marshmallow
The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
s based on the pieces in the Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
game, such as houses and hotels.