Snack Origins: The Surprising Story of How Potato Chips Began as Diet Food

What was the first snack to be commercially microwaved?

Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza

Hot Pockets

Bagel Bites

Lean Cuisine

Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza was the first snack specifically developed to be cooked in a microwave, marking a significant innovation in convenience food.

Which snack’s original packaging featured a comic strip?

Bazooka Joe Gum

Skittles

Snickers

Milky Way

Bazooka Joe gum originally came with a small comic strip inside the wrapper, featuring the character Bazooka Joe and his adventures.

Which snack’s name was chosen by a customer contest?

Twix

Lay’s

Cheez-It

Klondike Bar

Lay’s potato chips were named in a contest held by the company, with the winning entry becoming the brand name that is well-known today.

Which candy was first packaged in a trapezoidal box?

M&Ms

Nerds

Tic Tacs

Mike and Ike

Tic Tacs were first sold in their distinctive flip-top trapezoidal boxes, which helped them stand out in the candy aisle and made dispensing easy.

What snack originally contained only three ingredients?

Twix

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Snickers

Kit Kat

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups originally consisted of just chocolate, peanut butter, and sugar, a simple recipe that has endured since the 1920s.

What snack was initially marketed as “Fried Pork Rinds”?

Pringles

Skittles

Spam

Fritos

Fritos were initially marketed as “Fried Pork Rinds” due to their crunchy texture and flavor, even though they are actually made from corn.

Which snack was originally intended for soldiers in WWII?

M&Ms

Rice Krispies Treats

Cheetos

Corn Flakes

M&Ms were first created in 1941 as a durable candy for soldiers during World War II, with a hard shell that wouldn’t melt as easily.

Which snack was used in early color TV tests?

Cheerios

Peanut M&Ms

Twinkies

Doritos

Peanut M&Ms were used in television tests because their colorful coating showed up distinctly on camera, helping to calibrate and adjust the color spectrum.

What is the main ingredient in traditional graham crackers?

Whole wheat flour

Honey

Cinnamon

Molasses

Traditional graham crackers are made primarily with whole wheat flour, which was part of Sylvester Graham’s diet philosophy promoting whole grains.

What snack was originally designed as a diet food?

Chocolate chip cookies

Potato chips

Pretzels

Popcorn

Potato chips were invented by chef George Crum in 1853 when he tried to make French fries that were too thin to eat with a fork, aiming to appease a complaining customer.

Which snack was first sold out of a vending machine?

Bubble Gum

Pretzels

Gummi Bears

Hershey bars

Hershey bars were among the first snacks sold out of vending machines, taking advantage of their portability and ease of distribution.

Which snack’s original recipe included a soap ingredient?

Coca-Cola

Twinkies

Cracker Jack

Pepsi

Coca-Cola’s original formula included coca leaves and kola nuts, which are also ingredients found in certain soaps, primarily for their aromatic properties.

Which snack was originally used to test microwave cooking?

Popcorn

Hot Dogs

Marshmallows

Pizza Rolls

Popcorn was one of the first foods to be tested in microwave cooking experiments, which led to the development of microwave popcorn.

Which snack was invented by a Mexican chef?

Doritos

Fritos

Tostitos

Cheetos

Doritos were invented by a Mexican chef at Disneyland. They were originally made from leftover tortillas that were cut up and fried.

What ingredient did original marshmallows contain?

Sugar

Gelatin

Marshmallow root

Corn syrup

Originally, marshmallows were made using marshmallow root extract, which was later replaced by gelatin for more consistent results and easier production.

What did the inventor of the Fig Newton name it after?

Sir Isaac Newton

A town in Massachusetts

A type of fig

His own surname

The Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts, not after the scientist Sir Isaac Newton as commonly believed.

What shape were Goldfish crackers originally?

Stars

Fish

Whales

Smiles

Goldfish crackers have always been in the shape of fish, a distinctive design chosen by the Swiss inventor who wanted to make a snack for his wife.

What was unusual about the original Oreo filling?

It was banana flavored

It was mint flavored

It was peanut butter flavored

It was coffee flavored

The original Oreo, launched in 1912, featured a banana-flavored filling, which was later replaced by the current vanilla flavor.

Which snack was invented in a monastery kitchen?

Pretzels

Triscuits

Oreos

Graham crackers

Pretzels have a history dating back to early medieval times and were purportedly first crafted by monks in monasteries.

Which classic candy bar originally included almonds in all bars?

Snickers

Milky Way

Hershey’s

Almond Joy

Milky Way bars originally included almonds in all versions when first introduced in 1923, but later the recipe was changed to include mainly nougat and caramel in its plain version.