You ever see a new product release like this and wonder how you’re supposed to take it? As a celebration? An apology? A self own?
I consider myself both knowledgeable about cereal, and I’ve always been a big graham cracker stan, but I’ll admit I never noticed that Golden Grahams apparently hasn’t had honey in its ingredients list for some time now. I suppose I just never expected my old buddy Golden Grahams, my dear, sweet, innocent and unchanging Golden Grahams, to betray my trust. Between its yellow branding and its most famous commercials, Golden Grahams should’ve at least told people when it told mascot Honey The Honey Drop’s namesake stuff to buzz out of their cereal.
This is a dupe right up there with all Froot Loop colors tasting the same and Chocolate Lucky Charms being a corn-based cereal!
It’s tough to pinpoint exactly when Golden Grahams pivoted from a honey graham to a brown sugar graham cereal, but comparing school cafeteria nutrition labels for single-serve Golden Grahams packaging, we can estimate it was some time between 2011 and 2013.
Now, so many depraved years later, Golden Grahams is proudly doubling back on its duplicity, at least temporarily, with Retro Recipe Golden Grahams—made with real honey! Spotted at Walmart by Tim S. (long-time vocal advocate for oat flour’s return to General Mills’ Monster Cereals, a noble and just cause), Retro Recipe Golden Grahams are certainly at the top of my “must try” list. And by “try,” I mean in the “push ’em to the edge” sense of the word. These Grahams have a lot of explaining to do.
We shared everything with each other, Golden Grahams! Promise me you’ve changed for good! Prove it to me by making Retro Recipe Count Chocula happen!
Same here, it had been a few years since I bought Golden grahams cereal. When I tasted them, I thought there was something different. They didnt taste like I remembered them. There was something missing, and they were not as good as they used to be, so I stopped buying them. Now I find out that they did indeed change the recipe. I was happy to see they brought the old recipe back, I bought 2 boxes. I hope it stays, and they keep the original recipe.
Honestly taste buds change with age. Besides, nobody noticed a difference when they took honey out why would we notice when they put it back in? I say this is a marketing scheme and nothing ever changed. Ever.
EEW – just tried them (my daughter adores this cereal) and just yuck – no flavor, soggy even faster, turns to flavorless mush just like that. She eats them dry and made yuck faces but at least kept eating. I ate them as a child, which is why I bought them for her, but this “retro” recipe does not live up to my memory of its old taste, and is a severely disappointing change from the one we knew until now. Not happy about this change.
Last winter I had Golden Grahams for the first time in about 25 years and thought it tasted a lot different. Now I know it wasn’t my imagination. I think this is absolutely hilarious that General Mills has come out and admitted to using a different recipe for all of these years, and yes, I take the “retro recipe honey is back” captioning as an apology. I am now convinced that other cereals have secretly had their recipe changes over the years as well, namely Cookie Crisp, Count Chocula, and Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, since they never seemed to excite me as they once did. Let us hope that this is the beginning, that more cereals will return to their original recipe.
It’s no secret that many cereals have changed formulas. Worst offenders indeed being monster cereals and cookie crisp. I think cocoa puffs used to have oat and rice also, now just corn… sigh.
Let us hope this is a new beginning of cereals being restored to their former glory.
Awesome post! If General Mills is willing to acknowledge retro recipes on the front of one of their most popular cereals, I’ve gotta believe they are finally hearing all the requests for a return to oat flour Monsters and how cruddy Cookie Crisp is compared to the original Ralston version. Hope springs eternal!