Rice Krispies (known as Rice Bubbles in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

) is a

breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in We ...

, marketed by

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toa ...

in 1927 and released to the public in 1928. Rice Krispies are made of

crisped rice Puffed rice and popped rice (or pop rice) are types of puffed grain made from rice commonly eaten in the traditional cuisines of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. It has also been produced commercially in the West since 1904 and is popu ...

(

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

and sugar paste that is formed into rice shapes or "berries",

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

ed, dried and toasted), and expand forming very thin and hollowed out walls that are crunchy and crisp. When

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

is added to the cereal the walls tend to collapse, creating the "

snap, crackle and pop Snap, Crackle and Pop are the cartoon mascots of Rice Krispies, a brand of breakfast cereal marketed by Kellogg's. History The gnome characters were originally designed by illustrator Vernon Grant in the early 1930s. The names are onomatopoeia ...

" sounds. Rice Krispies cereal has a long advertising history, with the elf cartoon characters Snap, Crackle and Pop touting the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. In 1963,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

recorded a short song for a Rice Krispies television advertisement.

Background

Rice Krispies are made by the Kellogg Company. The "Snap, Crackle and Pop" slogan was in use by 1939 when the cereal was advertised as staying "crackly crisp in milk or cream...not mushy!" with claims that the cereal would remain floating (without sinking to the bottom of the bowl) even after 2 hours in milk. They were not a shredded or flaked cereal type, but were instead created by a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

ed process that Kellogg's called "oven-popping".Patented Sept. 5, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CEREAL FOOD - Preparation of puffed cereals from wholegrain or grain pieces without preparation of meal or dough by heating without using a pressure release device
/ref> The original patent called for using partially dried

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

, which could be whole or broken, that would have 15–30% moisture which could then be shaped by existing processes for cereal production that include rolling, flaking, shredding, etc. After being processed to the desired shape the grain is dried to around 5–14% moisture content at which stage the grain will expand when subjected to a high temperature creating a light, low-density product that is crisp and easy to chew.

Ingredients

Rice Krispies contain

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, malt flavoring, iron,

ascorbic acid Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...

(vitamin C), alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), niacinamide, vitamin A palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1),

folic acid Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing a ...

, vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin) and

vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of Lipophilicity, fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group ar ...

. According to Kellogg's, the rice used in the US version of the cereal is grown in the states of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Health claims

In 2010 the Kellogg Company was found by the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...

to be making unsubstantiated and misleading health claims in advertising on Rice Krispies boxes. Claims made by the company included "now helps support your child's immunity" and "has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy." The FTC had previously found fault with Kellogg's claims that

Frosted Mini-Wheats Frosted Mini-Wheats (also known as Frosted Wheats and Mini Max in the United Kingdom, Mini-Wheats! in Canada, and Toppas in certain European countries; also referred as "Mini-Wheats" in the US) is a breakfast cereal manufactured by Kellogg's consi ...

cereal improved children's attentiveness by nearly 20%.

Variants

Present day

The names of other products within the Rice Krispies family vary depending on where they are sold: * Cocoa Krispies (called Coco Pops in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Greece and Italy), a

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...

flavored version (sold worldwide) * Rice Krispies with Vanilla Flavor, sold in Canada and South Africa * Chocolate and Vanilla Rice Krispies, a cereal containing mixed flavor Rice Krispies (introduced in 2007) *

Rice Krispies Treats Rice Krispies Treats (also called 'Rice Krispie Treats', 'RKTs', 'bars', 'rice buns', or 'buns' and alternatively 'cakes', 'Marshmallow Treats', 'Marshmallow Squares', or 'Rice Krispies Squares' in Canada, and 'LCMs' in Australia) are a confection ...

Cereal, contains bunches of krispies fused together by a marshmallow coating (introduced in March 1993) * Strawberry Pops, sold in South Africa * Kellogg's Strawberry Krispies Many

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

versions of Rice Krispies (including frosted and chocolate variants) have been produced by other

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

s under many different names.

Discontinued

* Frosted Rice Krispies (called Ricicles in the UK and Ireland) * 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 United States and Canada."The Past In Candy"
X-Entertainment. Article written 2002-01-02, retrieved 2006-11-29. Despite surviving longer in Canada than the United States, they were discontinued during the late 1990s. *Rice Krispies with

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

flavor included 1983's Strawberry Krispies and 1997's Strawberry Rice Krispies. Australia had Strawberry Pops, a strawberry version of Rice Bubbles, which was discontinued in the mid-1970s, along with other similarly coloured and sweetened foods, due to concerns about the additives causing cancer.

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

-flavored Rice Krispies, including Banana Bubbles and Banana Krispies, have also been sold in the past. *Razzle Dazzle Rice Krispies, an extremely sweet, artificially-colored cereal, was sold from late 1997 to 1999. *Apple Cinnamon Rice Krispies, a cereal flavored with apple and cinnamon, was sold in the early 1990s. *Rice Krispies with berry flavors, including Berry Krispies and Berry Rice Krispies. *Rice Krispies with honey, Honey Rice Krispies, was sold in the UK and Canada for a short period of time in the late 1990s. In the late 1990s, Kellogg's sold Halloween versions of their regular cereal. This included Halloween Rice Krispies which featured a variety of orange krispies.

Rice Krispies Treats and similar sweets

In 1939, Kellogg's employee Mildred Day concocted and published a recipe for a

Camp Fire Girls Camp Fire, formerly Camp Fire USA and originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a co-ed youth development organization. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in America. It is gender inclusive, and its prog ...

bake sale A bake sale, also known as a cake sale or cake stall, is a fundraising activity where baked goods such as doughnuts, cupcakes and cookies, sometimes along with other foods, are sold. Bake sales are usually held by small, non-profit organizations, ...

consisting of Rice Krispies, melted marshmallows, and margarine. It has remained a very popular snack dubbed

. Kellogg's themselves have now produced commercial varieties of both marshmallow and chocolate-based treats under the name Rice Krispies Squares in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Rice Krispies Squares
UK. Article retrieved 29 November 2006. and the UK, as well as versions under the original Rice Krispies Treats name sold in the United States. Kellogg's also produces commercial versions of Rice Krispie treats known as Rice Krispies Squares, cereal bars, and a multi-

cereal known as Rice Krispies Multi-Grain (formerly Muddles"Kellogg's Rice Krispies Muddles"
(reference to former name), ciao.co.uk. Article retrieved 29 November 2006.) 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 Healthy digestion, also called digestive health, results in the absorption of nutrients from food without distressing symptoms. Healthy digestion follows having a healthy diet, doing appropriate self-care including physical activity and exercise, ...

.Kellogg's Rice Krispies Multi-Grain
Kellogg's Interactive (kelloggs.co.uk). Article retrieved 29 November 2006. In Australia, Rice Bubbles are found in a well-known homemade sweet, the chocolate crackle. This is often found at fetes and consists of Rice Bubbles,

copha Copha, a registered trademark of Peerless Foods, is a form of vegetable fat shortening made from hydrogenated coconut oil. Copha is produced only in Australia, but there are many suppliers of hydrogenated coconut fat in various forms worldwide. It ...

and

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...

, amongst other things. In the UK, a similar treat is made of Rice Krispies and melted

. White Christmas is another Australian sweet made with Rice Bubbles, milk powder,

and dried fruit.

South African controversy

In 2018 the South African branch of Kellogg's replaced the classic Rice Krispies with Rice Krispies Vanilla, thereby discontinuing the production of the original Rice Krispies in the country. This change was met with a lot of public complaints. Kellogg's South Africa posted the following on their Facebook page in response to the outrage of South African consumers: "Rice Krispies Vanilla is a new product that was launched in South Africa in June this year, responding to many of our customers’ calls for more innovation and variety. With Rice Krispies Vanilla we have moved from a single grain to a multi-grain formula which has additional nutritional benefits and allows us to source locally, promoting local farmers and jobs. The New recipe also contains 9 vitamins & iron. While we fully understand that in some instances people prefer the original plain Rice Krispies, several different recipes were tested in market, and the vanilla formulation was significantly preferred by our local consumers. We will continue to provide opportunities for testing and tasting in-store to share our new taste with consumers." The new Rice Krispies Vanilla now contained 21.7 g sugar for every 100 g, up from only 9 g previously, and the taste was very poorly received. Despite the public's obvious and vocal disgust with the product, Kellogg's decided to stay firm in their decision on replacing the original Rice Krispies with the new Rice Krispies Vanilla, until 2020 when Kellogg's returned the original product to shelves. Zandi Mposelwa, head of external relations at Kellogg Sub Saharan Africa, released the following statement: "We have decided to relaunch he original Rice Krispiesin the market, whilst keeping the Rice Krispies Vanilla variant to ensure that we meet different consumer needs for variety. We are importing the product from the UK because we no longer have manufacturing capability to manufacture the product in South Africa.” This meant that South African consumers would be paying more for the standard Rice Krispies: a 510 g box of imported original Rice Krispies will cost around ZAR 70. A 600 g box of Vanilla Rice Krispies currently costs ZAR 47.99.

Marketing history

Cartoon mascots

Mother Knows Kellog's Best! - For a right start, 1948

Snap! Crackle! and Pop!, the animated cartoon mascots for Rice Krispies, were created by illustrator Vernon Grant in the 1930s.1938 Kellogg's Rice Krispies Vernon Grant Prints
/ref> The original gnome-like Snap first appeared in 1933 on a package of Kellogg's Rice Krispies. Crackle and Pop came later, and since 1939, the three have been together in many forms of advertising, including radio, movie shorts, and comic strips. An updated version of the elf-like Snap Crackle and Pop appeared for the first time on television in 1960; before that it was advertised by Woody Woodpecker. They are the first and longest-running cartoon characters to represent a Kellogg's product.Rice Bubbles: The history of Snap, Crackle and Pop!

Taglines

*Snap! Crackle! Pop! Rice Krispies! (1966–present) *It's Going to Be a Rice Day (1960s) *The taste that tickles (early 1990s-2000s, Canadian) *Snap! Crackle! Pop! Nutritious! (late 1997–1999, Canadian) *What do your Rice Krispies say to you? (1990–1998) *Let someone in on the fun! (1997-1998) *Celebrating the joy of kids growing through interaction. (1998, PBS Sponsorship for

Teletubbies ''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on t ...

) *Snap, Crackle, Pop. Wake up call to the world. (1998–2001) *Childhood is Calling (2006–present) *Moms Just Know (2007–present)

"Snap, crackle and pop" sound

The cereal is marketed on the basis of the noises it produces when milk is added to the bowl. The

onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

noises differ by country and language: "The Tale – Snap! Crackle! & Pop! story." Version from May 31, 2008
''Kellogg's Rice Krispies.'' *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

: Snap! Crackle! Pop! * Danish: ''Pyf! Paaf! Pof!'' * Swedish: ''Piff! Paff! Puff!'' *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!'' * Spanish: ''Pim! Pam! Pum!'' * Finnish: ''Riks! Raks! Poks!'' *

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Cric! Crac! Croc!'' * Dutch: ''Pif! Paf! Pof!'' *

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...

: ''Knap! Knetter! Knak!'' *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

: ''Poos! Pas! Pes!''

Prizes and premiums

In 1938 and 1939, Vernon Grant, the illustrator who created Snap, Crackle and Pop, produced a set of six illustrations of Mother Goose themes including Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Jack Be Nimble,

Little Jack Horner "Little Jack Horner" is a popular English nursery rhyme with the Roud Folk Song Index number 13027. First mentioned in the 18th century, it was early associated with acts of opportunism, particularly in politics. Moralists also rewrote and expa ...

, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star that were offered as premiums in exchange for two Rice Krispies

boxtop A boxtop, in the context of being a proof of purchase, is understood to be the upper portion of a product box, detached, and mailed as part of a claim for a radio premium or other advertising offer. During the 1930s through 1960s, cereal boxtops ...

s and a three-cent stamp.

References

External links

*
How it works

{{Kellogg's Kellogg's cereals Products introduced in 1928 Rice dishes