Gardetto's is a brand of

snack mix Snack mix is a subset of snack foods consisting of multiple snack items. Popular snack mixes are as follows: * Bridge mix – Nuts, raisins (or other dried fruit), and candy, all covered in chocolate. * Chex Mix – Rice, corn and/or wheat Ch ...

owned by

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

, which also owns the similar

Chex Mix Chex Mix (stylized as Chex mix) is a type of snack mix that includes Chex breakfast cereal (sold by General Mills) as a major component. There are many recipes (often printed on Chex cereal boxes) for homemade Chex Mix, also known as Chex Party ...

. The Gardetto Family Bakery was founded in 1932 in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

by Italian immigrants, Baptiste and Diane Gardetto. The bakery was acquired by General Mills in 1999. According to the packaging, it was at the bakery that Judy Gardetto took the trimmings of

breadstick Breadsticks, also known as grissini (: grissino; Piedmontese: ''ghërsin'', ), are generally pencil-sized sticks of crisp, dry baked bread that originated in the Italian city of Turin, Piedmont. History It is believed that the breadstick orig ...

s and mixed them with other snack bits and a blend of special

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, and/or salts, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Salt may ...

s. In 1931, Judy Gardetto began baking breadstick ends marinated in oil, garlic and

Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: ) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century ...

in her own oven. Her family produced them at the bakery plant and initially sold them as "Gardetto's Snak-Ens" to bars and restaurants in 10-pound bags. Her father added pretzels, rye chips and Chex cereal to the mix and began selling them "Gardetto's Deluxe Snak-Ens". It was initially marketed to high-end shops in the midwest. In 1987, the company began selling 1.75-oz bags in vending machines, and attributed demand taking off to this decision. The product name was eventually changed to Original Recipe. Today, Gardetto's is sold in "original" recipe (with changes as noted below) as well as in reduced fat original, Italian recipe, Italian cheese blend, and a deli-style

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

pretzel A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baking, baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twi ...

mix. Gardetto's Mixes do not contain peanuts or traces of tree

nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

, but do contain wheat, milk, and

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...

ingredients.

Variations

In 2006, Gardetto's released a "special request" snack including only the brown

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

chips. Discontinued varieties include Sour Cream and Onion and Ranch flavored mixes, both of which replaced the rye toast crackers with spiral cut cracker bits. Pizza Mix was also eliminated after several years of production and later replaced by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Recipe. In early 2013, General Mills removed the

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

seed breadstick from the Gardetto's original recipe and replaced it with a different breadstick found in other popular snack mixes put out by General Mills.

References

External links

General Mills' Gardetto's Page
Brand name snack foods General Mills brands Products introduced in 1932 {{food-product-stub