Canadians like their….full two scoops! (Facts about Food Friday)

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Facts about Food Friday

While most people probably recognize “two scoops” of raisins as part of the slogan for Raisin Bran, it’s not something I have heard much of in recent years.

I assumed they still made the cereal, but it’s not exactly a cereal you see on TV much any more, is it? I would say it was way more popular in the 80s and isn’t necessarily a cereal that current elementary school kids are begging their mothers for. I could be wrong, though! It’s not like I’m a subject matter expert on TV considering I rarely watch it.

Regardless, I know the box; I know the cereal; I know the jingle; I know the smiling sunshine. I even vaguely remember a TV show back in the 80s where they counted the raisins and wanted to sue because there weren’t enough raisins or something like that. I want to say it was Mama’s Family, but again, not a TV expert. ;)

The first time I saw it in Canada, though, I was supposed to see that Two Scoops is what they know it as! You can see that “raisin bran” is listed in the middle still, but that’s as a description of the cereal….not as the name.

Upon further looking, I discovered that back in the 40s in the US, it was determined that you can’t trademark “raisin bran” because it’s merely the ingredients or characteristics of the ingredients, so if anyone else wanted to describe their cereal with the same words, they would be allowed to.

This is why you’ll find that Kellogg’s (the owner of all of the ‘two scoops’ branding), General Mills, and Post all three have cereals named “Raisin Bran.” In Canada, however, only Kellogg’s is going to be seen as “Two Scoops” instead, helping it stand out against the competition. :D

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, there ARE two scoops in every box, but the size of the scoop is what’s going to vary. ;) They actually put in the raisins based on weight and it increases proportionally with the size of the box. For an average size box on the supermarket shelf, it’s roughly 1/2 cup per scoop, for a total of one cup of raisins in the whole box.

Canadians like their… raisins to be plump grapes

canada, Canadian, grapes, humor, raisins | June 28, 2012 | By

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a “Canadians like their…” post, eh?
 
“Eh?” obviously intended. ;)
 
I don’t know about the rest of the world, but when I think of raisins, I obviously picture dehydrated, wrinkly, chewy candy-like nubs….not full-on grapes.
 
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For whatever reason, though, even though it’s listed as containing raisins, they definitely show grapes in the picture. There’s a big difference!
 
Silly Canadians…

 

 

Porcupine meatball raisin band

Porcupine meatballs with rice, cheese, ground beef shaped to look like real animal
 
Those little guys started off as porcupine meatballs. Go on, google what they’re supposed to look like. Or here, let me do that for you: LMGTFY
 
Mine obviously weren’t as spiky as they could’ve been, though, so then the toothpicks were added…
 
But porcupines need faces, too, right? Not just mohawks apparently.
 
So by the end, I had a band of California raisin guys instead.
 

California raisin guy dude band toys with saxophone, guitar, sunglasses

Porcupine meatballs with rice, cheese, ground beef with faces made of raisins and cranberries

 
Oh yeah, rock it you little rice, cheese, meatballs…. Ok, maybe not.
 
But you’ve gotta admit they look better than this did:

Rice and meat cheeseballs with toothpicks

 
And no, I can’t even tell you if that was the creation pre-face….or simply me taking pictures of the raisin dude butts. Does it really matter? No, of course not.
 
Also, this special closeup shot here is for the people who often ask how I get various faces to stick to random textures. Here’s an example of what happens when things don’t go as planned and I need a little extra duct tape toothpick help.
Stab your eyes out with toothpicks - Recipe for porcupine meatballs
In case you’re wondering, yes, they were quite delicious. But please, if you’re going to hide toothpicks in the eyes, at least warn the kids before they bite into them…