Feeling a little peckish? Maybe you just need a small afternoon pick-me-up in the form of a snack? Maybe you want that snack to be salty? Maybe cheesy? Well, folks…. Today’s episode is salty, cheesy, and the perfect afternoon snack… Cheez-It!
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Who are our Questers today?
Hannah, where are the duos?
Kris, a southern gentleman.
Matt, I do declare.
Amy, still not a cheese fan.
Which Cheez It crackers are we trying today?
Original
White Cheddar
Hot & Spicy
Italian Four Cheese
Grooves Zesty Cheddar Ranch
A History of Cheez It
Transport yourself back to 1921. You are browsing the local grocer’s shelves and you stumble upon a brand new product. Cheez It. You read the package. “Baked Rarebit.” which you recognize as a melted cheddar beer cheese normally spread over toast. Yum, you think to yourself. The product ends up in your basket, and for a lot of people, this little cracker becomes a snack time staple.
The Cheez-It company was formed in 1907 in Dayton, Ohio by Weston Green. The company specialized in many different kinds of crackers such as Edgemont, Dayton, and Flag crackers but none of these would come close to the popularity of the Cheez-It.
In 1930, after Weston Green passed away, Green & Green Company was purchased by Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, which would soon become Sunshine Biscuit Company. The Sunshine Biscuit Company was eventually acquired by Keebler in 1996, and Kellogg’s would acquire Keebler in 2001. Even so, It wasn’t until 2015 until the name Sunshine would be taken off the front of the box.
Since the introduction of the original Cheez-It cracker, there have been over 40 different varieties and flavors. Current varieties include…
Original
Extra Toasty
Extra Cheesy
Extra Big
White Cheddar
Pepper Jack
Cheddar Jack
Whole Grain
Italian Four Cheese
Cheese Pizza
Hot & Spicy
Reduced Fat
Buffalo Wing
Additionally, over the years, Cheez-It has had new products such as
Grooves
Duoz
Snap’d
And in 2022 the new Puff’d, which we are trying today.
The Results
**SPOILER ALERT!**
Listen to the episode first if you do not want the results revealed to you yet!
5th Place: Grooves Zesty Cheddar Ranch
Amy - 3
Hannah - 5
Kris - 3
Matt- 4
4th Place: Italian Four Cheese
Amy - 2
Hannah - 5
Kris - 4
Matt- 5
3rd Place: Hot & Spicy
Amy - 4
Hannah - 5
Kris - 6
Matt- 4
2nd Place: White Cheddar
Amy - 2
Hannah - 7
Kris - 7
Matt- 7
1st Place: Original
Amy - 7
Hannah - 6
Kris - 7
Matt- 6
“You just can’t go wrong with the original Cheez It.” -Amy
There you have it. We give the original Cheez It the Quest for the Best seal of approval. Maybe you want to give it a try? Check out their website for more information on where to find some.
https://www.cheezit.com/en_US/home.html
Thank you for joining us on this mini episode of Quest for the Best. Let us know what you thought. Have you tried these? What were your thoughts?
Also, do you have any foods you would love to get the coveted seal of approval? Let us know in the comments what you want to hear next.
Help us sustain our podcast by donating! We appreciate the support!
Show Notes:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/brief-history-cheez-it-180977777/
https://www.snackhistory.com/cheez-it/
https://www.mashed.com/153401/snack-crackers-ranked-from-worst-to-first/
A battle of the Cheez-It