When Mr. Tidbit needed some marshmallows the other day ("need" being a somewhat relative term), he managed to notice, for the first time, the large variety of marshmallow variants from Kraft's Jet-Puffed brand. He was aware that there are miniature marshmallows, but beyond that he had no idea.
There are jumbo marshmallows, Stacker Mallows (flat, for easier s'mores), strawberry and other regular-sized flavored marshmallows, a number of oddly flavored marshmallows called Mallow Bites (piña colada, German chocolate cake) sized between regular and miniature, and miniature marshmallows in an assortment of fruit flavors.
None of those is new. New enough to still carry "new" badges on the bags are several flavored marshmallows sized like Mallow Bites but without that name: chocolate mint, chocolate royale and cinnamon bun. Apparently there are also seasonal marshmallows, such as bunnies (Mr. Tidbit got what might have been the last bag of gingerbread-man marshmallows).
And now there are Mallow Bits (not Bites), peppermint flavor. These are tiny (about the size found in cocoa mixes and cereals) and come in a 3-ounce jar. While every other version of Kraft marshmallows comes in an 8- to 10-ounce bag (all selling, at one store, for $1.34 -- 13 to 17 cents an ounce), the 3-ounce jar of Marshmallow Bits at that store sells for $1.49 -- 50 cents an ounce.
Choices of Cheerios When he noticed two new flavors of Cheerios -- peanut butter and dulce de leche -- on the same shopping trip, Mr. Tidbit decided he needed to check to see how many kinds of Cheerios that makes.
Although all Cheerios are whole-grain cereals, only two -- Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios -- are made with only oats. Other Cheerios (Apple Cinnamon, Yogurt Burst, Oat Cluster Crunch and Frosted) are oats and corn. Still others (Fruity, Chocolate, Banana Nut, Dulce de Leche and Cinnamon Burst) are more corn than oats.
And two (Multi Grain and Multi Grain Peanut Butter) contain corn, oats and other grain products. (That's 13 kinds of Cheerios.)
AL SICHERMAN
