Pom-pom pull-away

By AL SICHERMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: August 26, 2009 - 11:39 AM

Pom-pom pull-away

Mr. Tidbit expected merely to guffaw at the latest entry in the "me-too" now-with-pomegranate sweepstakes. (Among fruits you might actually have heard of, pomegranates have one of the highest levels of probably good-for-you antioxidants -- more even than blueberries.)

So Mr. Tidbit thought that new Total Pomegranate Blueberry cereal was just the latest entry in this rush to include pomegranate in juices, liqueurs, cottage cheese, malt-coolers, ice cream and more. But it's not even that.

The only pomegranate in Total Pomegranate Blueberry cereal is "natural flavor." There aren't any blueberries either. Just "crunchy fruit-flavored clusters."

There are antioxidants in there. As the package notes, "Total Pomegranate Blueberry cereal contains antioxidant vitamins C and E." Actually, a serving contains 100 percent of the daily value of those vitamins, and a pretty remarkable 100 percent of the daily value of 10 other vitamins and minerals.

Just no pomegranates. Or blueberries. Except flavor.

But maybe it's time the nation's heroic corps of pomegranate farmers get to sit one out.

How smart is it?

When Mr. Tidbit noticed the surprisingly large (4- by 6- by 8 5/8-inch) box of Smartfood Popcorn Clusters, and saw that it contained just five 1-ounce bags, he wondered how much Smartfood -- as opposed to empty space -- there was in the box. The volume of the box is 14 cups. 31/2 quarts. Almost a gallon. How much of that is just air?

It's not obvious. There's a punch-out dispenser section at the bottom of one side. So you don't see how much space is on top when the box is "full." Unless you pull the top open: There's about 4 cups of air up there (besides all the air surrounding the five bags).

Small bags make convenient servings, but packaging that way takes up what can be deceptively more room than the contents require: Of the 14 cups the box could hold, the total volume of clusters (poured out of the bags) is about 31/2 cups.

AL SICHERMAN