Acres of ranches

A few weeks ago Mr. Tidbit discussed the emergence of seven new ranch salad dressings from Kraft: Velveeta Cheesy Ranch, Velveeta Cheesy Jalapeño Ranch, Grey Poupon Dijon Ranch, Bull's-Eye BBQ Ranch, Taco Bell Spicy Ranch, Taco Bell Southwest Ranch and J.L. Kraft Homestyle Ranch. In putting together that list, Mr. Tidbit did not mean to imply that there aren't approximately a million other ranch salad dressings.

Here, for example, are the eight ranch dressings available from Wishbone: Ranch, Guacamole Ranch, Chipotle Ranch, Cheddar Bacon Ranch, Buffalo Ranch, Light Buffalo Ranch, Light Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch and Fat-Free Ranch. Two of those — Chipotle Ranch and Cheddar Bacon Ranch — are new. (For those who want their dressing free of bottles, Wishbone also makes a dry ranch mix.)

Groovy Cheez-Its

New from the Sunshine part of Kellogg comes Cheez-It Grooves — thin, very crisp rectangular crackers with deep ridges. The box describes this as the "best of Cheez-It and a chip in one." Grooves come in Sharp White Cheddar and Zesty Cheddar Ranch.

Although the latter is — inexplicably — the first ranch

Mr. Tidbit won't compare the nutritional profiles of the many, many Cheez-its (he has a life, of sorts), but he will note that whereas a 30-gram serving of original Cheez-Its contains 150 calories and 8 grams of fat (2 grams saturated fat), essentially the same serving (29 grams) of Cheez-It Grooves contains 130 calories and 6 grams of fat (1 gram saturated fat).

Oreos again

And, of course, there's a new flavor of Oreos. Actually, in what Mr. Tidbit believes to be a first, two new flavors of Oreos have appeared simultaneously: Marshmallow Crispy filling in a sandwich of Golden Oreo cookies, and Cookie Dough filling in a sandwich of regular Oreo cookies. (For what it's worth, Mr. Tidbit thinks the latter filling tastes more like sweet instant coffee.)

Al Sicherman