Chex

November 27, 2023

I must admit it, I love to make (and eat) Chex mix.  Chex puts out free seasoning packets that are stored along with the endcap displays beginning in November.  The endcaps all start the same way, with all three of the Chex cereals displayed together (corn, rice, and wheat).  The boxes of rice and corn are also displayed in the cereal aisle, along with the wheat during off periods (i.e., not around the holiday rush).  Whenever the free seasoning packets are displayed, I make sure to grab 4 or 5 knowing that everyone else will do the same and they will run out long before the last demand around Super Bowl parties (early February).  The problem I have found is the packets are not the only thing to run out.  While there always seems to be enough corn and rice Chex, the wheat runs out early.  I have tried making the mix without the wheat and it just does not taste the same.  I once tried an alternative brand of wheat squares and found they had a high sugar content.  I like Chex mix for the savory taste, and the sugary wheat squares ruined the mix (I still ate it however).  I have also tried alternative corn and rice squares and they have worked well.  As I walked down the aisles of the big box store, I noticed Chex had resolved the lack of wheat availability as well as buying counterfeit corn and rice and had boxed the three together.

When I looked online, I found Chex Mix (stylized as Chex mix) is a type of snack mix that includes Chex breakfast cereal (sold by General Mills) as a major component.  There are many recipes printed on boxes of Chex cereal (and even competitors) for homemade Chex Party Mix, which predates the commercial packaged version by more than thirty years.  Although the contents vary, the mixes generally include an assortment of Chex cereals, chips, hard breadsticks, pretzels, nuts, or bagel bites.  Wheat Chex cereal was introduced in 1937 and Rice Chex in 1950 by Ralston Purina.  An advertisement for Chex party mix appeared in Life Magazine in 1952 with a recipe that included Wheat and Rice Chex.  Corn Chex was introduced in 1958 and added to the recipe.  It was not until 1985 that the pre-packaged Chex mix products were introduced commercially by Ralston Purina and the trademarks registered to it.  There are several different recipes for homemade Chex mix including those found on the Chex cereal boxes.  The recipe for the “Original Chex party mix” has changed multiple times over the years and there are recipes from the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s that differ from the current “Original Chex Party Mix”.  That is also true for the ingredients of the commercial Chex mixes.

The new boxes that arrived on the shelves this year are called Triple Chex and contain individual one pound (453.6 g) sleeves of rice, wheat, and corn Chex.  I had always wondered why no one had come up with this marketing concept before.  Wheat Chex are not a popular item by themselves and during the holidays often run out before the demand.  This way you get all three together and can make your own Chex mix.  I find the commercial Chex mix too dry and the added seasonings and sugar used to make the varieties taste different than the “original”, and often too sweet.  Combining the three cereals together should also keep counterfeiters like me from mixing the wheat check with off brands of corn and rice.  I did notice the Triple Chex were also available online as well as the spice packets.  This should ensure I will be able to make homemade Chex party mix well into the Super Bowl (unless they run out). 

Thoughts:  By definition, original product is the product from which you are upgrading.  Chex seems to use the term to mean whatever is currently in vogue, and their commercial mix packaging labels this as “traditional” to differentiate it from the newer commercial varieties.  Chex mix became so popular it is now a generic name (like xeroxing for copies).  I cannot be too hard on Chex as my own party mix has also changed through time.  I now use the spice packets and add Worcestershire, Tabasco, and additional butter.  It is now my original mix.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.