The Minnesota Snack That Calls Itself Chicago Mix
This week, arts editor Max Sparber and arts reporter and critic Jacob Aloi discuss Candyland’s Chicago Mix popcorn.
Sparber: All right, popcorn ahoy.
Aloi: Despite currently being in Chicago, I was unable to procure Chicago Mix. But I think that’s okay, considering it isn’t really from Chicago, right?
Sparber: It’s not clear where the concept of it developed — mixed popcorns have been around forever. But you are correct: The name is a Minnesota invention. Specifically, Candyland in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Stillwater.
Garrett Popcorn in Chicago called their mix Chicago Mix, and Candyland sued.
Aloi: Chicago Mix does roll off the tongue better than “Twin Cities Mix.” Sorry MSP metropolitan area.
Sparber: That’s what Candyland thought when they named it. Chicago Mix just sounds like popcorn you would want to eat.
A Blend of Savory and Sweet
Let’s describe it.
Aloi: Candyland’s Chicago Mix is a blend of cheese popcorn, carmel popcorn and what’s been described as “seasoned” popcorn.
Sparber: The cheese is cheddar powder, and lest any spice-timid Midwesterners panic about the seasoning, it’s popcorn oil and salt.
I have had mixed popcorn where they add hot pepper seasoning — this is not that.
Aloi: Salt is indeed a seasoning — good marketing!
Sparber: No lies here!
Aloi: What I appreciate about the mix is that it is a good blend of savory and sweet, with an extra kick of sodium from the “seasoned” popcorn.
Sparber: Yeah, it’s a staple in my home. I eat a lot of it, my girlfriend eats a lot of it, and our dog bullies us to give him as much as possible.
Aloi: Do you have it all year round? I always associated it with wintertime, until I started working at MPR, where it’s the meeting snack of choice.
Sparber: I get it whenever I pass Candyland. Since I live near downtown Minneapolis and there is a Candyland a few blocks from our St. Paul office, that is quite often.
I also buy the Chicago Mix knockoffs you find in grocery stores. Which have their merits, but most do not have the seasoned popcorn, so it’s a real clash of sweet and savory.
Aloi: Yeah, I think you need the regular stuff to cut through the stronger flavors.
Sparber: I agree. Despite its name, the Candyland version feels like the iconically Minnesotan version.
I think there is something very Minnesotan about hiding the fact that you are Minnesotan. Like Prince telling Matt Damon that he lives inside his own heart.
The Hidden Identity of a Local Favorite
Aloi: Chicago Mix: the Prince of snack foods.
Sparber: That is a very good slogan.
Aloi: The snack food formally known as Chicago Mix.
Sparber: Chicago Mix: It lives inside your own heart, Matt Damon.
Aloi: Well, whatever it is, I think Candyland has earned the title of definitive supplier of Chicago Mix.
Sparber: By law!
It’s weird to me that everybody went bananas for the Jucy Lucy a few years ago and yet Chicago Mix doesn't feel like it has the same sort of local food cache.
Aloi: Name recognition. It’s a confusing title that makes it very marketable and precludes it from being a hometown hero.
Sparber: Yeah, I guess if the Jucy Lucy had called itself the Santa Fe Lucy none of us would be talking about it.
Chicago Mix giveth and Chicago Mix taketh away.
