American Junk Food Classics: Cracker Jack
Long before Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) saturated the United States with a constellation of unhealthy snacks Cracker Jack helped pioneer the concept of marketing junk food to children in individual branded packages. Cracker Jack came in a cardboard box with an interior pouch to maintain freshness, and a prize! They advertised heavily, and it didn’t hurt that the song “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” mentioned the product. I never understood that line: “buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack.” Cracker Jack has peanuts in it so why would you need to buy peanuts and Cracker Jack?
Cracker Jack — now owned by Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) — is different than what I remember. No more box - it comes in a plastic mylar bag. Very few peanuts.
Cracker Jack is still junk food. It contains three types of sugar - sugar, corn syrup and molasses. The prize is now a sticker with a QR code on the back which leads you to the Cracker Jack website.
—Alex