REVIEW: Jenny’s Old Fashioned – Triple Mix – Butter, Caramel & Cheese Popcorn

Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips  (notable)

If you are like us, then you have always wondered to yourself “who makes all of the popcorn for those giant metal holiday tins that spring up each year? And, why the heck do they continue to separate the three flavors, each into their own quadrant?”

Apparently, and this is all hypothetical of course, Jenny’s Old Fashion may just be the one who fills those brightly colored, metal, holiday tins with all that butter, cheese and caramel popcorn. In fact the only real difference we can find between Jenny’s Triple Mix, and those kitschy holiday tins, would be the tins themselves.  Well, that and the fact that Jenny’s has removed any trouble for us of having to discard the segregated popcorn walls (which you know is the very first thing everyone should do the second they pop open a holiday popcorn tin!).

So, why is the sum of the Triple Mix better than individual flavors themselves?  Let’s examine the most feeble flavor first – butter.  Although butter many be every movie goers popcorn topping staple, it seems like “fake” butter flavored popcorn more often than not is far too salty, and basically falls flat once it becomes packaged.  Nowhere is that more apparent than when the buttered popcorn is paired with cheese and caramel popcorn!  The only real benefit that we can find from the butter even being included in the mix is for the extra salty aspect.

The other two flavors are simply delicious on their own, but even better when together.  Sweet, rich, buttery, caramel corn, with its crackly crunch texture is always great.  But, too much of any good thing can often turn bad.  That is where the light, crispy, slightly funky and salty, bright orange, cheddar cheese dusted popcorn comes in!  The cheese popcorn provides a nice salty balance to the sweet.  The classic Chicago Mix combo just works great together!!

Probably the funniest thing about Jenny’s Triple Mix being compared to the classic holiday tins is that the popcorn itself even encompassed that unmistakeable, been in the tin too long, kinda, sorta, stale texture.  Which isn’t necessarily appealing, but it does trigger so many tasty childhood memories that we can see passed it!

As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think.  Agree or disagree, let us know.

Popcorn provided to Chip Review by Poppy’s Popcorn, Inc. for review

Jenny’s Old Fashioned Popcorn Official Review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

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©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: Mix Match – Fiery Cheddar Cheese & Buttery Caramel Gourmet Popcorn

Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips (notable)

Comments:

A little while ago we reviewed Mix Match’s trademark Buttery Caramel & Cheddar Cheese Popcorn (aka Chicago Mix).  Much of what we said in that review holds true with this variation on that classic recipe:

“Before moving to Chicagoland, many of us here at Chip Review were unaware of Chicago’s magical namesake popcorn combination.  What’s that you say?  You have not heard of this either?  Well, apparently when cheddar cheese popcorn and sweet caramel popcorn are mixed, and served together in the same vessel, they become the dynamic popcorn duo known simply as ‘Chicago Mix’.  We are not exactly privy to the origin, or the validity, of this popcorn combination, but what we do know is that there are a few local popcorn ‘houses’ that call this combination as such, and do it very, very well (Garrett’s and Wells Street – we’re talking about you).

What Mix Match (also a local Illinois company) has tried to do for us is threefold: replicate the great quality cheddar cheese and caramel-corn combination of these local popcorn ‘houses’, provide it to us in shiny, handy-dandy packaging, and make it readily available to the masses.  Mix Match’s popcorn kernels are large, fluffy, and definitely have some textural body to them.”

The bright fiery cheddar kernels are heavily coated with a commanding layer of spicy, and salty, cheese.  The golden caramel kernels, are the same as the standard Chicago Mix ones, flaunting sweet and crunchy, but once again they are definitely not as rich and buttery as the great caramel-corns found at those popcorn ‘houses’.  What sets this Fiery Cheddar Chicago Mix apart from the traditional one, is of course the addition of some heat.  To be completely upfront and honest, we expected to like these even more than the traditional Chi Mix, simply because more often than not the addition of heat enhances whatever we are eating.  However, in this rare case, the heat did more harm than help, and actually distracted our focus away from the rich, sweet and salty highlights that make Chicago Mix Popcorn so great in the first place.

So, although we may prefer Mix Match’s traditional buttery caramel & cheddar cheese popcorn, this is still a good variation on Chicago Mix popcorn, and we would be more than happy to find a bag of this at a convenience store.

As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: Mix Match – Buttery Caramel & Cheddar Cheese Gourmet Popcorn

Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips (lip-smacking)

Comments:

Before moving to Chicagoland, many of us here at Chip Review were unaware of Chicago’s magical namesake popcorn combination.  What’s that you say?  You have not heard of this either?  Well, apparently when cheddar cheese popcorn and sweet caramel popcorn are mixed, and served together in the same vessel, they become the dynamic popcorn duo known simply as ‘Chicago Mix’.  We are not exactly privy to the origin, or the validity, of this popcorn combination, but what we do know is that there are a few local popcorn ‘houses’ that call this combination as such, and do it very, very well (Garrett’s and Wells Street – we’re talking about you).

What Mix Match (also a local Illinois company) has tried to do for us is threefold: replicate the great quality cheddar cheese and caramel-corn combination of these local popcorn ‘houses’, provide it to us in shiny, handy-dandy packaging, and make it readily available to the masses.  Mix Match’s popcorn kernels are large, fluffy, and definitely have some textural body to them.  The bright cheddar kernels are well coated with an even layer of tangy, salty cheese.  The golden caramel kernels are sweet and crunchy, but they are definitely not as rich and buttery as the great caramel-corns found at the popcorn ‘houses’.

Overall, this is some very good Chicago Mix popcorn, and we would be more than happy to find a bag of this at a convenience store, but it doesn’t quite match up against the hot, fresh stuff from the popcorn ‘houses’.

As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list