Digging in: Chicago popcorn mix

There’s Cheddar popcorn and there’s Caramel popcorn. Then there’s Chicago popcorn mix - a sweet and salty combination of the two aforementioned flavors that sends people all over the globe into popcorn oblivion. What is it exactly about the mixing of two opposites that lures foodies in to wait patiently in the cold for a bag of the stuff? That’s easy. It’s delicious.

Chicago popcorn mix, or Chicago mix as it is usually called, was created by popcorn lovers in Chicago. It’s history is a bit unclear when it comes to who really created that exact pairing, but many say it all started with a man named Frederick William Rueckheim, who came to the United States and settled in Chicago in the late 1800s. Frederick is credited with the creation of the Cracker Jack brand – a mixture of sweet popcorn shared with salty peanuts. Much to its success, salty & sweet flavors fare well with people’s taste buds and Chicago mix is no exception.

You can find it just about anywhere in the world, with each popcorn maker doing there’s slightly different from others. You may find that some have sweeter caramel than others. Even still, some retailers will have more caramel on their popcorn or have a more buttery flavor than their competitors. The cheese is handled the same way. While some retailers may use a powder, others may use a cheese sauce. These slight variations will cause several different tastes when eating Chicago mix popcorn.

So whose is the right one? Well pretty much, all of them are. Even though the name “Chicago Mix” was trademarked in 1991 by a popular popcorn maker, the concept – which is its name – is based off of combining two different flavors together in one bag. Cheddar cheese and caramel - something that was done by Chicago popcorn eaters who were initially buying separate bags of the two and mixing them together. Thus, it is known as a Chicago tradition.

But a tradition like this was just too good to keep locally. News spread and Chicago popcorn mix has been going strong ever since. Now, Chicago popcorn can be found virtually anywhere. People even try to make their own at home, but it’s not quite the same! It just shows you just how tasty this treat is. No one can resist the crunchiness of fresh popcorn mixed with a lot of flavor – the sweet and cheesy kind. Grab a bag of Chicago mix today and get ready for a taste explosion!

Categories: chicago mix, chicago popcorn mix