We've never had this cookie, so we're not going to pretend to care if it is discontinued, but we do remember what happened when, early this century, we went to the store and found out that Jell-O Pudding Pops no longer existed. It was not pretty. No, it was not. (They eventually came back, are they still around?) Also, we used to like TEAM flakes when we were very, very tiny. It's bullsh*t that they discontinued that cereal. We don't even remember what it tasted like, but it's still bullsh*t.
In 2003, without warning or announcement, Kellogg Co. killed off the cookie -- by then rechristened Droxies -- after failing to gain ground against the dominant Oreo, one of the country's best-selling snack foods.While aware that Hydrox cookies were becoming harder to find, many of their fans are learning only now they are gone.
"This is a dark time in cookie history," wrote Gary Nadeau of O'Fallon, Mo., last year on a Web site devoted to Hydrox. "And for those of you who say, 'Get over it, it's only a cookie,' you have not lived until you have tasted a Hydrox."
So, Hydrox people, we feel your pain. Have you all tried launching an EECB (executive email carpet bomb) on Kellogg? To learn to launch an EECB, click here.
The Hydrox Cookie Is Dead, and Fans Won't Get Over It [WSJ]
Hydrox Fan Site
There's an Amazon website that sells the foods and snacks that many of us grew up eating. Enjoy browsing thru it because I sure did!
Hometown Favorites>> [www.amazon.com]
I remember Hydrox from visiting relatives in Maryland - we didn't have them in Canada. Can't say I was disappointed. Keebler cookies on the other hand - we had to smuggle those in from Montana or Washington...
Hydrox - sounds like a short form of sodium hydroxide. Definitely something you don't want to put in your mouth.
]]>I must be living under a rock. I have never heard of Hydrox cookies. But I am a fan of Oreos or anything made with lard iceing. I used to always look forward to the lard iceing birthday cakes from Giant Food(now Super G)bakery. Though Hydrox was under my radar, my condolences to all it's many fans. But to be honest it's not the best name for a cookie. It sounds like hydrogen peroxide was an ingredient in the cookie.
]]>And as for Citra, I loved that stuff. I drank a bottle once and puked glowstick juice for hours.
]]>@ewray4381: @arilvdc:
I still get the Crispy Critters jingle stuck in my head. And I also wonder why a 1980s children's cereal was being promoted by a lion doing a Jimmy Durante impression.
@Imaginary_Friend: Orville Redenbacher is dead...
]]>@ewray4381: Crispy Critters! I loved that cereal with a passion. I used to eat it for breakfast and dinner. Do you remember the books it came with? I had the one where someone gets lost in the forest and the lion goes out and finds them. I vaguely remember being weirded out that the illustrations were of cereal. I was so sad when I couldn't find it anymore.
]]>The best popcorn I've ever had - BY FAR - is that stuff the Boy Scouts sell. It's like manna from heaven. Unfortunately, the only way to buy it is online in these gargantuan canisters and since I'm pretty sure I can't eat a trough of popcorn, I'm SOL.
]]>Maybe I should get together with these Hydrox fans and the big-boned, ex-Jimmy Dean sausage customer and draft a manifesto to the food giants.
]]>In any case anyone who eats a whole package at once probably needs to go through some serious withdrawal before developing morbid obesity and diabetes.
]]>It doesn't matter how good a product is, if it doesnt't sell. Look at Psychonauts, the media came buckets about it, and it just sat on the shelf while some crummy movie game sells a million.
Many just stick with what they know and love and hardly try anything new.
]]>At times it does seem confusing when a superior product disappears off the shelves, while some similar crap still sits there. An example? Diet Nestea. That crap never sells, everytime you go to the store there is hardly any Nestea and a crap load of Diet Nestea. Why? because no one wants it.
People need to remember, company executives make stupid decisions on a daily basis, their customers need to remind them that they are idiots.
]]>Oreo cookies kick hydrox ass, its a no contest beat down...
Oh and screw mtn dew, gimme some Rum, Arrrh
I never had Hydrox, I've always loved Oreos so I never tried anything else.
]]>It sucks to have a loved product be discontinued (RIP Pitch Black Mountain Dew, we hardly knew ye!), but really? They are getting their knickers in a twist over cookies? I loved a lot of different products that don't exist any more (RIP Cadbury Gold Mine bar, we hardly knew ye!) but I don't get bent out of shape over their absence. Move on...
]]>Also, if you rapidly drink a sixer of Surge on a hot, sticky afternoon, the resulting expulsion from your maw into the nearest trash can or toilet, looks like you swallowed Luke Skywalker's light saber.
Back on topic: Hydrox were good just by virtue of being interesting and different from the ubiquitous Oreo, even if they didn't taste as "good" =0)
]]>I had forgotten about the hostess pudding pies until someone mentioned them again. I'm tempted to go check out the local outlet store to see what they have.
Anyone remember triples cereal? It was basically rice krispies but it used two other grains instead of just the rice, and they were sweetened slightly different? We used to always use that for "rice krispie" treats.
Damn...now I want Rice Krispie treats.
Back on topic, I remember eating Hydrox as a kid, but seeing as cookies were a big treat, I just cared about the sugary goodness, I didn't really notice a taste difference.
]]>Speaking of discontinued products, I wish McDonalds would bring back the deep-fried apple pies... the baked pies suck.
]]>It was a childhood favorite. Let me know your address, and I'll send you a box this year! Can't deprive a fellow Boo-Berry fan!
]]>I just grabbed the last "Golden" oreos from the office vending machine to eat while reading the comments :) They are MUCH better than chocolate oreos, because the sweetness is cut with both a nutty, wheat flavor as well as a tiny bit of a salty bite. Truly unique cookies.
I remember a canned pasta as a kid called Rollercoasters. They were inch-long wavy edged pasta strips with meatballs. VERY good, if you like pasta with your metallic fake tomato sauce. Alas... gone.
I went on a hunt for Hostess FRUIT pies. You used to get them anywhere, now it's really hard to find even in gas stations. I found some in Los Angeles in a quickie mart and just about cried for joy.
Also, TastyKake disappeared from the Pgh area for a while. My bosses bought me a boxed set from the website for an xmas present (both are from NY, and worked in Philly, where The Kake was still common). It was very nice of them. Now they seem to be making a comeback!
]]>Remember Segregation-O's & Slavery-yums? I think they still sell Homophobia-tarts in Georgia. Ahhh, nostalgia.
]]>@traezer: Those things were awesome. Four years ago, I happened across a KFC in LA that still sold them. 69 cents!
I would venture a guess and say that that particular KFC in LA was where they dumped all the remaining Chicken Little buns and patties and were slowly getting rid of them. It seriously tasted like it was 10 years old. They might still have it, I haven't gone back.
]]>I really miss the Chicken Little sandwich from KFC. I was devestated as a child when I could no longer get one. Thats the day I stopped eating at KFC.
]]>@NeoteriX: Easy there...check out the picture at the top of this Consumerist article. Marketing, branding. Consumers buy into the image.
What more could a corporation ask for? Think of the New Coke debacle. Customers so loyal that they travel to Atlanta to dump the new product out on the sidewalks of the corporate headquarters. That's brand loyalty.
My point is, when we as consumers become so irrationalally tied to a brand or image, we become consumer slaves to the corporation. And that's the opposite of what I want to be.
]]>I bought Boo-Berry a couple years ago and it turned my pee green. So you know...if that's a plus for you, you should make every effort to obtain it at Halloween.
Hydrox cookies always tasted gross. The few times my dad made any move in the Kosher cookie direction, I would refuse to eat the damn things. It turns out, neither my mother or father liked them very much either, so they always just got stale.
In fact, I'm so gun shy about inferior cookie products as a result, I have never been able to bring myself to try Joe-O's.
]]>1. this is so important that it should be a presidential debate subject? Hydrox -vs- Oreo, what say you Ms. Clinton?
2. Boo Berry is still widely available on the east coast, but it has changed and not for the better. Heck at my age, I am sticking with Cheerios.
3. Milk comes from a cow, think about it! NASTY
4. The real issue ought to be the decline in the quality of the Cracker Jack Prizes; I can't even remember the last time I got something other than a useless sticker. WHERE ARE THE PRIZES OF MY YOUTH? I WANT THEM BACK!
I am done, thank you for listening.
]]>Wait a second. They stopped making these in 2003--five years ago--and people are JUST NOW noticing it? How long did those damned things sit on the grocery store shelves?
]]>@zibby: I have seen an off brand of "pudding pies" out here in Portland. I refuse to even try them. Something about the wrapper just screams "DO NOT WANT!"
]]>@zibby: what about FREAKIES ??? you know the cereal with the aliens on the box. Please God somebody else remember them so I know that I am not having repressed memories of something else.
]]>For the record, I'm a huge Huey Lewis & The News fan! It's hip to be square.
@NotATool:
What I think is shoking about this story is how much people buy into product branding. It's a crappy cookie made by a giant company. Yet somehow people have bought into the whole marketing and branding of the thing and now it's become this subculture.I know this happens with a lot of products (Coke vs. Pepsi, Mac vs. PC, etc.) but this is just nuts. It's just a flippin cookie!
You're a douchebag.
This is exactly the opposite of the example you are citing. There is no marketing and branding here. Hydrox has no marketing and branding value, by the historical evidence noted here by other readers and by the very fact that the cookie is being discontinued is evidence enough of that. The reality is that there is a group of people who prefer the taste of this crappy cookie regardless of Oreo's superior marketing and branding.
You could call it anything else, like "Dung between two crackers" and these same people would buy and cherish the cookie because they ostensibly like the taste, not because they bought into some branding.
]]>But for cereal, I think Donutz was one of the best. It really did taste like a powdered donut! [www.youtube.com]
]]>Crap, now I have to make oreos tonight.
]]>I don't remember the film when I ate Oreos or Hydrox as a kid in the 60s. I just remember sweet sugary goodness. Same with Twinkies. But when I eat them now, they just aren't the same.
What happened was that in the name of cost savings, the formulas were repeatedly tweaked over the years. Each individual tweak was probably not that much different from the last, but the end result is that the current versions are something quite different from what they were originally.
]]>The most horrifying part was the "film" you get on the roof of your mouth that was milk resistant. [shudder]
]]>@youbastid: Oh, man. I remember going to Maine as a kid and seeing Moxie on the shelf for the first time. Thinking it was an exciting new soda, I grabbed a bottle. I was stunned - I mean that stuff isn't just bad, it's aggressive. Ugh.
]]>Oreos taste like they are half-made of shortening. Hydrox tastes like they are made of just shortening.
My favorite childhood cereal, Cookie Crisp, is still around. But since it's like $5 and it never goes on sale, it might as well be discontinued as far as I'm concerned.
]]>Hydrox was the superior product? I think not. Their big claim to fame was that the Kosher kids could eat 'em. Oreo stopped using the pig fat, and it was only a matter of time before Hydrox's fate was sealed.
And yeah, I guess some fans are disappointed. But there are people out there that are loyal to Moxie, and that shit is disgusting.
]]>@MitchEvious: seconded. i don't think i had actual cheetos brand anything until i left home.
]]>I think I need my insulin now.
]]>I will keep an eye out for the pudding pies in Manhattan and report back.
I can't recall having seen any, but I haven't been looking either.
]]>I bought some oreos for Christnas to make chocolate bark. I ate one out of the package, & I guess I hadn't eaten just a plain oreo (sans ice cream or whatever) in a while, because I found them gross. They let a yucky crisco-y film in my mouth. Still OK in the chocolate bark, though.
]]>@conformco: Road trip!
]]>i was heartbroken when i learned that they stopped making RC Draft Cola. It was far and away the best cola i've ever tasted.
What makes it doubly sad is that i'm taunted by the soda delivery trucks with the HUGE bottle of frosty RC Draft painted on the side that you occasionally see still making the rounds in Manhattan (delivering other sodas now though).
]]>Also, I haven't seen Frankenberry in a while, but last time I had it, it no longer tasted like franken/strawberry. :(
]]>And I'm glad someone mentioned that the new pudding pops are bastardized. I always thought they were sort of unspectacular and blamed it on the false memories of nostalgia. Damn you, Popsicle!
]]>The item I really miss that NEEDS to be brought back:
Planters Cheez Ballz.... Seriously. Those things were awesome.
]]>What I think is shoking about this story is how much people buy into product branding. It's a crappy cookie made by a giant company. Yet somehow people have bought into the whole marketing and branding of the thing and now it's become this subculture.
I know this happens with a lot of products (Coke vs. Pepsi, Mac vs. PC, etc.) but this is just nuts. It's just a flippin cookie!
]]>i still love hydrox... i've got to go start stocking up!!!
]]>More recently, I discovered Joe's O's at Trader Joe's. Wow! The vanilla creme has more flavor and more texture. I haven't bought an Oreo or Hydrox in years.
]]>The only food-related that I miss terribly is Surge Soda. No other soda I've tried has come close to its taste (and it was gone before I was old enough to see what alcohol it mixed well with!)
]]>@zibby: I was watching the food channel not long ago, and there's a guy who has a website devoted to Boo Berry cereal. He was, um, a bit scary as it was cultlike how much cereal-related stuff he had.
I'm too lazy to look up the link, but if you google "boo berry" I'm sure his site will be one of the first hits.
]]>I guess I can sympathize a little - I haven't had B00-Berry cereal in years although apaprently it is still available in some magical mystery realm. And I really used to like Aspen soda.
]]>Did Hydrox drastically change its recipe at some point in the early 1970s? I used to like Hydrox when I was a kid, but then suddenly they started tasting like a cheap store-brand knockoff of Oreos. Was it my imagination?
]]>By comparison, Hydrox tastes better than Oreo's.
I wonder if anyone of the Grocery stores still have some left..... Better stock up and sell on Ebay!!!
I prefer oreo's, but my fiancee liked hydrox.
]]>Ahh memories...
I used to torment the old ladies at the blood-mobile at my college every blood drive because they only brought Hydrox. I am an Oreos woman first and always!!
]]>My heart broke the day that Little Debbie discountinued "Chocolate Twins" ... After visiting MacKee bakery's outlet store (Collegedale, TN), I was told that the Swiss Cake Roll was an adequate substitute. NOT!!!!
]]>@homerjay: Mmmmmm...chemicals.
]]>Hydrox's milk dipping capabilities were far inferior to Oreos. And really, who eats these without milk?
]]>Jello Pudding Pops are now being distributed by the Popsicle company. They're for sale at grocery stores in some markets (DC area has them) and not others (I couldn't find them in NYC). The shape is now skinny, and it comes in a variety pack: chocolate, vanilla & chocolate-vanilla.
]]>Maybe Kellogg's should have made Hydroios cereal to reinvigorate the brand.
]]>@ClayS:
Still, it's as if Shasta called it quits after deciding Coca-Cola and Pepsi were far better with their Fanta and Tropicana Twister (respectively) brands.
For me the Drox brings back memories of childhood snack times and a slew of cheap parties. But the real tragedy here is loss of choice, regardless of whether you liked one brand or the other.
]]>(can't look up the linked WSJ story, by the way... either the link is dead or it requires a subscription)
]]>I never understood the appeal of either brand, but it looks like kosher people that are into disgusting "cookies" are out of luck now.
]]>I've tried both Hydrox and Oreo, and it's not even close. Hydrox was not nearly as good and that's probably why it is no more.
]]>It's amazing how Nabisco has managed to convince everyone that the Oreo was the original and the Hydrox cookie was a knock-off. In fact, it was the other way around.
]]>@public enemy #1: *A. D'oh.
]]>I remember when they stopped making those Hostess pudding pies. I part of me died that day.
]]>