Tropicana Made a Cereal You’re Actually Supposed to Pour Orange Juice Over
In a 2015 survey by Kellogg, 20 percent of participants admitted that they submerged their cereal in orange juice. Granted, about half of all 2000 survey takers were college students, so it’s possible that the habit was less motivated by preference than by the sparse contents of their dorm room minifridges. But still: It’s true that at least some people have intentionally eaten bowls of cereal with OJ.
At this point, pouring milk over cereal is so ingrained in the fabric of American breakfast culture that reaching for any other liquid seems nothing short of blasphemy, especially since so many popular cereal brands pair well with dairy. But soon, the OJ-over-cereal contingent will have an opportunity to find out what it’s like to eat a crunchy concoction made specifically for orange juice—because, as Food & Wine reports, Tropicana actually created one.
If you assumed the developers would’ve taken inspiration from fruity classics like Trix and Froot Loops, think again. Tropicana Crunch comprises honey-flavored clusters of oats and almond slices. Almond and orange aren’t incompatible flavors: They’re sometimes mixed in cakes, among other things. Nor are honey and orange, which can be found in recipes for everything from beverages to chicken to carrots.
Oats and orange juice, on the other hand, aren’t exactly the most intuitive combo—but the decision was all about durability. As a Tropicana spokesperson told Food & Wine, granola doesn’t get soggy when exposed to OJ’s acidity nearly as rapidly as something like corn flakes would. And for what it’s worth, the company itself is quick to admit that this experiment may not be a smashing success. “The first cereal made for OJ (and maybe the last),” the Tropicana Crunch website proclaims.
Fortunately, curious eaters don’t have to wonder if sampling Tropicana Crunch is worth the money it would cost to buy a whole box. To celebrate National Orange Juice Day on May 4, Tropicana will give them out for free: You’ll be able to claim one through the site that day until supplies run out. (Just don’t eat it right after you brush your teeth.)
[h/t Food & Wine]