Birthday Breakfast: Shreddies

Friday, 19 November 2010 | by Pat's Picks

Some people bring Cuban cigars across the border to the US. Others bring their favorite rum. I travel with cereal.

My favorite Canadian breakfast cereal is Shreddies. Looking at them, you’d think Shreddies are the same as Life or Chex. But they have their own taste—described in the product’s jingle as “good, good whole wheat.” It’s been my breakfast staple for about 35 years. A key factor in my Shreddies habit is their ability to soak up the milk. My morning routine includes 12 to 15 minutes to “sog” the Shreddies. That’s just enough time for them to get soft, but not so much time that they become mush.

(Photo from Jason DeCesare)

It’s become a ritual over the past 14 years that whenever I travel to Canada I bring home a suitcase full of Shreddies. And visitors to my apartment from Canada are expected to bring at least two boxes. So imagine my excitement this morning when our NY1 traffic reporter Jamie Shupak revealed to me that she had spotted Shreddies for sale in New York. She had them delivered on the air as a surprise for my birthday tomorrow.

Technically, the box she bought for me is an imported box of British Shreddies. It’s pricey, but it’s available in New York. This is an important development for times when my inventory runs low. The package is blue (not yellow) and the brand is Nestle (not Post) but as far as I can tell it’s the same recipe as my beloved Canadian Shreddies. Of course, the ultimate test will be tomorrow when I try to sog them.

The marketers of Shreddies in Canada have a wicked sense of humour about how unexciting their popular cereal is. Check out the series of focus groups they did on a proposed re-invention of their square cereal as “Diamond Shreddies.”

Diamond Shreddies Comparisons
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And here’s an old-time Shreddies commercial from 1989: