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Critical DMs are lightly edited Slack conversations between members of the MPR News arts team concerning Minnesota art and culture.
This week, arts editor Max Sparber and arts writer and reviewer Jacob Aloi talk about Candyland's Chicago Mix popcorn.
Max Sparber: All right, popcorn time.
Jacob Aloy: Despite being in Chicago, I was unable to obtain Chicago Mix. But I suppose that's acceptable because it's not truly from Chicago, right?
Sparber: It's unclear where the notion originated; mixed popcorn has been around forever. However, you are correct: the name is a Minnesota creation. Candyland is specifically located in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Stillwater.
Garrett Popcorn of Chicago named their blend Chicago blend, and Candyland sued.
Aloi: Chicago Mix sounds better than "Twin Cities Mix." Sorry, MSP metro area.
Sparber: That's what Candyland intended when they called it. Chicago Mix simply sounds like popcorn you'd want to eat.
Let us describe it.
Aloi: Candyland's Chicago Mix combines cheese popcorn, caramel popcorn, and "seasoned" popcorn.
Sparber: The cheese is cheddar powder, and the flavor is popcorn oil and salt.
I've experienced blended popcorn with spicy pepper spice; this isn't it.
Aloi: Salt is a seasoning—good marketing!
Sparber: There are no falsehoods here!
Aloi: What I like about the combination is that it's a fantastic balance of salty and sweet, with a kick of sodium from the "seasoned" popcorn.
Sparber: Yes, it is a household staple. I eat a lot of it, so does my partner, and our dog pressures us into giving him as much as possible.
Aloi: Do you have it year-round? I had always connected it with the winter season, until I started working at MPR, where it is the preferred meeting snack.
Sparber: I get that every time I pass Candyland. Because I reside close downtown Minneapolis and there is a Candyland just a few blocks from our St. Paul office, this happens frequently.
I also buy Chicago Mix knockoffs from supermarket shops. Which have their advantages, but most do not include the seasoned popcorn, resulting in a great collision of sweet and savory.
Aloi: Yes, I believe you need the ordinary stuff to cut through the harsher tastes.
Sparber: I agree. Despite its name, the Candyland version seems like the classic Minnesotan rendition.
I believe there is something uniquely Minnesotan about concealing your Minnesotan identity. Like Prince telling Matt Damon that he dwells within his own heart.
Aloi: Chicago Mix is the snack food's crown jewel.
Sparber: That is an excellent slogan.
Aloi: A snack item previously known as Chicago Mix.
Sparber: Chicago Mix: It is within your own heart, Matt Damon.
Actually, it looks more like Vince Vaughn. He was born in Minneapolis but identifies as a Chicagoan, where he was reared.
Aloi: Whatever it is, I believe Candyland has earned the status as the ultimate purveyor of Chicago Mix.
Sparber: By the law!
It's strange to me that everyone went crazy about the Jucy Lucy a few years ago, but Chicago Mix doesn't seem to have the same kind of local culinary cache.
Aloi: Name recognition. It's a perplexing title that makes it incredibly marketable while preventing it from being a hometown hero.
Sparber: Yeah, I suppose if the Jucy Lucy had called itself the Santa Fe Lucy, no one would have talked about it.
Chicago Mix gives and takes away.
