What is the snack food that, once you partake, draws you in and won’t let go?
For me it’s Goldfish. Just plain ol’ cheddar Goldfish. I never crave them, never buy them when I’m grabbing a snack at a gas station or whatever. But my wife buys them for the kids occasionally (from Costco- big honking boxes/bags of 'em). Even sitting in the cupboard, they’re never the snack I gravitate toward when looking to take the edge off between-meal hunger.
But, man, once I have a handful, I just can’t quit. If I don’t force myself, I could do some real damage to my family’s Goldfish supply in a single afternoon.
Caramel corn, the gourmet kind with almonds and walnuts and such. I could chow on that stuff until I pop.
I once brought some to a meeting with a customer who was known for being an asshole. He gravitated to the stuff and just sat there and munched out the entire meeting without making a single snide remark, something he was famous for. At the end of the meeting he told me never to bring that into one of his meetings again. It was legend.
I can’t say “I haven’t eaten any in years”, but back when I wasn’t being deliberately super-duper stingy with carb-heavy snacks my snackly rations were fed pretty ad lib.
I used to say that Cheetos came in the convenient single-serving 24 ounce bag. As did yellow corn tortilla chips.
For me the Cheetos had to be crisp-fried-to-a-crackly-crunch; the baked-to-a-delicate-crunch Cheetos were worthless. As were any knock-offs.
Chili Cheese Fritos*. I take a small handful and as soon as the taste starts to wear off I’m reaching for the bag. I buy one or two bags a year on special occasions because I know it’s going to be bad news.
For me it’s garden salsa flavored Sun Chips. Once I have one I can’t stop eating them.
This, not surprisingly, is the goal of snack food designers. I forget the word for it, but there’s an actual industry term for the effect of wanting to eat more of a food once you’ve started. And snack foods are purposely designed to trigger that response, and to not be filling, so you’ll just keep eating them.
I’m a sucker for the jalapeno or salt & vinegar flavored kettle-style potato chips. Not necessarily Kettle brand, or any other, but just the general category.
