As you are no doubt aware, the U.S. FDA recently issued a [url=https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/11/08/2013-26854/tentative-determination-regarding-partially-hydrogenated-oils-request-for-comments-and-for]preliminary determination to revoke the GRAS status of partially hydrogenated oils[/ur] because of their trans fat content. GRAS stands for “Generally Recognized As Safe” – ingredients that aren’t GRAS are considered “food additives” and have to go through a special approval process every time they want to be added to food. Pratically speaking, this will effectively be a ban on partially hydrogenated oils if it becomes final.
Now, ever since trans fats gained a bad reputation, and started showing up on the Nutrition Facts label, processed food manufacturers have gone out of their way to reduce the amount of partially hydrogenated oils in their products. Usually they replace them with fully hydrogenated oils, or palm oil, or lard or something with enough saturated fat to match their food’s old texture.
But one food item that hasn’t been able to reformulate itself to use less partially hydrogenated oil is … JIFFY POP.
This means that, if Jiffy Pop can’t be reformulated in time for this Federal all-but-ban on partially hydrogenated oils, in all likelihood it will quietly disappear from the shelves. It’s already lost a hell of a lot of market share to microwave popcorn, and is nowhere near as ubiquitous as it used to be. This last hurdle may be one that Jiffy Pop simply can’t make it across.
The thing is, I LIKE Jiffy Pop. A lot. It has a flavor I simply can’t get from any variety of microwave popcorn, or from popping plain popcorn and melting butter over it. Plus, as we all know, it’s as much fun to make as it is to eat.
So … I personally recommend that if you don’t want to run out of this iconic aluminum-wrapped food-related product, you should stock up now. I have about 30 packages of Jiffy Pop stored in my garage right now, not including the 8 I have in my indoor pantry. If I can limit myself to 1 Jiffy Pop a month in the coming JiffyPocalypse, I’ll have enough to last over three years.
I should emphasize that my prediction of JiffyGeddon is merely an educated guess. For all we know, ConAgra might pull a last-minute miracle and make, say, Jiffy Pop with coconut oil or something.
I haven’t had jiffy pop in at least 35 years - I just added a couple of them to the shopping list for next week as a farewell to the product [we bought a box of hohos when Hostess failed. Very disappointing - I remember the cake part as much darker and more chocolate/cocoa-y. These were a sort of beige and vaguely chocolate-y.]
When I read the title of the thread I was worried that we were all going to be wrapped in aluminum foil and subjected to great heat until we popped. Thanks for clearing that up.
There was an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where Joel demonstrated “impromptu Halloween costumes.” He cut a hole in a pie tin and put it around his neck, then he wrapped his head in aluminum foil, and went as Jiffy Pop popcorn.
Of course, there were no eye holes in the aluminum foil, and I can’t imagine it would be easy to breathe with your head wrapped in the stuff. If he stayed in that “costume” much longer he may have ended up with a JiffyPocalypse of his own.
From my own experience, I have been able to successfully pop Jiffy Pop that was around 8 years old, which had been stored at room temperature. The oil had not (yet) gone rancid. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil is stable as hell.
That’s one of the things I don’t like about “natural” alternatives like non-hydrogenated palm or palm-kernel oil. They just don’t have the shelf life of partially hydrogenated oils. Maybe Jiffy Pop – if ConAgra elects to keep the product alive – will go the way of fully hydrogenated soybean oil, but if not, its shelf life may be severely compromised.
I was amazed it to learn was still around when my mother gave me some Jiffy Pop a few months ago. Nostalgia factor aside, I thought it was pretty mediocre compared to microwave popcorn, and a pale shadow of heart-cloggingly delicious theater popcorn.
Well, okay, I’ll take movie-theater popcorn over Jiffy Pop – but only if you add some of that Aritifical Tartrazine-colored Vaguely-Butter-Flavored Topping Product. Yum!
But microwave popcorn over the Jiffy? Bah, you kids these days. You grew up with microwave popcorn, so for you that taste is “normal.” For us old fogies who grew up in the Pre-Microwave-Oven era – when it was the stovetop, the conventional oven, or nothin’ – you just can’t beat the “heated from below” flavor and texture of an aluminum pan full of popcorn, salt, and partially hydrogenated soybean oil.
But … but … wait a minute, what do furries have to do with anything “Jiffy” related? Is there some hidden connection to Jiffy Lube or Jiffy packaging that I’m missing here?
I grew up on air-popped corn and switched to microwave… in my mind Jiffy Pop is “that popcorn you eat when you’re camping.”
I don’t buy that Jiffy Pop can’t reformulate. It might taste different or be different in other ways, but they’ll be able to continue on. However, I can’t imagine they have much market share left, so this might be the final nail in the coffin for them.
D’you remember when Jiffy Pop came in two flavors, “Butter” and “Natural”? Whatever happened to their “Natural” flavor? (Besides the fact that it wasn’t the kind of “Natural” food they sell at Whole Foods, that is.)
