What has happened to graham crackers?

[LuckyLib]

I grew up on them — Nabisco. Awhile ago I found them tasting strange with a dry texture. Is this from removing trans fats?

😝

[LastDemocratInSC]

1. It's because they have been subpoenaed.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Mr. Diamond swears nothing tastes as good as it used to.

“They cheapened it!” is his infamous rationale.

[chia]

3. I've said the same thing about various products, I guess the good thing

is that I’m less likely to eat junk food these days. Nothing tastes as good and I don’t think it’s me, although it could be I guess. I think it’s the way they’ve switched out original ingredients for ingredients that increase their profit margin, like using imitation flavors, or allow them to make some nutritional claim.

On a related side note, I think food in Europe tastes better. I think many of their food sources are less industrialized and more localized than ours are.

[Farmer-Rick]

4. He's sooo right

When a corporation stumbles onto a good and popular product they slowly try to use cheaper and cheaper ingredients. Hellmann's mayo now has almost twice as much water as it did 10 years ago. I stopped buying it. It had gotten so awful.

It's because corporations are in the business of making money, not in making a good product.

[steventh]

5. Hellman's mayo tastes bad to me too.

I'm glad you said what you did, because I thought the bad taste might be post-covid changes in my taste buds. It tastes sweeter to me too. And not in a good way.

[elleng]

7. So it's NOT my taste buds!

GOOD (maybe)

[werdna]

6. You may find your answer here:

https://ask.metafilter.com/199062/Honey-Maid-Graham-Crackers-Arent-Recession-Proof-Did-they-secretly-change-the-recipe

[LuckyLib]

8. Thanks. Lots of people agree. They are bleh now.

[Major Nikon]

9. You can make them yourself easily enough

They are made the same way you’d make a crispy cookie, except the dough is rolled and scored into a cracker. Lots of recipes online.

[blue neen]

10. Honestly, even saltines don't taste right anymore.

They're awful.

[no_hypocrisy]

11. My theory:

Nabisco just closed a large manufacturing plant locally in Fair Lawn, NJ and moved operations to Mexico.

If a corporation cuts its budget with labor, it's likely to also cut its budget with substitutions for ingredients.

IOW, no more honey in the honey graham crackers. Likely sugar syrup or some other sweetener.

[japple]

12. It's been a bit since I've eaten graham crackers, but I did switch to Nabisco (original)

in the red box. They are made with molasses instead of honey and I think they taste much better.