Jiffy Pop: As Much Fun to Make As It Is To Eat
Jiffy Pop… just as fun to make as it is to eat. This was the slogan for the popcorn made in a disposable aluminum pan that was great for camping yet also served as a metaphor for the rising fear in that iconic opening of the 1996 film Scream. While most people turn to microwave popcorn or already-made versions like Skinny Pop, Jiffy Pop still exists for fans of its nostalgic flavor and style.
The history of Jiffy Pop
Frederick C. Mennen was credited with inventing the product in 1958 and began marketing it as Jiffy Pop in 1959. Mennen was an inventor and chemist from Indiana. Not long after he created the product, it was purchased by American Home Products and perfected by a pharmacologist named Alvin Golub. By the ’70s, you might remember the jingle that told consumers that it was “as much fun to make as it is to eat.” Remember the ad with a Genie? How weird was that?
Jiffy Pop still features an aluminum pan that goes over a stovetop or campfire to pop the kernels. Over the years, the packaging design was changed to accommodate different advertising of the time, including a very special Scream version. Sometimes little ads for cartoons or baseball cards were placed under the instructions. In 2000, ConAgra purchased International Home Foods (previously American Home Products) and still owns Jiffy Pop, which only comes in one flavor: butter.
Jiffy Pop pop culture references
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In addition to that horrifying scene from Scream, Jiffy Pop has been a pop culture reference for years. During an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Joel Robinson starts making Jiffy Pop and references its catchphrase. Crow T. Robot jabs that it isn’t much fun to make. Then they create a Halloween costume based on the popcorn treat. An obscure reference is that Jerry Seinfeld in Seinfeld always had some Jiffy Pop on top of his refrigerator.
Just don’t forget to shake it while making it or it will burn. What is your favorite memory of eating Jiffy Pop?
HALLOWEEN Collector's Issue
October 2021
This super-sized issue looks at the horror franchise that started them all, HALLOWEEN
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