As a kid, I remember eating Jell-O Pudding pops. Chocolate, Vanilla, or Swirl, those things were the bomb. What person of my generation doesn't remember Bill Cosby raving about them in commercials? Yet, suddenly, mysteriously, they vanished from production. What the hell? Where did they go? Why were they pulled? Did demand wane that much? Is there any hope for pudding poppers?
I found myself looking towards the source to find out how to make them, and sure enough, their informative web site provides. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Everyone I talk to loved the things, and were sorry to see them go. It was Kraft Foods's mysterious Houdini trick -- now you see them, now you don't. There was no fanfare, no mass announcement across national publications and airwaves that this would be the last day to buy pudding pops. I still can't look at Bill Cosby without thinking about them. I missed them now that they were gone. Apparently, I wasn't the only one.
Yet, rumors abound. This guy wrote in his blog, just one scant month ago, that Pudding Pops are in fact back. Are the legends true? Can they really have returned, manna from a global megacorporation bent on world domination? I'd have to run to the store to see. Which I did. Low and behold, the rumors are true -- Jell-O Pudding Pops are back! The have, however, gone through a few changes.
For one thing, they're smaller. No, it's not that everything seemed bigger when you're a child, which is often true. These things have been sized down. In the olden days, these things were more bar-shaped. Now, they're shaped like popsicles -- how boring! According to yet another unsubstantiated source, the Jell-O brand name for this particular product was sold to Good Humor, who in turn cranked it down to standard popsicle size. Such is true. The box is also different, so waves of nostalgia do not wash over you upon seeing them. So it's a different shape -- is that really a big deal? As it turns out, it does affect the aesthetics.
It's just frozen pudding on a stick...yet, it tastes so good. Yes, I've tasted these new creations, and deem them to be good. Are they as good as before? It's kind of hard for me to judge, being that the last pudding pop I had may have been over fifteen years ago. I would say not, though they are still quite tasty. As noted above, the aesthetics really weigh into it.
So relax, you hardcore fans, for you've been appealed to by big business! The pudding pop has returned, and while not quite the same as the old, they offer a nice addition to the dessert arsenal. Yum!