Quick Bite: French Toast Crunch

French Toast Crunch is somewhat of a legend among cereal enthusiasts in the United States. In 2006, General Mills discontinued FTC in America, likely to clear up more market space for its popular brother Cinnamon Toast Crunch. This move gave rise to a cult following for FTC – it even made it to the Elite Eight in our Discontinued Foods Bracket this past April.

So how did I get my hands on this volatile cereal? You might remember when I sent my Canadian colleague Andy some Rice Krispies Treats Crunch Mix back in May. Well, he kindly returned the favor by shipping me some French Toast Crunch, which is still available in Canada. Not the most economical way to go about product reviews, but we have the means and this is ‘merica so we don’t care. Neither does Canada, apparently.

In Canada, French Toast Crunch is marketed under the charming name “Croque pain doré,” which to me sounds vaguely like something about frogs causing pain.

The cereal itself is also in its original form (i.e. not the form similar to Cinnamon Toast Crunch pictured in the Discontinued Foods Bracket). Little shiny, yellow pieces of toast.

Upon opening the box, a heavy maple scent steamrolled its way into my nose. “Maple Syrup taste!” boasts the French Toast Crunch packaging, and it isn’t kidding. Remember the mass-production french toast sticks you used to get on certain unfortunate school lunch days? That’s what these both smell and taste like. Straight up saccharine, breakfast-ey maple syrup.

While I was chewing, French Toast Crunch didn’t taste like much of anything. It was only when I swallowed that the maple flavor came rushing into the back of my throat. French Toast Crunch is corn-based, so you definitely get a little of that Pops-like flavor behind the sugar glaze, but the chief player here is (fake) maple.

True to its name, when I poured milk over French Toast Crunch, it retained its crunch for more than two minutes (more than most cereals). The hardened glaze of sugar on FTC gives it its crunchy texture, albeit it’s that refined sugar-type crunch that melts away as soon as you bite in.

In the end, French Toast Crunch could have done a better job with the flavor. As advertised, it tastes strongly of maple syrup. But it only tastes like maple syrup. A tinny, fake maple syrup. Maybe this is asking too much of a children’s cereal, but it would have been nice to taste some cinnamon flavor in there. Or butter. Or grilled egg. Come to think of it, French Toast Crunch doesn’t really taste like french toast at all. It only tastes like a condiment you would put on french toast. And unless you’re Apple Jacks, you just can’t do that.

Grade: C-

Summary

Reviewer

Sam

Review Date

2014-03-08

Reviewed Item

French Toast Crunch Cereal

Author Rating

2