I’ve talked about this on the blog before, but I believe there is an understated, yet sacred, beauty to foodstuffs that make the most out of minimal ingredients. This I have dubbed my “Egg & Cheddar on Ciabatta Theorem,” and I hear it’s gaining traction among renowned microgastronomists.
This framework of culinary thought applies to Golden Grahams. Not so much literally, as Golden Grahams have as many peripheral filler ingredients as any processed breakfast cereal, but Golden Grahams have at least maintained an overall brand reputation for unanointed simplicity. Golden Grahams cereal squares taste like honey graham crackers, simple as that. If you want more nuanced flavor, either buy a Golden Grahams Treat or buzz off (presumably into the open arms of Honey Maid S’Mores or Cinnamon Graham cereals).
Yet after decades of chaste cereal pride, leave it to a year like 2020 to see Golden Grahams not only breaking bold new graham ground but also revealing (by way of an apology) a betrayal eight years in the making.
Bam. Smelted Golden Grahams icing on a so-so Toaster Strudel. Boom. A way overripe Golden Grahams S’Mores Remix snack pouch. And now, the grand ka-pow: Retro Recipe Golden Grahams that…bring honey back as an ingredient?
This is so silly to me because a quick googling suggests honey wasn't removed from GG until like 2012, so the "Retro Recipe" is anything but.
Also, multiple apostrophe errors here? "80's"?? "Golden Graham's"??? https://t.co/9ikBgmYsAk
— Cerealously 🥛🥣 (@cerealouslynet) September 12, 2020
There’s the betrayal. Maybe I’m the most deliberately ignorant Golden Grahams fan, but I had no clue honey left the cereal around 2012—a fact that makes the ’80s box theming feel a little disingenuous.
Regardless, I’m excited to taste real honey in my Golden Graham again. Like Plato’s Allegory of a Cave’s Continental Breakfast, I’ve lived nearly a decade with false faith in the Grahams I spooned before me.
Will this new golden light blind me, or free me?
Like a crumbling graham cracker, I hate to break this to you: but honey’s triumphant return doesn’t do a whole lot to change Golden Grahams’ classic flavor. This makes sense, because if Golden Grahams was able to execute a seamless recipe change with only a vocal few noticing, then it stands to reason that whatever molten brown sugar fools gold they dreamt up to fake and take honey’s place must’ve been pretty convincing. Hence, reverting that change likely wouldn’t be noticed, unless you slapped the words RETRO RECIPE on it. At the same time, I’d be interested to find out just how much honey General Mills used to put in Golden Grahams compared to Retro Recipe. Added sugars weren’t as scrutinized back in the ’80s this box pays homage to, so I’m guessing RR GG aren’t as sweet as real retro-seasoned taste buds would like to imagine.
Rather, they’re on par with non-Retro brown sugar Golden Grahams in just about every way. All the same densely graham’d base cereal goodness is still here, and even the thin golden flavor glaze didn’t feel alien to me. There certainly aren’t any robust bursts of authentic floral honey, but if I can say anything about the difference between Retro Recipe Golden Grahams and the regular stuff, it’s the relative “tone” of the sweetness. It’s hard to fully articulate, but the more you think about regular Golden Grahams being a brown sugar cereal, the more it becomes tangible that Retro Recipe Golden Grahams have a light, golden-browned sweetness, while regular Golden Grahams have a darker, more caramelized molasses richness.
This difference becomes a bit more apparent in milk. As the more delicate and sprightly flavoring of the two, Retro Recipe’s bright sweetness seems to wash away more quickly, largely absorbed by the milk, whereas regular Golden Grahams hold their own in milk for longer. Given this, it’s entirely possible that you’ll like Golden Grahams with real honey less than the familiar facsimile version. This wouldn’t be the first time (or the second!) a cereal switched to natural ingredients, only to switch back after sparking an uproar.
For me, the difference was so negligible that I blew through this box with vigor, as I do with any box of Golden Grahams. If you’re already planning to buy Golden Grahams at the store, and you see this Retro Recipe version, I’d say go ahead and give it a shot. With such a thematically minimalistic cereal, you have very, very little to lose.
The Bowl: Retro Recipe Golden Grahams with Honey
The Breakdown: This not-really-a-throwback is so similar to “regular” Golden Grahams that it’s an unsurprising, solid and simply satisfying cereal. Your preference between the two will likely correlate with how dark you like your toast.
The Bottom Line: 8.5 Retro Recipe Monster Cereals out of 10
Used to love graham crackers growing up. They are now a tasteless piece of cardboard!!!!
never had golden grahams back in the day (my mom convinced me these commercial brand cereals were some sort of evil).
digging the very slight “burnt toast” taste of this. to me it tastes exactly like a graham cracker, just with less sticks-to-the-mouth flour afterwards. which is kind of welcome.
noticed some rumblings about brown sugar vs molasses. sugar + molasses = brown sugar. molasses is a by-product of making white sugar. though this is probably much less true if it’s in some sort of coating than in the baked body of the thing, since the textures involved would be off. and of course you could potentially change the balance of ingredients once they were separated.
I don’t know what is in these boxes… It certainly is not Golden Grahams. You may get through the first two bites and dive into nostalgia. Going back to the days where you could hang out with your friends without a care in the world and your meal time was set by the street lights. Paint splattered clothes and big hair verses straight hair. Walking through the mall or three miles to the park. Back when the days were more carefree and everyone was more laid back. Then you get into your third bite…. Bigotry, racism, anti abortion, cultural setbacks wash over you as you have this disgusting bitterness that sits in the back of your throat. They changed multiple ingredients in this “new and improved” recipe. Some things shouldn’t have sequels..
The retro recipe is definitely better than new recipe.
Sally’s brand bagged “Honey Graham Bliss” is way better than real brand name Golden Grahams anyway. The powdered flavouring instead of a glaze makes all the difference.
I haven’t had Golden Grahams since the 90’s and this was so disgusting I couldn’t even finish the bowl. I used to love them. I had to Google search because these are like others stated, bitter. I will never eat Golden Grahams again.
Completely disappointed. I graduated high school in 1989 and this is not the same cereal I favored growing up. First bite is fine, 5mins into eating soaked squares the sugary coating washes off and there nothing left but sweet milk and cardboard flavorless soggy squares of sadness. Liars, I’m so disappointed I’m upset they got me with the “retro” recipe. The only thing retro about this cereal is the font on the box.
Now do Honey Nut Cheerios Retro, General Mills!
The Retro Golden Grahams are disgusting just the same as they’ve been the past 20 years. They literally taste like a cardboard box in milk with sugar. The 80s and 90s recipe were good. Not sure when it changed in the early 2000s but it’s been terrible ever since. The keywords located on the back of the box saying “Inspired by the original Golden Grahams recipe” tells you everything you need to know that it’s not the original recipe. That tells me that:
A) you lost the original recipe and cannot recreate it.
B) the original recipe contains stuff you’re not allowed to use or put in cereals anymore.
C)someone else owns the rights to the recipe and therefore cannot make it.
Or
D)You’re still too cheap of a company to actually care about remaking the original recipe that you’re just going to slap some pretty images onto the box as a gimmick to help increase short term sales to take advantage of the nostalgia of the every day consumer.
Off-brand cereals taste closer to the original Golden Grahams than the name brand does and it’s sad. Not wasting money on them or anyone of General Mills cereal again.
The retro golden grahams is a huge disappointment. I want to return them for something else. I tried them before the retro recipe came out and I was also disappointed. When they first came out before any changes it was my favorite cereal. Not any more.
I feel the same way. At some point when I was in my late teens I think (maybe around 2000?) They completely changed the recipe. COMPLETELY. And it was “now stays crispier in milk longer” or something like that. The taste I remember from the 90s has never returned. And I even wrote them back when it changed and told them it tasted horrible. All they did was send me coupons!
YEP. They were different in the 90s for sure. Idk about the 80s recipe. But in the 90s they actually had FLAVOR. Then around the year 2000 they had the “now stays crispier in milk, longer!” And from that point on they’ve never been the same. They just don’t have ANY flavor. I want them to bring back the ACTUAL retro recipe because this cereal still sucks!
After the “now stays crispier in milk, longer” switch, I couldn’t eat them… yuck. I saw this, bought a box, and was instantly transported back to 80s/90s memories. Love, love, loved this cereal and so happy to have it back! What I really want to know is how long I’ll be able to enjoy it. :~(
I am really glad (as is my wife) that the RETRO GOLDEN GRAHAMS are here. We both loved Golden Grahams in our house for many, many, years, till they tasted like cardboard. Now, back to the old flavor! THANK YOU General Mills. My wife bought 4 boxes today!
The Malt-O-Meal brand Golden Grahams and Save a Lot Higgins brand Golden Grahams are the best at half the price. The Golden Grahams retro recipe tastes flat and unsweet.
I just seen the retro golden grahams last week and i bought a box. I always thought that golden grahams tasted different then they did years ago. The retro grahams seem less bitter like i remember. I bought another box on my next visit to the store.
Not bitter. They just don’t have any taste. In the 90s they actually flavor..
The new retro Grahams definitely get soggy alot quicker in milk. But I eat it more dry from the box like a snack mix and the added honey does have a little more sweetness when dry. so depending on how you munch on your GG’s will decide on which is better for you! 🍯