Wow. Just…wow!
I’ve written before of my love-affair as a kid with Planters Cheez Balls. Those things were wonderful, just wonderful…and they’re gone. Made no longer. They live now only in Valhalla, where only those warriors who gave their lives in battle get to feast upon their globular cheesy goodness for all eternity.
Cheez Balls may seem like just plain old cheese puffs in ball shape, as opposed to the longer twisty kinds, but it was the ball shape that made them wonderful. For one thing, Cheez Balls had more crunch to them than your regular cheese puff; they were, in terms of crunch, about halfway in between “regular Cheetos” and “crunchy Cheetos”. The round shape concentrated that delicate crunch, and in addition to the Cheez flavor, Cheez Balls had a distinct aftertaste of corn.
Planters Cheez Balls were the perfect snack, and I’ve mourned their passing. Mourned, I say!
But tonight, I was in Target, looking for a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one on deeveedee, and I darted down the snack aisle looking to see what was new. I’m not sure what for…a coworker told me about a new Honey BBQ flavor of Cheetos, but I was just looking around, mainly. And then I saw a whole shelf…full of these huge plastic jugs…filled with small globes of puffed cheese goodness.
And now, one of those jugs is mine. Mine, I tell you! Mine, all mine!
So…how are they? They’re really close to Planters Cheez Balls, actually. The cheese flavor and the delicate crunch are dead on. The only thing missing is that noticeable aftertaste of corn…you can detect it, actually, but it’s not as strong.
Now to put an Errol Flynn movie on the teevee on Sunday afternoon…and plop down in the middle of the living room floor…with the cheese balls!
I get crazy for yogurt covered raisins in much the same way you do with your cheesy poofs.
I'm so envious. I want some!
I've been seeing those big containers of cheese balls at Wal-mart for several years and resisting the temptation. So far.
So glad to see you enjoying that simple pleasure.
Damn this "M" effer GETS IT! I too have cried over the loss of Planter's Cheez Balls. This old lady used to give me some as a kid. It Planter's cheeze balls make up my psyche. It's like I have a whole sensory department in my brain devoted to them. I too have also found the Target balls. They are like a new wife after your old one died.