Tart Wars: Attack of the Blueberry

Kellogg's has come out with a new variety of Pop-Tart and this time it is in honor of the Blueberry Muffin. Seeing as the Classic Blueberry variety has always been my favorite flavor of Pop-Tart I decided to do a taste test and review to find out how the new variety stacked up against the reigning champion.

First here's a brief story of how my love of Pop-Tarts was born. My folks rarely fed me just a Pop-Tart for breakfast as a kid. In grade school I usually only got them if we were traveling or in a situation where we were on the go and didn't have time for a sit down breakfast. One time in particular I remember when I was five my mother woke me up way before sunrise. I had not yet started school so I was not used to getting up so early. My mother and I had to go to my sister's school for her "field day." I'm not even sure if schools still do this kind of event but basically it was a morning where normal classes were postponed so that the kids could go outside and partake in a series of structured physical challenges. There'd be things like spoon-and-egg races, long jumps or three-legged races. I was not too interested in being up that early or in the prospect of watching other kids play while I sat on the sidelines. (Though years later at my own field day I would have paid cash money to sit out on the sidelines and avoid that gauntlet-like ritual). Anyway, to make a long story short (too late) the only thing that made me less of a grumpy gus that fateful morning was that my mom made me a boxed breakfast which included a banana, a cheese sandwich and a blueberry Pop-Tart. I still remember enjoying its colorful sprinkles and gooey jelly center. I think it was that exact moment when I got hooked on these classic breakfast pastries.

Kellogg's started making Pop-Tarts in the mid-sixties. Pop-Tarts got their name from the term Pop Art which was an art movement gaining steam at the time. Originally they were not frosted but once Kellogg's perfected a frosting that could withstand toasting it was quickly added. I always thought Pop-Tarts taste just as good room temperature as they do heated in the toaster. However, part of the fun of Pop-Tarts is that they "pop" up out of your toaster like magic! In fact, a cartoon toaster named Milton was the product's first spokesperson. Kids loved it so much they couldn't keep up with demand for Pop-Tarts.

Since those early days Kellogg's has added many different flavors of Pop-Tarts. So whenever they add a flavor like Blueberry Muffin to the line-up I just have to take notice. I purchased a box of classic blueberry Pop-Tarts and a box of the new Blueberry Muffin variety for this epic clash of the titans. These boxes each contain four foiled bags with two pastries each. So you get eight Pop-Tarts a box. At one time I remember they only came with a total of six pastries. It's like getting an extra foil bag of joy in every box! On the box covers, both varieties look kinda similar, but there are some subtle differences.

Let's start with the incumbent classic blueberry Pop-Tart. I am confident that most of you have seen and hopefully have tasted this variety of Pop-Tart. It is a flavor that was there at the beginning and is still great today. Just look at those rainbow sprinkles on top of the frosting. Nothing like a colorful sugary pastry to cheer you up in the morning.

The filling is a rich purple jelly that of course tastes like blueberry.

Now let's take a look at the new guy in town (or lady as the case may be).

Introducing Blueberry Muffin! As you can see from the box, the pastry crust and frosting look the same color but that's about the only similarity. Blueberry muffin has a creamy white filling that looks like it has little dots of blueberry scattered in it. Also the sprinkles are brown and purple to match the hues of a real blueberry muffin. I feel these aren't as cheerful as the rainbow sprinkles that grace the top of classic blueberry, but the brown and purple fit the theme appropriately.

Here is what classic blueberry and the new blueberry muffin look side by side. The classic blueberry is on the left and the new blueberry muffin is on the right. I still think classic blueberry wins the beauty contest of this competition just for its cheery sprinkles.

Getting back to the blueberry muffin, lets take a look at the filling. What? Where are the dots of blueberry that are clearly shown on the box art?

Hmmm, as far as I can see they are missing. Actually I dissected the other tart in this pack and did find a few tiny purple dots of blueberry coloring. So they are there, but just not as liberally placed as the box would suggest. I'm sure this is less about Kellogg's being stingy with the blueberry dots and more just a random result of the manufacturing process. Missing dots aside the blueberry muffin Pop-Tart tastes great! The crust is infused with muffin flavoring and the filling has a sweet creamy butter taste.

Now that I have compared the taste and look of classic blueberry with blueberry muffin Pop-Tarts I wanted to see just how much the new blueberry muffin actually tasted like a real blueberry muffin.

Enter Little Debbie with her delectable snack-sized, individually wrapped blueberry muffin. This greasy little morsel only set me back .50¢. Woohoo! Not bad. I may have to warn you however, that this little two-bite darling has 8 grams of fat and is over 200 calories! In other words it ain't health food, mkay. Not that Pop-Tarts are. But as I always say "everything is okay in moderation."

Here's what the muffin looks like undressed. Sexy huh? Much more visible blueberries in this than the tart made in it's honor.

I decided since the blueberry muffin Pop-Tart has a hint of butter in the filling I should add some butter to my muffin. Yes I like to butter my muffin. Don't look too much into that statement. I decided to use this Smart Balance light butter spread. I mean if I'm about to eat all this fat and sugar I might as well put some flax in the mix too. After warming the muffin for 30 seconds in the microwave (since it would just not do right in the toaster) I took a bite. It was yummy. Little Debbie knows how to make a tasty blueberry muffin. I could see that there were definite similarities in this actual blueberry muffin and the Pop-Tart that copies it.

But I wanted to open up another blueberry muffin Pop-Tart just to get another taste comparison of the two.

What the...!? Uh oh, my blueberry muffin Pop-Tarts are being heisted by a legion of Clone Troopers. I guess the Grand Army of the Republic needs a lot of food to keep it running. Still why'd they have to go and steal my Pop-Tarts? If this was a waffle I could just say "Leggo my Eggo!" But in the case of Pop-Tarts what can I say? "Drop my tart, you fart!" doesn't have the same authority.

Oh well at least there is one foil wrapped pack left in the box. Now I know why they include that fourth bag. After taking a bite of the Little Debbie muffin and a bite of the blueberry muffin Pop-Tart I can say with confidence that they definitely taste alike. Way to go Kellogg's! You did it again.

-Daniel

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