Nothing beats the momentary elation of raging through a gallon box – or two – of goldfish crackers when watching your favorite show. If you, as an adult cannot wrap your head around your nighttime guilty pleasure, then at least it’s considerable that your kids are addicted to the cheesy, salty treats. It is quite the paradox as kids have a natural proclivity for sugar and goldfish crackers don’t contain sugar as a primary ingredient. The dominating taste for many brands is salt and cheese. Whether it’s the whole-grain classic option or the flavored variants, the fish-shaped snacks are hard to put down, especially if you get a batch with even salt level; some brands can be skimpy on the salt. People who can’t help it are particular about the brands to buy from and have even gone to the extent of leveling up the crackers with spicy, classic seasoning.
The Goldfish Cracker Addiction
There is a prevailing theory that goldfish crackers addiction is a widespread epidemic and it is not far from the truth.. Since their introduction to the U.S market by the same company in 1962, goldfish crackers have been the firm’s largest selling product. Yes! They are a classic. Julia Child, the famous ol’ chef, TV personality, and author – in her prime – always served her guests with goldfish crackers for thanksgiving dinner. Their longevity aside, the Campbell Soup Company (owner of Pepperidge Farm) records annual sales of up to $1 billion in the snack division, with goldfish crackers as the top-seller. According to Statista, 2.9 million Americans consumed up to 8 bags of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers in 2020. Such unimaginable consumption rates have you wondering what magic they use to produce the snack.
What is it about goldfish crackers that causes such an intense urge in kids and many otherwise sensible adults? As unbelievable as it sounds, it is salt.
The Salt Keeps You Grabbing More
Salt is the ingredient that inspires a long and consuming loyalty to goldfish crackers. Salt (Sodium Chloride) is addictive. Although it is not a psychoactive drug, which Science Direct defines as “a chemical compound that influences subjective perception and behavior by affecting the brain’s reinforcement systems, potentially leading to controlled use, instrumentalization for various behaviors, or addiction,” it fulfills the minimum criteria for diagnosing substance dependance. Quite simply, salt can produce addiction.
When you eat salt, or salty snacks, the taste triggers hormones and neural circuits in the brain – particularly the central amygdala – which is responsible for your positive and negative emotions. When you haven’t had anything salty for a while, the neural circuitry and the hormonal system motivate the process that produces a craving for salty foods. This explains your categorical preference for a super-salty box of goldfish crackers wherever you go shopping. Besides intense craving, another tell-tale sign of salt addiction is nausea when eating a meal without salt. Ideally, you should have a teaspoon or less of sodium daily: a higher consumption has health implications. For the ultimate salt taste, fill your pantry with the best types of salts recommended by experts for cooking and seasoning.