Cracker Jack is the American snack of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts that became famous for including a prize.
The product grew from late-19th-century popcorn and peanut confections associated with Chicago. The Cracker Jack name was registered in 1896, after the Rueckheim brothers developed a way to keep the molasses-coated popcorn pieces from sticking together. Its sweet-and-salty combination helped distinguish it from ordinary popcorn and made it easy to sell as a packaged treat.
The prize became a defining part of the brand. A prize was placed in every box beginning in 1912, and early surprises included small toys, rings, booklets, stickers, and decoder-related novelties. Cracker Jack also became closely linked with baseball through the 1908 song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” whose lyrics mention the snack.
People sometimes confuse Cracker Jack with other caramel-popcorn brands such as Poppycock, Fiddle Faddle, and Crunch ’n Munch. Those products share ingredients or style, but the combination of caramel popcorn, peanuts, and the famous prize tradition identifies Cracker Jack.