SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Do not mess with breadcrumbs. Or maybe mess with caution, but never mess with the theme music BJ Leiderman does for our show. This week, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on a breadcrumb outrage that is spreading on social media. Some home cooks say they've noticed something is off.
UNIDENTIFIED TIKTOKKER #1: You know what? Now that I'm thinking, my last batch of chicken cutlets tasted funky.
UNIDENTIFIED TIKTOKKER #2: Laura, there's something wrong with the breadcrumb. There's something wrong with the 4C breadcrumb.
UNIDENTIFIED TIKTOKKER #3: The second ingredient, after your flour, used to be corn syrup. Now it's high-fructose corn syrup. They're not the same.
SIMON: That's a roundup of TikTokkers there. Author Judi Cutrone was one of the first to call out the 4C brand for allegedly changing the recipe of its Seasoned Bread Crumbs. She joins us now from Gray, Maine. Thanks so much for being with us.
JUDI CUTRONE: Thank you for having me.
SIMON: So how did you notice the change?
CUTRONE: I noticed because I have a very vocal mother who noticed it pretty immediately. This is a dish - she makes chicken cutlets at least once a week. They're always in the fridge. They're always there if we come home. And you use the same ingredients every time when you're making the dish over and over again. She could tell right off the bat that something was off. And she mentioned it to a few people who are also home cooks who use the same product, and they said the same thing. They were noticing that it tasted sweet suddenly. She thought it tasted like cinnamon, which I thought was really odd when she told me. And then she mentioned it to my cousin, who said, I think we figured it out. They definitely changed some of the ingredients in here.
SIMON: Now, you took this to the court of last - first and last resort these days, which is TikTok, right?
CUTRONE: That's correct.
SIMON: And what did you hear?
CUTRONE: The response was pretty immediate. I think the big takeaway - the thing that I told my mother immediately - I said, I don't think you're alone in this. There are so many comments of people saying, there's definitely something different. They definitely taste sweeter. My meatballs are ruined. My - I've ruined a batch of chicken cutlets. Somebody called it a cutlet apocalypse. The comments are very funny. People are very passionate...
SIMON: I was just about to say...
CUTRONE: ...About this topic.
SIMON: ...We're getting a little strident about this, but go ahead. Yes.
CUTRONE: (Laughter) Yes. Yes, but this is a big deal. You know, I actually name-checked the brand of breadcrumbs in my novel. It's about an Italian American family. The book is a tribute to my mom. Dishes like this are a huge part of our family story, and part of it is the familiarity of how they taste. She knows that she can just make this off of a reflex. It's muscle memory, and she can just use the same ingredients every time. And when she puts it in front of us, it's going to taste exactly the same as when she made them six months ago, a year ago, when we were kids. So this is really personal for people 'cause this is what home tastes like.
SIMON: Now, I have in front of me a statement sent to us by 4C Foods. Quote, "some consumers have asked if we have changed our recipe for 4C Seasoned Bread Crumbs. We have not. In 2023, we updated our label to comply with government regulations and bakery industry changes. The recipe remains the same - breadcrumbs, Pecorino Romano cheese and spices." And they also said they were investigating charges, I guess we'd call them, about a cinnamon taste that some customers say they've noticed. So what's your reaction to their pretty explicit statement?
CUTRONE: I would say it's absolutely possible for a recipe to be 100% the same. That doesn't mean that the ingredients or the quality of those ingredients is exactly the same.
SIMON: Oh.
CUTRONE: Corn syrup versus high-fructose corn syrup? You're going to see a difference there for sure. The fact that the recipe hasn't changed doesn't do much for me because you know who also hasn't changed her recipe? My mother.
SIMON: Aww.
CUTRONE: And yet, the output is very different.
SIMON: I feel the need to confess something to you.
CUTRONE: Yes.
SIMON: Every now and then, on those occasions that I am at home and dine alone, I have been known to shake out some breadcrumbs into a teaspoon and just eat them.
CUTRONE: Oh, wow.
SIMON: (Laughter).
CUTRONE: Thank you for feeling safe enough to tell me that. This is a safe space.
SIMON: (Laughter) I haven't done it recently, but I would notice, right?
CUTRONE: You would notice. Something that you eat so often - and I tried it. She had made a batch with the - 4C's breadcrumb, and I - it did taste a little sweet. It didn't taste exactly as I remember.
SIMON: May I ask - has your mother given any indication if she's just going to find a new line of breadcrumbs?
CUTRONE: She's exploring right now. She's exploring breadcrumb options right now.
SIMON: Well, that's what life and health is all about, isn't it?
CUTRONE: Absolutely.
SIMON: Judi Cutrone, thanks so much for being with us.
CUTRONE: Thank you for having me.
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