Tuesday, March 14, 2023

16176: From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Rastus And Brer Rabbit…?

Researching the recent erasures and revisions of racist brand icons such as Aunt Jemima, Mia the Land O’Lakes Maiden, and Uncle Ben led to an interesting discovery. The food company whose portfolio includes Cream of Wheat—represented for generations by Rastus—also manufactures Brer Rabbit® goodies. Here’s the corporate website hype:

 

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For more than 100 years, Brer Rabbit® has been a trusted household brand used in cherished family recipes. Made of the finest quality unsulfured juice of sun-ripened sugarcane, Brer Rabbit sugarcane molasses contains no preservatives, artificial flavor or artificial color. It’s a key ingredient for baking and cooking.

 

Brer Rabbit Molasses comes in three grades: mild flavor, full flavor and blackstrap. All three grades are unsulfured molasses, making them the finest quality of sugarcane molasses available. Brer Rabbit is also available in two syrup varieties: full and light flavors.

 

The Brer Rabbit name comes from the mischievous Br’er Rabbit from the Uncle Remus folktales passed down by oral tradition in the 1800s and popularized for mainstream audiences in the late 19th century by the published works of Joel Chandler Harris. In these tales, Br’er Rabbit is a trickster who wins by using his wits instead of brawn. Trickery and fun can certainly come in handy in the kitchen as you create winning dishes with Brer Rabbit!

 

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Okey-doke. To further comprehend the cultural complexities, brush up on your Brer Rabbit history.

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