Are Fruity Pebbles Cereals Really Different Flavors, Or Just Different Colors?

Despite its prehistoric nature, diving into a bowl of Fruity Pebbles is a fresh and fruity treat for the taste buds. The Flintstones gang knew what they were doing when they teamed up with Post to create the iconic breakfast cereal in 1971. Unlike its indulgent counterpart, Cocoa Pebbles (which contains no real cocoa), Fruity Pebbles have always relied on a bedrock of vivid, eye-catching colors to attract customers — colors which many people believe are tied to specific fruity flavors. But here's the twist: Those colors don't actually correspond to different tastes, as it's all a vibrant illusion.

Simply put, the puffed-up crispy rice of Fruity Pebbles is a fruit salad of different shades, but not flavors. Now, the only colors upon release were orange, red, and yellow, hinting at orange, lemon, and tangerine flavors. Tangerine was later swapped for cherry to cut some citrus tang, while supplemental colors were thrown into the mix over time, like purple and green (which joined in the mid to late '80s).

Now, to this day, some consumers swear that eating a single Fruity Pebble (or a collection of one color) at a time reveals distinct flavors. Unfortunately for these fans, the truth about the fruity cereal brand may be a hard pebble to swallow.

During an episode of Food Network's "Unwrapped" (Season 21, Episode 12), Marc Summers pulled back the curtain on the cereal's production process. An interesting truth about the cereal was revealed, crushing our fruity dreams at the same time. The so-called pebbles actually start as grains of long-grain white rice, which are mixed with water, salt, and the brand's seven different colors — but no flavor yet.

From there, the vibrant rice is cooked, tempered, and flattened, then puffed back up into the crispy pebble shape (and texture) we all know and love. After this, any additional flavors, vitamins, and liquid sugar are added to the already mixed flakes. Of course, even a quick peek at the product's label provides no indication that the various colors translate to different flavors. The ingredient list simply rattles off natural and artificial flavors as part of the recipe, as well as food dyes (like Red 40 and Blue 1).

Clearly, those bright colors are far from naturally occurring — especially back in the Stone Ages. All this is to say that any connection between color and flavor in a bowl of Fruity Pebbles is a simple trick of the mind. In reality, each pebble is a combination of every flavor, all swirled together. With a rainbow of tastes in every single puff, the Post cereal may not be as authentic as we all thought. But that certainly doesn't diminish the fact that it's yabba dabba delicious.