To wheat their own ...

For all I know, there are two kinds of people in this world: Triscuit lovers and Wheat Thin fans.

Like a lot of great rivalries, no one can like both equally. You either like your wheat snacks woven, or mashed to a pulp.

I'm a Triscuit fan. My wife fancies Wheat Thins. Therein lies the rub.

When one of us is out of supply, there's pretty much no chance we're sneaking into the other's stash.

The line in the sand, or in this case the pantry, has been drawn.

Years ago, when I was first starting out as a wheat snacker, I favored the whole-grain original Triscuit, because that was their only product. Now, you can go for the reduced fat (my current fav), rosemary and olive oil, cracked pepper and olive oil, fire roasted tomato, deli-style rye, wheat garden herb, or roasted garlic.

The selection for Wheat Thins includes the original, reduced fat, multigrain, hint of salt, sun-dried tomato and basil, 100-percent whole grain, fiber select 5-grain and fiber select garden vegetable.

The mouth feel is so different between the two snacks. My Triscuits have flavor wrapped around each woven strain of whole wheat goodness. I guess it reminds me of my childhood, working on the family farm, chewing a stalk of sweet, non-ripe wheat in late June or early July. During harvest in mid-August, I also would grab a handful of wheat out of the hopper and grind it down, and voila! You had gum. You could have any flavor you wanted, as long as it was wheat.

Wheat Thins are a tad too sweet for me, and the ingredients are ground down and very hard to differentiate.

I have tried all the Triscuit varieties, and really like the cracked pepper and olive oil, since I'm a big pepper fan as well. Tasty.

Both crackers are great with something on top. I've been known to spread peanut butter, cheese, hummus and greek yogurt dip on top of my wheat-ies - not all at once, though...

I'm sure the wife has topped hers a time, or two, but I really wasn't paying attention to tell you with what.

Anyway, Nabisco has us coming and going, since they own both the Wheat Thins and Triscuit brands.

And it's just not an issue with snack products with us. I'm a died-in-the-wool Miracle Whip devotee, while the wife has gotta have mayonnaise.

In this case, it's what we grew up with. I like the tangy zip (yes, marketing dept., I'm paying attention), while the wife like the smooth creaminess of her spread of choice.

I respect her preference, but I'll never convert. To me, anything that spoils when left on the counter for an hour or so doesn't belong in my belly.

So the wife and I have different tastes. Neither of us will ever lose sleep over that. Isn't that what make life interesting?

Honey, just don't expect a kiss when you have a mouthful of Wheat Thins and/or mayonnaise.

When he's not snacking, Jerry Hitchcock is a copy editor for The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com.