Why Does Jerry Have So Much Cereal?

When you think of ’90s pop culture, Seinfeld probably ranks up there pretty high. The iconic TV sitcom ran for nine seasons and 180 episodes. Fans of the show spent countless hours watching as Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer made the most mundane situations funny. It indeed was “a show about nothing.” However, fans noticed one detail that made many of them scratch their heads. Why does Jerry have so much cereal?

Jerry Seinfeld’s love of cereal isn’t just a quirk of his character on the show

While the show itself revolved around nothing but the characters’ daily lives, fans love to point out plenty of odd details. Most of the scenes take place in either Jerry’s apartment or the local diner the characters like to frequent. We typically only see Jerry’s living room and kitchen, and in the background, Jerry’s cupboards. The cabinets have glass panes, so viewers catch a glimpse of what he keeps inside, and most of them hold various boxes of cereal.

In the book Jerry Seinfeld: Much Ado About Nothing by Josh Levine, Levine notes that much of the set depicting Jerry’s apartment shows that the character’s digs aren’t necessarily warm and inviting. Instead, his apartment is filled with small details that make the character all that much more relatable. 

Levine writes, “No less than 17 boxes of cereal line a kitchen shelf and the products that can be seen around all have real brand names – another touch of reality.”

Jerry Seinfeld himself once confessed his love for cold cereal and once told Johnny Carson in an episode of The Tonight Show, “I eat a lot of cold cereal. That’s one of my favorite breakfasts, I really do.” The comedian then lamented the amount of sugar in kid cereals like Cookie Crisp. 

Today, Seinfeld sticks with oatmeal as his go-to morning breakfast. In a Q&A with fans in 2014, a fan asked, “Do you still eat cereal? What’s your favorite? I’ve been on a Cinnamon Life kick lately. Thanks for the endless hours of entertainment Jerry!”

Seinfeld replied, “Just oatmeal, I’m older now and oatmeal’s good for your cholesterol.”

Fans have a different idea about why Seinfeld owns so much cereal

Even if the actor himself lists cereal as a breakfast favorite, some fans believe the reason for the cereal in the character’s kitchen is because of his friends.

One Redditor wrote, “Kramer keeps eating it so Jerry continually buys what’s on sale.”

Another user replied, “It’s his favorite. Jerry is also not much of a cook as far as we can tell so a bowl of cereal is likely a go-to when a diner or restaurant is out of the question. And for sure Kramer calculates into this. He probably goes through as much as Jerry does but he’s erratic with his eating habits and cereal keeps for a long time, so it’s ideal to stock up on.”

‘Seinfeld’ Season 4 Episode 14 mentions Jerry’s obsession with cereal

The fact that Jerry has so much cereal is somewhat of a running gag in Seinfeld. While the characters all have their oddities, it’s George Costanza (Jason Alexander) who actually mentions cereal. When a woman tries to convince George that Jerry is “dark and disturbed,” George is shocked. “Dark and disturbed?! His whole life revolves around Superman and cereal!” he replies.

For those who want to reminisce with some old episodes of Seinfeld, you can find seasons 1-9 currently streaming on Netflix.

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