| breakfast cereal |
Breakfast cereal, made from grain, is commonly eaten in the morning. The oldest type of cereal, known as porridge or gruel, requires cooking in water or milk. The modern breakfast cereals, however, are entirely precooked and eaten in cold milk. The first precooked cereal was probably invented in 1863 by James Jackson. He broke up hardened loaves of unleavened whole grain bread into little pieces and served it for breakfast after soaking the brittle chunks overnight in milk. Jackson named this mixture granola. In 1877, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg created a similar cereal called granola, but not until his invention of corn flakes in 1902 did cereal become a commercial success. At first, most cereals were marketed as pure, whole-grain foods. Eventually, however, competition resulted in the addition of sugar and food additives. Commercials and in marketing campaigns directed at children, such as the inclusion of a premium or toy in the box. In the 1970s, as cereals came under attack for their lack of nutritive value, many manufacturers began adding nutrients. Unlike most other grain products, breakfast cereals have shown a steady increase in per capita consumption in the United States throughout the 20th cent. Apart from breads, cereal is the most common form in which Americans consume grain.
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These are the men who invented cereal. To the right
is Dr.John Harvey Kellogg who invented granola. And to the left is
Charles William Post, maker of post cereals. Theses fine men are the
creators of some of the finest tasting cereals in the world, and most
popular. Also (not pictured) there is Will Keith Kellogg who founded
the Kellogg company in 1906. He was a vegetarian who followed in his
grandfather's steps in cereal making. He was actually the one who invented
corn flakes. In 1894 he was trying to improve the vegetarian diet in
hospitals. He was searching for a digestible bread substitute using
the process of boiling wheat. Kellogg accidentally left a pot of
boiled wheat to stand and the wheat became tempered. When Kellogg rolled
the tempered wheat, each grain of wheat emerged as a large thin
flake. The flakes turned out to be a tasty cereal. Kellogg had
invented corn flakes. |
