Where is cereal from

They also offered a previously unimaginable level of convenience to men, women and children whose schedules were adjusting to the quicker pace of an industrialized, rapidly urbanizing nation. Details of a s advertisement for Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes. But as the new nation grew wealthier, she explains, breakfasts got bigger. In the 19th century, however, large breakfast spreads became commonplace, especially after the industrialization of beef and pork production in Midwestern cities like Chicago and Cincinnati.

This was particularly true in rural areas, where large, meat-heavy morning meals fueled farmers and laborers for their days of work. Then came the Industrial Revolution , which revolutionized the nature of work. More people were laboring in factories, shops or offices, which ran on standardized schedules, leaving less time for food preparation and consumption during the work week.

Diseases such as tuberculosis then called consumption plagued many Americans at the time. So did digestive ailments, likely linked to a typical diet high in refined carbohydrates, sugar and meat. He called it granula. John Harvey Kellogg, a surgeon who ran a health spa in Michigan, later made a version and named it granola. Using the same idea, a former Kellogg patient, C. Post, created Grape-Nuts, which would become the first popular product to offer a discount coupon.

Kellogg and his younger brother, Will Keith Kellogg, had figured out how to make a flaked cereal they called Corn Flakes. The younger Kellogg added sugar and began mass-marketing them, including the first in-box prize. A health clinician accidentally spilled a wheat bran mixture onto a hot stove, creating what would come to be called Wheaties. Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals are served in nine out of 10 American households. The most important raw material in any breakfast cereal is grain.

The grains most commonly used are corn, wheat, oats, rice, and barley. Some hot cereals, such as plain oatmeal, and a few cold cereals, such as plain shredded wheat, contain no other ingredients. Most breakfast cereals contain other ingredients, such as salt, yeast, sweeteners, flavoring agents, coloring agents, vitamins, minerals, and preservatives.

The sweeteners used in breakfast cereals include malt obtained from barley , white sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup.

Some natural cereals are sweetened with concentrated fruit juice. A wide variety of flavors may be added to breakfast cereals, including chocolate, cinnamon and other spices, and fruit flavors. Other ingredients added to improve flavor include nuts, dried fruit, and marshmallows. Vitamins and minerals are often added to breakfast cereals to replace those lost during cooking. The antioxidants BHA and BHT are the preservatives most often added to breakfast cereals to prevent them from becoming stale and rancid.

Enough of the water remains in the cooked grain to result in a soft, solid mass which can be shaped as needed. Every step in the manufacturing of breakfast cereal is carefully monitored for quality.

Since cereal is a food intended for human consumption, sanitation is essential. The machines used are made from stainless steel, which can be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized with hot steam. Grain is inspected for any foreign matter when it arrives at the factory, when it is cooked, and when it is shaped. To ensure proper cooking and shaping, the temperature and moisture content of the cereal is constantly monitored.

The content of vitamins and minerals is measured to ensure accurate nutrition information. As the material comes out, it is pushed through the die, giving it its shape, and a rotating blade cuts the shapes into pieces. After the cereal is formed into the various shapes, it receives a coating of sweeteners, colorings, frostings, syrups and preservatives. After the cereal is processed, it is off to be packaged. Packaging materials, including the glue for cereal, should provide protection from humidity, spoilage, spillage, insect infestation and external odor, as well as be economical and easy to handle.

Some breakfast cereals are packed directly in cardboard boxes, while others are packed in plastic bags inside the cardboard boxes. Some cereals, such as shredded wheat, are more resistant to damage from moisture, while others, specifically baby cereal, must be sealed in waterproof bags to protect them from humidity and keep them from spoiling. Automated machinery can box breakfast cereal at rapid speeds of almost 50 each minute. The bottom and sides of the cereal package are sealed with an FDA approved hot melt adhesive.

The hotmelt adhesives are thermoplastic polymer systems which are applied in a molten state. The waterproof bag is inserted into the box, and then the cereal is loaded into the bag, which is heat sealed. Any adhesive used in food packaging must be FDA approved because it is considered an indirect food additive. Adhesives used in packaging must be separated from the food source, and for cereal it cannot exceed the limits of Good Manufacturing Practices.

After that is completed, the boxes are packed and shipped to retailers, where they eventually land in the breakfast cereal aisle, and ultimately in your cereal bowl.

Although we think of breakfast cereal as a sugary treat that takes us back to our childhood, cereal was originally the product of a national health craze. This fad was sparked by an epidemic of indigestion that was brought on by a diet that focused too much on meat consumption following the civil war. Cereal only became more popular as time went on thanks to periods such as World War II, in which people had to search for alternative foods for vitamins and minerals.

Breakfast cereal begins its journey from the field grain that undergoes an intensive production process made possible by technological innovation. Aided by clever marketing ideas, sweeteners and cartoon characters, it forever found its place on our breakfast tables.

Close menu. A Brief History of Cereal and Advertising Every good invention starts out as a concept, and believe it or not, the original idea behind breakfast cereal was to use it as a cure for an epidemic of indigestion.