Showing posts with label corn flakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corn flakes. Show all posts

July 30 - A Change to Crispness! (aka - The Invention of Corn Flakes)

 Posted on July 30, 2021


This is an update on my post published on July 30, 2010:

On this day in 1898, William Kellogg and his brother discovered that cooking, drying, and rolling corn produced flakes that patients at their Battle Creek Sanitarium enjoyed eating.

As a matter of fact, patients enjoyed the breakfast cereal so much, they wanted more to take home. Eventually Kellogg decided to mass-market corn flakes (and he added sugar to appeal more to the general public!).



Four years before, the Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the flaking process when they found that some cooked wheat that had gone stale was still usable after rolling it it out. They had intended to roll out a large swath of dough, but were surprised to see the wheat flakes that formed instead. The Kelloggs patented their process and called the wheat cereal "Granose."

Corn flakes were even more popular than wheat, and in 1928 William Kellogg brought out another product: Rice Krispies. This cereal was another hit with the public, and Kellogg was on his way to creating a huge, successful company.




Did you know...?

When William Kellogg decided to put sugar on his mass-marketed cereals, his brother Dr. John Kellogg was angry. He was all about nutrition, and he didn't want to be associated with sugary cereals! The brothers split on the issue, and the familiar Kellogg's company we know today is only associated with William.

The Kelloggs didn't invent the idea of dry cereal for breakfast. A man named Dr. James Jackson invented a non-flaked dry cereal he called “Granula,” which was not like today's granola, but instead was like today's “Grape Nuts.”



One of the Kellogg's companies biggest competitors in the dry cereal market is Post. The person who started that company, Charles William Post, was actually one of Dr. Kellogg's patients. Some claim Post stole the recipe for corn flakes from the Kelloggs.

Celebrate with cereal!

I love cereal and milk! I could eat it three times a day, if I wasn't worried about nutrition and variety—but of course, I DO worry about nutrition and variety, and so should you:

Investigate your stash of dry cereal at home, or the shelves of cereal options at a grocery store. How do the cereals compare when considering nutrition? Calories? Cost?

Is sugar the very first ingredient listed? Yikes!
Maybe this kind of cereal should be an occasional
treat instead of an everyday breakfast.

One thing some nutritionists say we should avoid as much as possible in processed foods is high fructose corn syrup. Find out why by doing some research on the sweetener. Then do more research: Do any of the cereals you enjoy have this high fructose corn syrup? If so, how about buying and trying a cereal that doesn't have it. You might also want to write to the manufacturer of your favorite cereal and ask that it be removed.


You can eat dry cereal with milk or yogurt, bananas or berries, nuts or honey or...? Try a different combo today!











March 7 – Cereal Day

Posted on March 7, 2014

Once upon a time, people ate a variety of grains that had been crushed or ground, cooked with water, prepared into porridge and gruel, oatmeals and grits. They ate their porridges and such hot, and the lucky ones sweetened their mashed, cooked grains with honey, fruit, or sugar.

Those foods are a kind of “cereal” – but back then nobody ate the kind of boxed breakfast cereals that are so popular today, because nobody had yet produced and marketed “dry cereal.” Around the “turn of the century”—the late 1800s and early 1900s—that all changed.

On this date in 1897, Dr. John Kellogg began serving cornflakes in his sanitarium. Soon his brother began to market them (with the addition of sugar, to the horror of the good doctor). The Kellogg's company thus began.

(The Kellogg brothers' invention of flaked cereal happened on another date, as chronicled in this earlier post. But somebody, somewhere chose this date as the anniversary to celebrate as Cereal Day.)


Today's sweetest cereals—the ones made with chocolate and marshmallows and loads of artificial flavors and colors and plenty of high-fructose corn syrup—should be treated as dessert, NOT as part of a healthy breakfast. They should be eaten rarely (if at all). But there are some healthier alternatives like the original Grape Nuts.









By the way, even the healthier cereals can be used as dessert; check out these Yummly Grape Nut recipes:

Grape-Nuts Pudding 























Going for the “kiddie dollars”

Some people point out that cereal companies often advertise to kids, using television commercials during childrens' cartoon shows, designing packaging that features characters kids love, and offering special treats inside or on the box. Yet, the critics say, these cereals advertised to kids are so sugary that they are a disaster for both tooth care and nutrition! Do you agree?

Launch a study of commercials, print ads, box design, and special offers. Figure out the relationship between advertising to kids and nutritional value (or lack thereof).
As much as I enjoy cookies, I am
a bit skeptical that Cookie Crisp cereal
could be part of a healthy breakfast.

Discuss with others whether or not there should be more rules about targeting kids with ads.

PBS Kids offers lesson plans to help you study ads. 



Also on this date:



International Women's Day





















Plan ahead:

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July 30, 2010

Invention of Corn Flakes – 1898


On this day in 1898, William Kellogg and his brother discovered that cooking, drying, and rolling corn produced flakes that patients at their Battle Creek Sanitarium enjoyed eating. 

As a matter of fact, patients enjoyed the breakfast cereal so much, they wanted more to take home. Eventually Kellogg decided to mass-market corn flakes (and he added sugar to appeal more to the general public!).

Four years before, the Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the flaking process when they found that some cooked wheat that had gone stale was still usable after rolling it it out. They had intended to roll out a large swath of dough, but were surprised to see the wheat flakes that formed instead. The Kelloggs patented their process and called the wheat cereal "Granose."

Corn flakes were even more popular than wheat, and in 1928 William Kellogg brought out another product: Rice Krispies. This cereal was another hit with the public, and Kellogg was on his way to creating a huge, successful company.


Did you know...?
  • When William Kellogg decided to put sugar on his mass-marketed cereals, his brother Dr. John Kellogg was angry. He was all about nutrition, and he didn't want to be associated with sugary cereals! The brothers split on the issue, and the familiar Kellogg's company we know today is only associated with William.
  • The Kelloggs didn't invent the idea of dry cereal for breakfast. A man named Dr. James Jackson invented a non-flaked dry cereal he called “Granula,” which was not like today's granola, but instead was like today's “Grape Nuts.”
  • One of the Kellogg's companies biggest competitors in the dry cereal market is Post. The person who started that company, Charles William Post, was actually one of Dr. Kellogg's patients. Some claim Post stole the recipe for corn flakes from the Kelloggs.

Celebrate with cereal!
I love cereal and milk! I could eat it three times a day, if I wasn't worried about nutrition and variety—but of course, I DO worry about nutrition and variety, and so should you:


  • Investigate your stash of dry cereal at home, or the shelves of cereal options at a grocery store. How do the cereals compare when considering nutrition? Calories? Cost?
  • One thing some nutritionists say we should avoid as much as possible in processed foods is high fructose corn syrup. Find out why by doing some research on the sweetener. Then do more research: Do any of the cereals you enjoy avoid this high fructose corn syrup? If not, how about buying and trying a cereal that doesn't have it. You might also want to write to the manufacturer of your favorite cereal and ask that it be removed.
  • You can eat dry cereal with milk or yogurt, bananas or berries, honey or...? Try a different combo today!