Do you remember when you sat at the table in the morning, eating a bowl of cereal while reading the back of the box and trying to find the toy inside?
Well, get ready to relive those memories, as 7 March is National Cereal Day.
Cereal has always been a traditional breakfast food, but over time, it has become an increasingly popular bedtime snack – some people even have a bowl for their evening meal! Cereal is also used in many cake, cookie and bar recipes, with the most popular one being Rice Crispy Bar Treats.
Here are some interesting historical facts about cereals:
– A German immigrant by the name of Ferdinand Schumacher began the cereal revolution in 1854 with a hand-operated oats grinder in the back room of a small store in Ohio. His German Mills American Oatmeal Company was the first commercial cereal manufacturer. In 1877, Schumacher adopted the Quaker symbol – the first registered trademark for a breakfast cereal.
– James Caleb Jackson, the operator of Our Home on the Hillside, invented a cereal called Granula in 1863. This was one of the first breakfast cereals, but it never became popular, because the heavy bran nuggets had to be soaked overnight before they were soft enough to eat.
– The cereal industry arose out of a combination of sincere religious beliefs and commercial interest in health foods. Doctor John Harvey Kellogg experimented with granola by boiling some wheat, rolling it into thin films and baking the resulting flakes in the oven. He acquired a patent for this in 1891, and in 1895 he launched Cornflakes, which became an overnight sensation.
– Dr Kellogg’s brother, William K Kellogg broke away from his company in 1906, bought the right to the cornflakes and set up the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company. His signature on every package became the company trademark and insurance of quality.
To celebrate today is easy. Grab a bowl of your favourite cereal and enjoy it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Use #NationalCerealDay to post on social media.
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