Manufacture of cereal food materials.^ — The primitive
method of making the material in the grain available for use
was by grinding the grain between two stones, or by pound-
ing one stone upon another, and this method is used by the
Mexicans and certain of the American Indians to this day,
human muscle being the power employed. Wind and water
were harnessed for grinding grain, and were the only motive
powers available until the invention of steam, the grinding
being done by stones. In a Connecticut town there still
exists a mill stone, one of a pair so small that they were
carried into the settlement on horseback, and when placed in
a small mill by a brook, they ground a bushel of com' in a day.
Breakfast cereals and meal are now made in the. great
factories that produce flour ; steam is the motive power and
the grains are broken, or rolled, between steel rollers. (See
Chapter XII.)
Breakfast cereals. — The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal
has met the popular demand for a quickly prepared food for
the first meal of the day. A few of these are made iinder
known conditions, but they are sometimes manufactured
from inferior grain, and the presence of grit at times indi-
cates a possible lack of cleanliness in the process. It is a
question, too, whether or not the starch has been subjected
to heat for a sufficient length of time, and whether they can
be masticated sufficiently to make the grain digestible,
and the nutritive material available. Their use for young
children is undesirable. For older people, they add variety
^ The manufacture of flour is discussed in the chapter on bread making.
CEREAL PRODUCTS 129
to the diet, but they are usually more expensive than the
home-cooked breakfast foods, even when the cost of fuel is
taken into account. See Fig. 38.
Cooked breakfast cereals. — It is an easy task to cook a
cereal, especially now that the fireless cooker in some form
is present in so many homes. The cereal for breakfast does
not necessitate early rising ; as it may be prepared the day or
evening before and be served in palatable form in the morning.
The most common breakfast cereals are made from oats,
wheat, and com, varying in fineness of grain from those
ground Uke a meal to the coarser cracked wheat and the
samp made from com. It is well to use kinds made from
different grains, but when the worth of a few has been proved,
it is not wise to try another kind simply because it has a new
label. One manufacturer confessed to a visitor that the
same cereal was put into boxes of different colors and sold
under different names as a means of inviting purchasers.
The cereal foods made from whole grains are especially
valuable on account of the high mineral content.
It usually pays to buy in boxes, rather than in bulk, in
the case of cereals; and always from a reliable grocer. If
you purchase a box of cereal as a '' bargain," weigh its con-
tents and compare the weight with the weight of a box
bought in the regular way. Also examine such a box for
the presence of insects. These may be recognized some-
times by a webby substance, and again the insects themselves
may be detected. Do not buy too large a stock of cereals,
since they are better when they are fresh from the factory,
and a good firm renews its stock often.
GENERAL METHODS AKD RECIPES
Page 69
Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Manufacture of cereal food materials.^ — The primitive method of making the material in the grain available for use was by grinding the grain between two stones, or by pounding one stone upon another, and this method is used by the Mexicans and certain of the American Indians to this day, human muscle being the power employed. Wind and water were harnessed for grinding grain, and were the only motive powers available until the invention of steam, the grinding being done by stones. In a Connecticut town there still exists a mill stone, one of a pair so small that they were carried into the settlement on horseback, and when placed in a small mill by a brook, they ground a bushel of corn in a day.
Breakfast cereals and meal are now made in the. great factories that produce flour ; steam is the motive power and the grains are broken, or rolled, between steel rollers. (See Chapter XII.)
Breakfast cereals. — The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal has met the popular demand for a quickly prepared food for the first meal of the day. A few of these are made iinder known conditions, but they are sometimes manufactured from inferior grain, and the presence of grit at times indicates a possible lack of cleanliness in the process. It is a question, too, whether or not the starch has been subjected to heat for a sufficient length of time, and whether they can be masticated sufficiently to make the grain digestible, and the nutritive material available. Their use for young children is undesirable. For older people, they add variety
^ The manufacture of flour is discussed in the chapter on bread making.
to the diet, but they are usually more expensive than the home-cooked breakfast foods, even when the cost of fuel is taken into account. See Fig. 38.
Cooked breakfast cereals. — It is an easy task to cook a cereal, especially now that the fireless cooker in some form is present in so many homes. The cereal for breakfast does not necessitate early rising ; as it may be prepared the day or evening before and be served in palatable form in the morning.
The most common breakfast cereals are made from oats, wheat, and com, varying in fineness of grain from those ground Uke a meal to the coarser cracked wheat and the samp made from com. It is well to use kinds made from different grains, but when the worth of a few has been proved, it is not wise to try another kind simply because it has a new label. One manufacturer confessed to a visitor that the same cereal was put into boxes of different colors and sold under different names as a means of inviting purchasers. The cereal foods made from whole grains are especially valuable on account of the high mineral content.
It usually pays to buy in boxes, rather than in bulk, in the case of cereals; and always from a reliable grocer. If you purchase a box of cereal as a '' bargain," weigh its contents and compare the weight with the weight of a box bought in the regular way. Also examine such a box for the presence of insects. These may be recognized sometimes by a webby substance, and again the insects themselves may be detected. Do not buy too large a stock of cereals, since they are better when they are fresh from the factory, and a good firm renews its stock often.