Cornflakes
Details:
Corn cultivation began in Central America about 2500 BC (intrepid pioneering Russian botanist Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov discovered it was domesticated Teosinte) and provided the basis for Olmec and Mayan empires, and spread into extensive trade networks in North America. It was incredibly efficient because of the synergistic Three Sisters system, in which the corn stalk supported the beans than provided nitrogen, and squash provided shade that preserved water and suppressed weeds. Because it was adaptable to different climates, it began to be grown in Europe. According to Michael Pollan, corn has taken over the American Midwest, forcing out other crops, then farm animals, then people because it has escaped the laws of physics (by Haber's artificial fertilizer) and economics (by subsidies, in part to create ethanol, which can put poor hungry people in a losing bidding war against rich people. Moreover, cheap corn "dumped" overseas can force farmers off their land, forcing them to migrate to cities in search of work). Cheap corn also becomes a industrial feedstock for highly processed and fast food (fed to cattle and converted to high fructose corn syrup), leading to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. In 2000 50 million dollars' worth of genetically modified Starlink corn escaped and was recalled because it had not been approved for human consumption. Now 85% of corn in US is GMO.
The modern ingredients of corn flakes, originally invented by J.H. [invented by] Kellogg, JH*, may consist of milled corn, sugar, malt flavoring, corn syrup, salt, and enriched with iron, niacinamide, sodium ascorbate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1), vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, vitamin B12, and vitamin D.
The corn is usually broken down into grits and cooked in slowly rotating retorts under steam pressure. The lumps are then broken down by revolving reels and sent to driers (usually large tubes extending vertically, through several stories, with the wet product entering the top and entering a current of hot air). The drying process reduces moisture content to about 20%, and the product is then transferred to tempering bins for up to 24 hours, to even out moisture distribution.
The pieces are then flaked between large steel cylinders revolving at 180–200 revolutions per minute, with the rolls cooled by internal water circulation. The cooked, soft flakes then go to rotating toasting ovens, where they tumble through perforated drums for two to three minutes at 550° F (225° C). The product is dehydrated, toasted, and slightly blistered. After toasting it is cooled by circulating air, and enriched.
Oneliner: Cornflakes
Bibliography:
- Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Kellogg’s, www.kelloggs.com
- The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Mealsby Michael Pollan
- The Road to Wellville by T. Coraghessan Boyle.is a historical fictionalization of John Harvey Kellogg, the inventor of corn flakes.
Extra Connections: Kellog rival CW Post saves Charles Birdseye's frozen food business.
On Sgt Pepper, "Good Morning Good Morning" was inspired by a television commercial for Kellogg's Corn Flakes, from which John Lennon adapted a jingle as the song's refrain.