1893 - Shredded wheat was patented by Henry Perky and William Ford.
Shredded Wheat factory in Niagara Falls, New York circa 1905.
Henry Perky invented shredded wheat cereal in
Denver, Colorado,
in 1890. Inspired by his observation of a dyspeptic diner blending
wheat with cream, he developed a method of processing wheat into strips
that were formed into pillow-like biscuits.
The wheat is first cooked in water until its moisture content reaches about 50%. It is then
tempered,
allowing moisture to diffuse evenly into the grain. The grain then
passes through a set of rollers with grooves in one side, yielding a web
of shredded wheat strands. Many webs are stacked together, and this
moist stack of strands is crimped at regular intervals to produce
individual pieces of cereal with the strands attached at each end. These
then go into an oven, where they are baked until their moisture content
is reduced to 5%.
Perky first sold his shredded wheat cereal to vegetarian restaurants in 1892, distributing it from a factory in
Niagara Falls, New York. A health-oriented publication,
The Chicago Vegetarian,
recommended the use of shredded wheat biscuits as soup croutons. At the
same time, Perky leased cereal-manufacturing machines to bakers in
Denver and
Colorado Springs through his Cereal Machine Company and sold wheat processors.
One of his wheat-processor buyers, Dr.
John Harvey Kellogg, admired Perky's manufacturing process for his shredded wheat cereal.
Kellogg declined to purchase Perky's patent on it, however, considering
it too weak in taste, "like eating a whisk broom." However, after
co-founding the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company — later the
Kellogg Company cereal manufacturer — with his brother
Will Keith Kellogg
in 1906, John Kellogg observed the success of Perky's product and
offered to buy its patent from him, but at too low a price to pique
Perky's interest.
Premiering to the public at
Chicago's
World Columbian Exposition in 1893, shredded wheat cereal was then manufactured by The Natural Food Company in
Niagara Falls, New York in 1901. It became the Shredded Wheat Company in 1904. It was bought by
Nabisco (National Biscuit Company) in December 1928.
United States production of Shredded Wheat moved to
Naperville, Illinois in 1954, where it is still made. In 1993, Nabisco sold the brand to
Kraft General Foods, but it was still under the Nabisco name until 1999, whereupon it was sold under the slogan "Nabisco brought to you by Post."
Canadian production has been at
Niagara Falls, Ontario, since 1904 due to nearby
hydro-electric
power. United States production is also at Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Until recently, United States production took place in Niagara Falls,
New York, but that factory was closed when production was consolidated
on the Canadian side of the border.
In 1920, Henry Perky's son, Scott Henry Perky, developed a round
shredded wheat cereal, which he named Muffets. The Muffets Corporation
was sold to the
Quaker Oats Company in 1927. The cereal is still marketed in Canada as Muffets, but in the U.S. is now sold as Quaker Shredded Wheat.
How many grew up eating this cereal?
Remember taking the cereal out of the box to get to get your hands on these cards?
It's still one of my favorite cereals!
:o)
