Granula

Granula was the first commercial breakfast cereal. It was invented by James Caleb in 1863. It is mostly made of bran-rich gram flour, which was formed into nugget shapes and baked until it was crispy. Granula was marketed as healthy. It was intended to be eaten with milk or cream.

History

James Caleb, a Seventh-day Adventist, owned the Jackson Sanatorium in Dansville, New York. It specialided in hydrotherapy and vegetarianism. He created Granula as a healthy food for his patients, who had to follow a vegetarian diet. Jackson believed that a diet of whole grains and vegetables was the key to good health and longevity.

In 1863, Jackson created Granula by baking gram flour into nuggets, which were then broken into smaller pieces. The cereal was really hard and required soaking in milk or cream before it could be eaten. Jackson marketed Granula as a healthy food, claiming that it was nutritious and easily digestible.

Granula was popular and was sold through mail order catalogs and health food stores. It was not popular for a long time because of its hard texture and the fact that it required soaking before it could be eaten. In 1877, a similar cereal called Grape-Nuts was introduced. That was made from wheat and barley flour and had a less hard texture. Grape-Nuts quickly became more popular than Granula.

Legacy

Granula led to the development of the modern breakfast cereal industry. It inspired other inventors to create new and more palatable cereal products, such as Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Quaker Oats.

Today, the term "granola" is used to describe a range of breakfast cereals that are typically made from rolled oats, nuts, and dried fruit. These cereals are often sweetened with honey or sugar and are popular with health-conscious consumers.