Graham Cracker Facts

During the 1820s, Sylvester Graham created the eponymous cracker as part of his diet plan thought to increase physical wellness, sexual purity, and spiritual health. The Presbyterian minister's mission was to rid the world of sexual immorality. He believed a vegetarian diet, devoid of spices and sugars, combined with avoiding foods made with overly processed flours would do away with the greatest evils of his day, lustful thought and masturbation. Of course, neither Graham crackers nor his diet have ever been shown to cure sexual urges.

Graham flour is essentially a type of non-bleached, finely ground whole wheat flour. Among other things made with this flour, Graham made bland crackers. They were not the sweet treat we enjoy today.

Nabisco began making Graham crackers with bleached white flour and oils. The germ is rarely used today so the crackers have a longer shelf life.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will found the minister’s ideas useful at their Sanitarium in Battle Creek Michigan. Dr. Kellogg imposed the vegetarian diet on his patients with the belief that it could cure some of their troubles.

The brothers made their own Graham crackers on the premises. Once, Will left out some prepared wheat used to make Graham crackers. When he came back to finish the cooking, the dough had become hard and stale. Because he could not afford to waste a whole batch’s ingredients, he used it in the baking process anyway. Rather than get thin wafers after extruding the dough through rollers, he ended up with hard crispy flakes, similar to the corn flakes we eat today. Now you know how Graham crackers and Kellogg's corn flakes are related.

Corn Flakes

The Kellogg brothers, John and Will , in Battle Creek, MI, were trying to boil a pot of grain and they accidentally left the pot on the stove for several days. The mixture turned moldy, but the product that emerged was dry and thick and turned flaky, rather than the desired doughy. Being frugal, they toasted the flakes and served them. Through experimentation they eliminated the mold part and created corn flakes. They continued to experiment with other grains Incidentally, they thought that this type of bland food was good to reduce the sex drive.

They were also the first to add a goodies in the cereal box to boost sales, a Funny Jungleland Moving Picture Booklet was first in the early 1900s. Battle Creek is still home to Kellogg and hosts a major Balloon Festival every year. I'll bet you didn't know the name of the corn flake mascot, since 1959, is Cornelius (Corny) Rooster.

Kellog's Corn Flakes

The company began with the serendipitous discovery of toasted flakes which later were developed into Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. This event set in motion a century of innovation for Kellogg.  In the late 1800s at the Battle Creek Sanatorium, a combination hospital and health spa for the elite and famous.

W.K. Kellogg, business manager, and his brother, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, chief physician, were in the process of cooking some wheat for a type of granola when they were called away. When they returned, the wheat had become stale. They decided to force the tempered grain through the rollers anyway, and surprisingly, the grain did not come out in long sheets of dough.  Instead each wheat berry was flattened and came out as a thin flake. This led to the formation of the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company in 1906, which eventually became Kellogg Company – changing the form of breakfast forever. One of the items on the "Battle Creek Diet" was lima bean paste on toast, Yuck!