l'Aq% .?>' \qn Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station NEW HAVEN, CONN. BULLETIN 197 NOVEMBER, 1917 ECONOMY IN FEEDING THE FAMILY II The Cereal Breakfast Foods By JOHN PHILLIPS STREET CONTENTS Types of Cereal Breakfast Foods r 19-22 Composition 22 Comparative Food Value 22-24 Digestibility ^ 24-25 Cooking 26 Cost 27 Suggestions as to Purchase 29-31 The Bulletins of this Station are mailed free to citizens of Connecti- cut who apply for them, and to others as far as the editions permit. CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. OFFICERS AND STAFF. BOARD OF CONTROL. His Excellency, Marcus H. Holcomb, ex-officio, President. James H. Webb, Vice President Hamden George A. Hopson, Secretary Wallingford E. H. Jenkins, Director and Treasurer New Haven Joseph W. Alsop Avon Wilson H. Lee Orange Frank H. Stadtmueller Elmwood Administration. E. H. Jenkins, Ph.D., Director and Treasurer. Miss V. E. Cole, Librarian and Stenographer. Miss L. M. Brautlecht, Bookkeeper and Stenographer, William Veitch, In charge of Buildings and Grounds. Chemistry. Analytical Laboratory. John Phillips Street, M.S.. Chemist in charge. E. Monroe Bailey, Ph.D., i C. B. Morison, B.S., C. E. Shepherd, \ Assistants. W. L. Adams, B.S.. M. d'Esopo, Ph.B. J Hugo Lange, Laboratory Helper. V. L. Churchill, Sampling Agent. Protein Research. T. B. Osborne, Ph.D., D.Sc, Chemist in Charge. Miss E. L. Ferry, M.S., Assistant. Botany. G. P. Clinton, Sc.D., Botanist. E. M. Stoddard, B.S., Assistant Botanist. * Florence A. McCormick, Ph.D., Scientific Assistant. G. E. Graham, General Assistant. Entomology. W. E. Britton, Ph.D., Entomologist; State Entomologist. B. H. Walden, B.Agr., First Assistant. ' Q. S. Lovvry, B.Sc, I. W. D.wis. B.Sc, 1 , . M. P. Z.^ppe, B.S.. } Assistants. Miss G. A. Foote, B.A., Stenographer. Forestry. Walter O. Filley, Forester; also State Forester and State Forest Fire Warden. A. E. Moss, M.F., Assistant State and Station Forester. Miss E. L. Avery, Stenographer. Plant Breeding. Donald F. Jones, M.S., Plant Breeder. C. D. HuBBELL, Assistant. Vegetable Growing. W. C. Pelton. Cereal Breakfast Foods. The cereal foods occupy a very important place in the diet of the American family, both in sickness and in health. Vegetable foods supply about 95 per cent, of the carbohydrates in the aver- age dietary, and the cereal foods themselves supply fully 55 per cent. Grains in the raw state are unattractive to the taste and are somewhat difificult of digestion, and for this reason cereals are generally cooked before eating. The oldest method of cooking them was by parching, and in the early days the Scotchman's oat- meal and the Indian's maize were prepared in this way. The next development was porridge, in which the grain was boiled or steamed with water, milk or meat stock, and thus rendered more palatable. Porridge, however, requires long cooking, its keeping qualities are poor, and it is far from being a convenient food preparation. In spite of these disadvantages — and the necessary long cooking is by no means an unqualified disadvantage— por- ridge has enjoyed a wide use and popularity, and the modern cereal breakfast food is its lineal descendant. A generation ago practically the only cereal foods on the mar- ket were wheat flour, corn meal, hominy and hulled corn ; barley, rye and rice finding only a very limited use. At the present time we find an almost endless number and variety of specially prepared breakfast foods offered for our use. Many of the brands, how- ever, are exploited by extensive and expensive advertising and live only so long as a fluctuating public taste demands them. Some endure but for a season, while others have taken a fixed place in the long list of American food materials. Types of Cereal Breakfast Foods. However, while the brand names of the foods may change, the types of cereal breakfast foods which they represent persist from year to year. There are four main types of these foods : those in which the grain is simply husked and more or less crushed or ground; those which have been steamed or partially cooked at the factory and then ground or rolled and dried ; those which have 20 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 197. been cooked by dry heat only, such as puffed rice or wheat; and those in which more or less of the insoluble starch has been con- verted into soluble form by the action of barley malt, as in the so-called malted foods. The grains used in this country in these products are oats, w^heat, corn, rice, and less commonly barley and rye. Although the various flours, starches, and edible cereal pastes (noodles, macaroni, vermicelli and spaghetti) are in a sense cereal break- fast foods, they will not be discussed at this time. Oats is characterized by its high protein and fat content; wheat, rye and barley by high protein and moderate fat ; corn by its relatively high fat; while rice is distinctly low in protein, and in the polished form almost free from fat, fiber and ash. These characteristics of the individual grains greatly affect the composi- tion of the breakfast foods made from them, as w'ill be shown later. In the preparation of certain breakfast foods the grain is used in its entirety ; in others more or less of the germ is removed, thus materially reducing the percentage of fat; in others the ground product is thoroughly bolted to remove most of the fiber ; while in still others the use of heat or a malting process materially alters the form of carbohydrates present. To certain of the "read3'-to-eat'' brands, salt, sugar, syrup, or honey has been added, thus increasing the ash or carbohydrates and decreasing the rela- tive percentages of the other ingredients. In general, however, the composition of the finished breakfast food closely follows that of the parent grain. Barley is not a popular breakfast cereal in this country, and when used it is usually in the form of "pearled" barley witli a much lower content of fiber and considerably less of all the other ingredients, except carbohydrates, than the unhulled, untreated grain. The germ of the com kernel is rich in fat, which tends to be- come rancid on keeping, and more or less of it is generally re- moved in the preparation of corn breakfast foods. Hominy, samp and cerealine are names used quite loosely for corn products, which dift'er little from one another in composition, save that hominy generally carries a little more fat. They are all essentially carbohydrate foods. The toasted and flaked corn preparations are steamed and rolled grains, which have been TYPES OF CEREAL BREAKFAST FOODS. 21 cooked longer, and to which salt and a sweetening material are commonly added. In the oatmeal of our forefathers much of the hull or husk remained in the ground product, but with modern improved proc- esses more of the fibrous hull is removed. The germ is not re- moved from the oat preparations. In the crushed or flaked oat foods the grain is more or less cooked with steam, and while still moist rolled into thin flakes and dried. Such products are, of course, only partially cooked, and further cooking is necessary before using. The rice foods come to us either flaked, or as "puffed" rice. In the latter form the rice has been treated by a special process of cooking with dry heat, the resultant product resembling some- what popcorn in flavor and texture. In the preparation of wheat breakfast foods the germ, as a rule, is not removed, and save in farina and the gluten preparations more or less of the bran and middlings are retained. In certain products the whole grain, bran and all, is used. The unground wheat grain is seldom used as breakfast food, except in the ^'puffed" products (prepared similarly to puffed rice), and in frumenty, in which the husked grain is boiled with milk and spices. The latter preparation has but a restricted use in this country. Where the grain is only moderately crushed and the bran not removed, the product is known as cracked wheat or wheat grits. The flaked wheat foods are prepared in the same way as rolled or flaked oats. Shredded wheat is prepared by a special process and represents the whole grain. The gluten breakfast foods are characterized by a very high protein content and contain only about half the starch usually found in wheat foods. They are intended primarily for those to whom much starch in the diet is objectionable, but as a rule the extent to which the starch has been removed falls far short of the manu- facturer's claims. In the so-called malted foods advantage is taken of the dias- tatic power of barley malt, the diastase of malt imitating the action of the ferments of the saliva and pancreatic juice. Generally the amount of malt added is not sufficient to convert more than a part of the starch into soluble forms. Analysis shows that in many of these foods the soluble carbohydrates 22 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN I97. exist largely in the form of dextrin and suggests the possibility of glucose or some other soluble dextrin-containing carbohydrate being added. Furthermore, it must not be forgotten that the treatment of starch with dry heat also produces dextrin, as illus- trated in the case of ordinary toast. It is evident, therefore, that many of these "malted" foods are not deserving of the name. Still another group of breakfast foods now^ quite widely used includes the various laxative preparations. These usually consist chiefly either of wheat bran or some inert material, such as agar- agar or Iceland moss. In some instances fruits and nuts are used and occasionally an oil, such as olive oil, or linseed oil. Composition of Cereal Foods. Aside from the constituent grains and the method of manufac- ture, the cereal breakfast foods are of two general classes, those which are either raw and which need prolonged cooking or which have been cooked to some extent and need further treatment be- fore use, and those which are "ready-to-eat." Pearled barley, hominy, samp, corn meal, oat flakes, cracked wheat and farina are types of the first class, while among the "ready-to-eat" prep- arations we find such products as cerealine, corn flakes, rice flakes, wheat flakes, puffed rice, shredded wheat. Grape-nuts and some of the various "malted" foods. Table I, pages 32 to 39, gives the analyses of 130 of these products examined in this laboratory between 1909 and the present time, 32 being analyses just made. In addition to the chemical composition the claimed weight of the package (which was generally found to be correct) is given together with the calories yielded by one-fourth pound of the food, and the cost per package, per pound and per 100 calories. The costs are based on New Haven prices maintaining on Sep- tember 26th of this year. These costs will be discussed in more detail later. Comparative Food Value of the Cereal Breakfast Foods. In order that the relative composition of these foods may be shown more clearly, an abridged table. Table II has been prepar- ed, in which the average data for the different types are given, grouped under the two headings, "to be cooked" and "ready-to- serve." See pages 24 and 25. COMPARATIVE FOOD VALUE. 23 Among the foods requiring further cooking the superiority, from a nutritive standpoint, of the oat meals is apparent at a glance. They contain from 50 to 100 per cent, more protein and from three to nine times as much fat as the other "to-be-cooked'^ products. In fact, they are the only breakfast foods, aside from certain laxative preparations, that contain any considerable per- centage of fat, and indeed for this reason they have been criti- cized as "heating" foods and undesirable for use in hot weather and by people suffering from certain types of disease. An aver- age serving of rolled oats, however, contains only about i 1-3 ozs. of the dry cereal, and a daily consumption of this amount for four months would supply only about as much fat as 2-3 lb. of butter. The "heating" effect of oat preparations, therefore, obviously may be neglected except under most unusual conditions. If oatmeal supplies so little fat in the ordinar}^ dietary, it is apparent that the amounts supplied by the other "to-be-cooked" cereals is almost negligible. This further emphasizes the fact that, while these foods contain important percentages of protein, they are, with the exception of the oatmeals, essentially carbohydrate foods. While among the "ready-to-eat" preparations considerable variations are shown in all the ingredients except the carbohy- drates, the most striking differences, as we have shown elsewhere, are in the amounts of carbohydrate rendered soluble in water by the various manufacturing processes. Only about 10 per cent, of the carbohydrates of flaked rice. Shredded Wheat and Triscuit are water-soluble, raising a serious question as to the desirability of the extensive use of such foods in the dietaries of young chil- dren. Flaked wheat shows only about 15 per cent., while on the other hand, flaked corn shows 26, puffed rice 2>^, puffed wheat 27 and Grape-Nuts 36 per cent, of water-soluble carbohydrates. From a nutritive standpoint, the table shows that these types of breakfast foods, excepting possibly the oatmeals and Holland Rusk, are practically interchangeable. While one-quarter of a pound of oatmeal or Holland Rusk yields 430 calories, the same quantity of each of the other foods listed yields approximately the same number of calories, 400. For all practical purposes, therefore, it may be assumed that one ounce of any of the com- monly used breakfast foods yields about 100 calories.' An at- tempt has been made in the table to indicate in terms of familiar 24 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 197. Table II. — Average Composition and Costs op Type. Pounds per hundred. o u To Be Cooked. Corn meal Hominy and samp Oat meal (Bestovotes) Oats, rolled Groats, Robinson's Farina Wheat, flaked Wheat, cracked Post Tavern Porridge Ready To Serve. Corn flakes Corn, puffed Rice flakes Rice, puffed Wheat flakes Wheat, puffed Wheat, shredded Triscuit Force Grape-Nuts Holland Rusk Kelloge's Krumbles 7-5 0.8 7-9 0.7 16.2 6.6 15-6 6.6 12.8 8.6 10.9 1-3 II . I 2. 1 9-3 2.3 10.3 0.8 6.9 0.3 8.7 0.3 10.0 0.4 7.6 0.2 9-3 I . I 131 1.8 II .0 1-4 II .0 1-4 10.6 I . I II-5 0.6 12. I 51 12.0 1 .2 78 76 63 64 67 74 73 73 74 measure the volume of the different foods weighing one ounce and yielding 100 calories. For instance, i Shredded J V heat biscuit, 2^ Triscuits, 2/5 cup rolled oats, iV^. cups corn flakes, or 4 heaping tablespoonfuls of Grape-Nuts each yields lOO calories and weisfhs about one ounce. Digestibility of the Cere.vl Breakfast Foods. The value of a food depends not only upon the amounts of nutrients present but also upon their digestibilitv\ Experiments with healthy men have shown that partially cooked wheat prepa- rations have the highest digestibilit)- and those made from unbolt- ed wheat the lowest. Experiments at the Maine Experiment Sta- tion with rolled oats, rolled wheat, corn meal, hominv and certain DIGESTIBILITY OF THE CEREAL BREAKFAST FOODS. Typical Breakfast Foods in Package Form. 25 Cost. Calories per M lb. Necessary to yield 100 Calories. '6 p 3 (U '> 3. 6 4J a w a "3 S s _2 S ^n u ^ \ cts. cts. Cts. oz. 8 0.50 0.81 402 34 1/5 cup* 10.5 0.66 I. 01 401 39 1/6 " ID 0.58 0.74 430 73 1/5 " 0.9 9 0.56 0.75 432 71 2/5 " I . I 50 2.74 3 50 456 59 1/5 " 0.9 13-5 0.86 I-3I 403 49 1/4 " 10 0.61 0.64 408 50 1/2 " 15-5 0.97 1.80 401 42 3/10 " 10 0.63 0.89 396 47 1/5 " \ 18 1. 18 0.97 394 31 11/4 " 37-5 2.33 83 402 39 I 1/3 " 30 1.78 37 422 45 ^^/,3 ;; 56 3-50 2 45 400 34 1 1/4 " 30 1.78 46 422 42 I 60 3-76 99 399 60 2 " 16 0.98 00 408 50 I bisc. 20 1 .24 50 403 50 21/2 bisc. 17-5 1. 10 40 397 48 I cup 16 1. 01 16 398 52 4 tablesp. 29 16 1 .69 1 .01 430 398 55 54 2 05 I cup I * A cup equals 3^ pint. Specially prepared brands, showed that in general about 90 per cent, of the organic matter was digested. The general conclusion from these experiments was that rolled wheat showed the high- est and the corn products the lowest digestibility, oats occupying an intermediate position. When the actual nutrients are com- pared with the total nutrients it is seen that the relation previously noted still maintains ; that is, the oat preparations provide the largest amounts of digestible protein and fat, followed by wheat, rye and barley, while the corn and rice products supply but rel- atively small amounts of these elements and relatively large amounts of carbohydrates. Other Maine experiments bring out the interesting fact that the processes to which certain products 26 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 197. have been subjected during their manufacture, while converting a part of the starch into sokible carbohydrates, have at the same time diminished the digestibihty of the protein. For instance, rolled wheat showed 85 per cent, protein digestibility, while Force and Grape-Nuts showed but y6 and Shredded Wheat only 58. These and other experiments show that the raw cereals, if suf- ficiently cooked, are as quickly and as easily digested as the best malted cereals, and more quickly than the ordinary prepared cereals and a large majority of the so-called malted cereals. The Cooking of Breakfast Foods. The proper cooking of any food is a very important factor in its digestibility. Aside from the usefulness of heat in sterilizing food, the main purposes of cooking are to improve the food's ap- pearance and flavor, to break down certain refractor}^ elements and to convert the nutrients into more assimilable forms. The manufacturing processes used in these foods — crushing, rolling, steaming, parching, puffing or shredding — all to a great- er or lesser degree rupture the cells of the grain, and thus render the cell contents more susceptible to the action of the digestive juices of the body. As a rule, however, even some of the "ready-to-eat" foods come, to us in a form which requires more cooking before their nutrients can become entirely available to the body. In the average home the over-cooking of cereals is most unsual; on the other hand, undercooking is all too common. This tendency is fostered by the claims of the breakfast food label, and we have offered to us "15-minute" oat flakes and sim- ilar alluring and alleged time-conserving preparations. The con- sumer has no way of knowing how much of the needed cooking has been performed by the manufacturer, and he may safely assume that the directions accompanying the food underestimate rather than exaggerate the time necessar}'^ for proper prepara- tion. Frequently the prepared foods are condemned as indigest- ible simply because the cooking period has been too limited ; but theoretically there is no reason why, if properly cooked, they should not be quite as digestible as cereals cooked entirely in the home. No hard and fast rule can be laid down as to the proper cooking period for the various cereals, but generally speaking the THE INCREASED COST OF CEREAL FOODS. 27 greater the amount of husk or hull present the longer the food should be cooked. Cost of Cereal Breakfast Foods. In Table I the cost of the foods is shown on the basis of the package, the pound and the lOO calories. The cost is omitted in a number of instances, either because the food could no longer be found in this State or because, with the present greatly increas- ed prices of all commodities, it was unsafe to assume any price for these without a direct inspection of the package as to its net contents. Omitting such unusual preparations as Colax and Sea Moss Farina, both in a sense medicine rather than food, the cost per pound ranges from 6.5 cents in a wheat bran to 76 cents in Dieto Rusks. Of the preparations requiring cooking, the com products are the cheapest, followed by oats, with the wheat foods the most expensive. {Robinson s Groats is an imported food pri- marily intended for invalid use, and its high cost removes it from the category of family breakfast foods.) The specially prepared foods cost from two to seven times as much per pound as the sim- ple cereal preparations, such as oatmeal, farina and hominy. In a consideration of cost, however, composition must not be overlooked, and judged on this basis oatmeal is by far the cheap- est of all the cereal breakfast foods. Nor must we forget that while we pay very much more for the prepared than for the uncooked foods, this price is in part justified by their convenience, and the saving in both time and fuel by the shortening of the home-cooking period. In hotels, hospitals and large establish- ments where a fire is kept throughout the day for other purposes, the prolonged cooking required by the raw cereals may be ef- fected with practically no expense. In households where a gas stove is used exclusively for cooking, and then only at specified and limited times, it is indeed a question whether the "ready-to- eat" brands may not in many cases be the more economical pur- chase. The Increased Cost of Cereal Foods. In the case of 22 brands we have full data as to the size of the package and its cost for both the years 1909 and 191 7. By refer- ring to Table III it will be seen that in nearly every case the net 28 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 197, TABLE III. Comparative Package Weights and Prices. Brand. Hominy Hominy Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes Post Toasties Quaker Toasted Corn Flakes Quaker Yellow Corn Meal. . Hornby's Oats Quaker Oats Quaker Puffed Rice Cream of Wheat Force Grape-Nuts Hecker's Farina Holland Rusk Malt Breakfast Food Pettijohn's Breakfast Food . Premier Farina Quaker Cracked Wheat. . . . Saxon Wheat Food Shredded Wheat Triscuit Wheatena Ave. 6 corn products . . Ave. 2 oat products .. . Ave. 13 wheat products. 1 rice product. . . Weight oz. 30 31 10 ID 10 46 28 24 7.5 28 12 16 16 7 30 23 16 30 25 13 13 25 Cost cts. 10 6 ID ID 8 12 15 10 10 15 15 12 10 10 15 II 10 15 15 12 10 15 Cost per lb. cts. 5-5 3 16.0 150 12.0 4.0 8.5 6.5 21-5 8-5 18.5 12 .0 10. 24.0 8.0 7-5 10. o 8.0 9-5 14-5 12.5 9-5 9.3 7.5 11.7 21.5 Weight 24 74 24 20 20 4 28 10 13 16 6 28 24 16 26 26 12 9-5 19 Cost cts. 18 43 II II 7 12 15 10 14 22 II 13 14 II 22 18 14 25 22 12 12 18 Cost per lb. cts. 12 9-5 22.0 22 .0 14.0 8.0 II .0 8.0 56.0 12 , 17 16 14 29 12. 12.0 14.0 155 13-5 16.0 20.0 150 14.6 9.5 16.0 56.0 weight of the package has been reduced and in many instances the cost of the package increased. Hominy that in 1909 averaged 4 cents per lb. now costs 1 1 cents, corn flakes have increased from 14 to 19 cents, rolled oats from 7.5 to 9.5 cents, puffed rice from 21.5 to 56 cents, Grape-Nuts from 12 to 16 cents, farinas from 9.5 to 14 cents, cracked wheat from 8 to 15.5 cents and Triscuit from 12.5 to 20 cents per lb. Of the brands listed Force is the only one which costs no more per pound to-day than in 1909. On the average the corn products in the eight years advanced 57, oats 27, wheat 37 and rice 162 per cent. These startling increases empha- size the importance of intelligent buying of these widely used foods. SUGGESTIONS AS TO PURCHASE. 29 TABLE IV. Weights of One Serving of Food, Calories Yielded, and Cost. Food. '■5,0 a-d o o +^ > 1- o Corn. Corn flakes, Jersey " Kellogg's " " Post Toasties " " Quakers " " Washington Crisps. Corn meal, in bulk " " Quaker Corn puffs, Quaker Hominy, Hecker's Cream " Sunbeam Roman Meal Oats. Groats, Robinson's Patent. . . . Oat Meal, in bulk " " Bestovotes " " Keen & Robinson's. " McCann's Oats, rolled, in bulk " " Bufceco Hecker's " " Hornby's " " Leggett's " " Purity " " Quaker « " Scott's. Rice. Rice, head, in bulk. . . " small, in bulk. . . " broken, in bulk. . " flakes, Kellogg's. " puffed, Quaker. . Wheat. Farina, Cream of Wheat " Crystal Wheat " Hecker's Cream " Mother's Wheat Hearts . Quaker (F. S.) « Vitos " Wheatena Wheat, cracked, Quaker " flakes, Alber's " flakes, Kellogg's " puffed, Quaker Force 0.95 0.78 0.90 "0.90 0.67 5-40 5-40 0.78 6.03 5-93 540 5-50 4.76 5-54 6.00 50 68 68 68 68 68 3.2i 7.00 7.00 7.00 0.73 0.70 6.21 *6.05 *6.05 5.78 5-68 6. 17 *6.05 6.20 2.05 0.78 0.53 1.28 0.95 0.78 0.90 0.90 o 67 1 .62 1 .62 0.78 I-5I 1.48 1.62 1 . 12 1.38 1. 19 1-39 1.50 125 1-34 1-34 1-34 1-34 1-34 1-34 1 .64 1-75 1-75 1-75 0.73 0.70 1-55 I 51 I-5I 1-45 1 .42 1-54 1.86 1.03 0.78 0.53 1.28 99 76 89 90 65 163 163 78 152 145 161 128 156 128 156 171 140 145 142 146 142 140 144 187 175 175 175 77 70 155 154 151 145 141 160 159 186 105 82 54 127 cts. 1 .07 1.07 1 .24 0.79 0.67 0.71 0.81 1.83 I 13 0.88 I .00 3 50 0.61 0.74 1. 91 1.79 0.55 0.67 0.67 0.92 1. 01 0.67 0.67 1-38 I-3I 1.09 0.88 1-37 2.45 1. 21 1-37 1.32 0.73 0.99 0.82 1 .42 1.80 0.64 1 .46 1.99 1.40 cts. 1.08 1.40 1-39 0.88 1.03 0-.44 0.50 2.33 0.75 0.54 0.63 2.76 0.39 0.58 1 .22 1.04 0.39 0.46 0.46 0.63 0.71 0.46 0.47 0.74 0.75 0.63 0.50 1.78 3-50 0.78 0.89 0.88 0.50 0.69 0.53 0.89 0.97 0.61 1.78 3.62 1. 10 * Estimated from weight of similar preparations. 30 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 1 97. TABLE IV— Continued. Weights of One Serving of Food, Calories Yielded, and Cost. Food. oz. oz. 1. 16 1. 16 115 2.05 *2.05 2.05 2.05 204 208 4.80 1 .20 121 I .00 I .00 102 I .20 I .20 121 4-13 I. 16 117 5-68 1.42 141 Wheat — Continued. Grape-Nuts (4 heap, tablespoonfuls) Kellogg's Krumbles Pettijohn's Breakfast Food Ralston Wheat Food Shredded Wheat (i biscuit) Triscuit (3 biscuits) Miscella7ieou5. Fruit Nut Cereal Post Tavern Porridge cts. 1. 16 2.05 1-54 113 1 .00 1.50 1-52 0.89 cts. I .01 I .01 0.74 0.94 0.98 1.24 1-30 0.63 * Estimated from weight of similar preparations. Suggestions as to Purchase. In order to make a fair comparison of cost we must not lose sight of the fact that many of these foods are served in the dry condition as purchased, while others, such as oatmeal, farina and hominy, during the cooking process absorb large amounts of water. It is obviously unfair, therefore, to compare the nutri- ent value of one pound of raw oatmeal with one pound of corn flakes. To obviate this difficulty Table IV has been prepared showing the weights in ounces of the average individual serving for most of these foods. In preparing this table the cup (-i.pint) has been taken as the unit of measure, and it has been assumed that an average serving of corn flakes, corn puflfs, rice flakes, puffed rice, wheat flakes, puffed wheat, Krumbles, and Force, is one cup, that of corn meal and cracked wheat 3/10 cup, of oat- meal, hominy, rice, farina and Ralston JVhcat Food Y^ cup, of rolled oats and flaked wheat ^A cup, of Shredded Wheat i biscuit, of Triscuit 3 biscuits and of Grape-Nv.ts .4. heaping tablespoonfuls. In some cases these servings may be somewhat excessive but they are at least comparative. Where the food was available we have weighed one cupful in each case and the weights are shown in the table. In certain cases an assumed weight has been used based on the known weight of a similar preparation. SUGGESTIONS AS TO PURCHASE. 3 1 Table IV also shows the number of total calories yielded by these servings, as well as the cost per serving and cost per lOO calories. The main facts in this table are shown graphically and perhaps more clearly in the charts on pages 40 to 43. The one chart shows the relative cost of the foods per serving, the other the relative cost per 100 calories. In the main these two charts show similar results, the differences arising not so much from variations in composition as from the variations in weight of servings of the respective foods. The serving basis is perhaps the more popular way to consider the cost of these foods, but the 100 calor- ies basis is clearly the more exact and the more scientific. Our consideration, therefore, will be on the latter basis. The relative cheapness of the uncooked cereals is apparent, oats and corn showing the lowest costs and rice and wheat the highest. The highest priced foods under each cereal (excepting Robinsons Groats already referred to), are the " ready- to-eat" preparations, and among these there is a wide range of cost. Of the flaked foods, corn flakes are the cheapest, followed by wheat and rice; the pufifed cereals show about the same relative cost. The most obvious facts shown by the charts are the cheapness of the rolled oat preparations, and that corn puffs, puffed rice and puffed Vi^heat are clearly among the luxuries of the breakfast table. 32 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 197. Table I. — Cereal Barley Preparations. 1913 Farwell & Rhines' Barley Crystals 1909 Quaker Scotch Brand Pearled Barley Corn {Maize) Preparations. 1909 Cerealine 1909 E-C Corn Flakes, Toasted 1909 F. S. Granulated Hominy 1917 Hecker's Cream Hominy 1909 H-0 New Process Hominy 1916 Jackson's Roman Meal 1917 Jersey Corn Flakes 1909 Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes 1909 Korn Kinks ^ 1909 Nichols' Snow White Samp 1909 Post Toasties 1909 Quaker Best Yellow Corn Meal 1917 Quaker Corn Puffs 1909 Quaker Toasted Corn Flakes 1909 Ralston Hominy Grits 1909 Street's Perfection Hominy 191 7 Sunbeam Pearl Hominy 1917 Washington Corn Crisps Oat Preparations. 1917 Bestovotes 1917 Bufceco Rolled Oats 1909 Grandmother's Crushed Oats 1909 Health Brand White Oats 1917 Hecker's Cream Oat Meal 1909 Hornby's Steam Cooked Oat Meal 1917 Keen & Robinson's Granulated Scotch Oatmeal. 1909 Leggett's Premier 15 Minute Oat Flakes 1917 McCann's Irish Oat Meal 1909 Mother's Crushed Oats 1909 Paw-Nee Rolled Oats 1917 Purity Rolled Oats 1909 Quaker Oats 191 7 Robinson's Patent Groats 191 7 Scott's Porage Oats 1909 Sovereign 15 Minute Oat Flakes 1909 White Rose Rolled Oats Rice Preparations. 1 9 1 5 Comet Cereal 1 909 Cook's Flaked Rice 1909 Cook's Mai to Rice 191 5 Kellogg's Toasted Rice Biscuit 9-9 1-3 12. 1 0.9 II .2 0.4 12. 1 0.3 13-3 I.O II. 7 0.4 II-3 0.3 8.5 3-4 7-7 0.3 II. 7 0.2 12.0 0.4 13-4 0.3 II. 7 0.3 12.3 0.8 12.0 0.3 II. 6 0.4 II-3 2.9 12.4 1-3 14-3 0.6 12. 1 0.2 II. 6.6 II. I 6.8 10.7 6.5 10.9 7.8 1 1. 5 5.6 10.6 6.7 10.4 91 11-3 5-4 9.2 8.7 10.9 6.1 10.8 6.7 13-5 6.1 10.8 6.0 8.4 8.6 10. 1 9.6 10.8 5.8 10.3 8.0 II-3 0.3 12.6 0. 1 "•3 0.3 50 0-3 COMPOSITION OF CEREAL FOODS. 33 Breakfast Foods. Pounds per hundred Cost in 191 7- o ■a 3 u o < CD 2 fe >- ni a p. u 0* cts. cts. cts. ozs. 0.9 0.3 O. I II-5 9-5 6.Q I .2 75-2 76.2 70 Q 62.7 69.2 60, 2 410 401 401 393 399 402 32* 18* I .0 15 2.2 10* 0.2 6 7 6 78 77 77 :7 6 61 3 7 2 10* 0.2 8 0.4 0.3 I 75 71 74* 24 0-5 9 8 3 "is" ■l2'"' 0.75 0.2 8 0.4 3-7 79 66 8 74 37 4 4 404 398 30* 40 50 13 3 I 25 10 0.63 0.3 8 5 0.9 82 3 64 7 418 10 18 1.08 9 0.2 6 4 2.7 78 8 55 5 392 II 22 1 .40 8 0. I 7 7 6 4 8 2 .2 77 77 79 9 7 4 66 3 2 394 394 396 8* 0.5 0.2 0.3 1.8 78 53 32* 8 6 9 II 22 1-39 0.2 7 5 0.5 78 7 75 7 402 12 8 0.50 24 0. I 8 7 0.4 78 5 43 2 402 14 37-5 2.33 6 0.0 6 8 1-3 79 9 68 3 398 7 14 0.88 8 0.4 . I 9 7 9 1 .0 75 77 75 4 9 70 74 70 9 5 8 416 406 392 30* 31* 74 9 4 0.4 0.4 0.3 43 9-5 0.54 0.2 7 8 2.9 76 8 59 5 389 10 16 1.03 10 I.O 16.2 2.1 63.1 551 430 17 10 0.58 24 I.O 15 I 2.0 64.0 55-6 432 10 8 0.46 20 0.6 14 13 9 8 1-9 2.0 654 64-5 59- 1 58.8 434 438 28* I.O 32* 0.9 15 6 1.8 64.6 56.7 424 10 "s" 0^48 20 0.8 16 I 1-7 64. 1 59-2 436 14 II 0.63 20 0.8 13 7 1-9 64. 1 57 449 no 22 1 .22 80 0.6 17 2 1.8 63-7 56.6 425 15 12 0.71 20 0.3 15 I 1.8 64.9 56.8 455 95 19 1.04 80 G.9 15 6 1.6 64.9 58.4 431 9 7 0.42 20* 0.8 15 16 8 1.9 2.0 64.0 61. 1 597 57-4 434 417 25* 20 I.O 3 10 "h"' o!48' 0.9 15 9 1-9 64-5 56.7 429 10 8 0.47 20 0.7 12 8 1.8 67.7 60.5 456 50 50 2.74 16 0.4 13 3 1-7 64.9 56.8 456 25 13-5 0.74 3°. 0.9 16 5 2.0 64.0 58.0 428 .... 34* 0.7 14 3 1-9 64.8 590 432 30* 0.2 7.2 0.3 80.7 405- 16* 0.2 7.8 0.4 78.9 78.2 397 '5! O.I 7.6 0.6 80.2 74-1 403 17* 0.2 10. 1 3-7 80.7 57-4 418 15 40 2.39 6 * Net weight of package at date specified in the first column. 34 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 197. Table I. — Cereal Brand. I915 1909 1909 I915 I917 I913 19IO I915 1917 1909 I913 I914 I914 1909 1917 1909 I9II I914 I915 1909 1909 1909 I914 1914 I913 1913 I912 I917 I915 I915 1915 1909 1909 I914 1909 I917 1909 1909 1909 I917 1909 1909 1917 Rice Preparations — Continued. Kellogg's Toasted Rice Flakes Milk Rice Quaker Puffed Rice Rye Preparation. Kellogg's Toasted Rye Flakes Wheat Preparations. Alber's Wheat Flakes Mush Brusson Farine au Gluten Brusson Gluten Semolina Cero-Vita Cinnamon Rusks Cream of Wheat Cresco Grits Crystal Wheat Dieto Rusks Force F S Farina (Quaker Farina) Grandmother's A. & P. Farina Granola Granose Biscuit Granose Flakes Grape Nuts Hecker's Farina Holland Rusk Hoyt's Gum Gluten Breakfast Food. Hoyt's Gum Gluten Granules Jireh Frumenty Jireh Whole Wheat Farina Kellogg's Breakfast Toast Kellogg's Krumbles Kellogg's Toasted Wheat Biscuit .... Kellogg's Toasted Wheat Flakes Kellogg's Zwieback Leggett's Premier Farina Malt Breakfast Food Manana Gluten Breakfast Food Mapl-Flake Mother's Wheat Hearts Pettijohn's Breakfast Food Pillsbury's Best Cereal Quaker Cracked Wheat Quaker Puffed Wheat.- Quaker Wheat Berries Ralston Health Food Ralston Wheat Food 4-7 12.3 12.2 8.1 0.4 0.2 0.2 1-5 II 5 2 I 10 9 6 9 7 5 4 6 7 9 9 / 2 13 I 9 II I I 4 9 5 2 6 4 9 I 10 7 I I 13 7 9 12 9 6 6 I 8 II 3 I 6 6 3 9 10 3 6 12 7 7 II 5 I 6 5 9 6 6 7 6 2 I 7 6 2 2 3 7 7 I 9 10 I 5 8 I 4 5 2 I I 6 2 I 6 14 I 9 9 6 I 5 7 6 2 10 8 I 2 13 5 I I 10 3 2 II 3 7 II 7 2 3 II ,S I 8 9 8 2 12 4 I 7 1 1 9 I 8 COMPOSITION OF CEREAL FOODS. 35 Breakfast Foods — Continued. Pounds per hundred. S5 Oh Cost in 1917. 0.2 0.2 O. I 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.5 1-7 1 .0 I . I 0.2 0. I 0.6 1.8 o. 1 . o, o. 5 5 I I 0.3 0.5 1. 1 2.2 0.3 1.9 1-5 1.6 1 .2 1. 1 0.8 10. 3-4 81.3 55-7 6.9 3-2 77.2 62.6 7.6 0.4 79-5 61.8 II. 4 2.2 76.2 45-7 II . I 1.6 73-4 59-2 33-9 0.6 53-8 48.8 17.2 0.7 71.6 64.9 8.9 3-5 82.0 52.3 10.3 0.7 71.7 49-5 II-5 0.6 73-7 71. 1 17.8 0.6 68.6 54-1 II-3 1-9 73-6 15-9 1-5 66.1 52.1 10.6 2.8 73-7 59-9 10.2 0.4 74.6 63.9 10.8 0.6 750 71.7 13-9 2.3 76.3 45-2 10.3 3-9 71. 1 10.3 3-9 75-4 55.5 II-5 1-9 74-2 36.3 10. 0.6 75-9 71.2 12. 1 1-3 70.4 55-8 45-4 0.6 46.3 39-2 42.7 0.7 48.8 41.9 12.3 1-4 77-3 65-4 12.9 1.8 74.6 59-5 13.6 1.6 74-9 57-4 12.0 2.6 72.3 590 14.2 2.4 74-7 45-8 9-3 2.7 80.5 57-0 14-3 1.6 76. 1 60.4 II. I 0.5 73-3 71.0 13.8 1.4 72.7 53-5 42.6 2.5 43-6 29.9 9-3 2.8 74-7 58.3 10.7 0.4 74- 1 65.0 91 1-7 74-9 64.0 II-5 0.5 75-9 74- 1 9-3 1-7 73-3 63.6 131 1.8 70.2 295 14.0 1-4 71.6 57-1 II. 9 1-4 71-5 64.4 11-3 1. 1 73-1 62.8 422 387 400 416 408 407 411 423 449 399 409 408 469 397 397 398 421 389 432 398 400 430 429 425 427 424 424 398 421 422 384 395 411 415 396 399 405 407 401 399 412 399 404 cts. 15 14 15 15 15 18 22 20 60 II 10 20 15 15 13 14 II 35 35 12 15 25 22 25 15 18 25 15 cts. 30 cts. 1.78 56 3-50 30 1.80 10 0.61 30 21 12.5 1.77 1. 17 0.78 14-5 76 17-5 II 0.89 405 1 . 10 0.69 24-5 60 1 .46 3-86 40 16 14 29 35 35 2.31 1 .01 0.88 1 .69 2.04 2.06 35-5 16 2.09 1. 01 19 30 28.5 I 13 1.78 1.86 12.5 40 0.76 2.41 8 12 0.50 0.74 15-5 60 0.97 3.76 15 0.94 24 9* 30* 8 14 28 32* 22 13 10 14-5 16* 13 4 6 13 16 6 16 16 24* 24* 9 8 10 8 14 16* 28 10 II* 29 32* 26 8* 29* 24 Net weight of package at date specified in the first column. 36 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN I97. Table I. — Cereal Brand. ^915 1909 1909 1909 1909 I917 1909 1909 1909 I914 I917 I9I4 I914 I914 I9I4 I9I4 I917 I917 I914 I917 I91O 1914 1909 1914 I914 I914 I914 I915 1917 1914 1914 1917 I915 1914 I914 I914 I915 I917 I914 I914 1906 Wheat Preparations — Continued. Sanitas Granuto Saxon Wheat Food Shredded Wheat Biscuit Street's Perfection Farina Triscuit Vitos Wheatena Wheatlet Zest Wheat Bran. Ballard's Obelisk Sanitary Edible Bran Gulp's Gapitol Health Bran Health Food Co.'s Wheat Bran Jireh Wheat Bran Johnson's Educator Wheat Bran Kellogg's Sterilized Wheat Bran Wheat Bran Biscuit and other Laxative Preparations Bran Biskue Bran-eata Biscuit Bran Zos Brose Good Health Breakfast Food Cerag Cerena Christian's Laxative Bread Christian's Laxative Cereal Flakes Colax Dietetic Bran Biscuit Educator Bran Cookies Educator Bran Meal F. B. A. Laxative Health Biscuit Fruit Nut Cereal Good Health Biscuit (Kellogg) Health Food Wafers India (Digestive) Biscuit Laxa. Laxative Biscuit (Kellogg) Mansfield's Agar Agar Wafers Ova! Digestive Biscuit (H. & P.) Uncle Sam Health Food Zim Miscellaneous Preparations. Dieto Nut Cereal Dieto Wheat and Barley Cereal Jireh Wheat Nuts 4-9 1-7 9.8 1-7 8.5 1-4 131 I.I 10.3 1-4 II. 6 1 .0 10.4 2.8 12.2 1.6 10.7 1 .2 ...5 5-4 II. 2 4-3 II. 6 4-1 II. I 4.8 II. 6 4-7 9.6 5-2 8.5 131 9.8 0.9 II. 9 2-5 ID. I 4-3 9.2 0.9 7.2 II. 4 9-9 1-4 130 1-4 131 0.8 9-3 50 7-1 145 II. 8 2.8 II. I 1.7 7-3 1.2 10.9 1.2 9-7 7.9 8.7 2.2 6.6 2.8 9-4 10.8 7-9 12.0 8.8 16.3 6.3 24.4 13.2 1.7 50 18.4 6.8 2.2 7-6 15.6 COMPOSITION OF CEREAL FOODS. 37 Breakfast Foods — Continued. Pounds per hundred ^ 5 Cost in 1917- 0) u v J3 Id a ft 6 S' ^ (3 6 tC d^ rd ^ g ft cts. cts. cts. ozs. 0.4 10. I 1-3 81.6 43-4 437 20 23 1.32 14 0.5 12.8 0.8 74 4 69.6 416 22 13-5 0.81 26 2.6 II. 1-5 75 63.1 408 12 16 0.98 12 0. 1 10.3 0-5 74 9 71. 1 401 .... 16* 1-7 II. 1-7 73 9 60.8 403 12 20 1.24 9-5 0.2 II . I 0.5 75 6 68.7 417 15 8.5 0.51 28 0.6 II-3 0.7 74 2 69.8 420 18 15 0.89 19 0.3 12.8 0.8 72 3 66.2 406 28* 1.2 9.0 2.6 75 3 60. 1 398 II. 5* 5-6 17-3 4-5 55-7 390 25 9-5 0.61 42 8.2 13-4 5-3 57 6 369 15 8.5 0.58 28 8.2 14-3 5-6 56 2 364 10 12.5 0.86 13 6.3 16.8 4-3 56 7 385 10 6.5 0.42 24 7.8 15-4 6.1 54 4 368 15 12 0.82 20 8.5 16.3 6.0 54 4 ■ 377 25 235 1-56 17 2.2 12. 1 3-1 61 .0 469 15 15 0.80 16 3-6 9.1 4-4 72.2 21 381 15 24 1-57 10 3.8 13.2 30 65.6 46 2 386 15 12 0.78 20 3-1 14.4 2.6 65.5 410 20 20 1 .22 16 2.0 II-3 3-6 73 20 8 15 24 10 2.4 27.8 4-9 46.3 25 I 456 25 25 1.37 16* 1-3 lO.O 2.8 74-6 401 25 30 1.87 13* I.O 10.4 1-7 72.5 61 2 393 21* 0. 1 I . I 2. 1 82.8 100 26:7 6 1-7 9-9 5-0 69. 1 413 25 38 2.30 10.5 1-5 8.9 3-3 64.7 486 25 50 2.57 8 3-8 12.3 2.9 66.4 389 20 7-5 0.48 42 0.7 6.1 31 77-3 398 2.4 135 3-2 72.4 36 5 405 15 21 1.30 II 1-5 7-7 4.2 74-5 389 15 40 2.57 6 1.4 10. 5-3 65.7 427 15 175 1.03 13-5 5-2 12.8 50 66.1 383 25 33 2.15 12 6.6 12.4 50 66.6 50 106 7-5 2.4 16.7 30 57-7 451 3 0.8 7-1 2.3 69.9 475 23 73-5 3-87 5 05 7.8 2. 1 645 499 15 30 1.50 8 4.0 21.3 3-1 40.9 538 28 25 1. 16 18 1-5 7-4 2.0 74.2 6 2 391 15 20 1.28 9 1.2 21.6 .2.0 51.8 39-5 525 30 34 1.62 14 2.0 II. 6 1-7 75-7 61 .4 410 36* 1 .0 19.0 2.3 54-5 50.1 496 30 30 I-5I 16 Net weight of package at date specified in the first column. 38 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 1 97. Table I. — Cereal Brand. I9I7 I917 I9I3 I917 I917 I913 Miscellaneous Preparations — Continued. Malabar Manoca Post Tavern Porridge Post Tavern Special Sea Moss Farina Sunbeam Tapioca Trix 13 3 I 12 7 « 9 9 I I 15 6 3 13 5 I 6 2 2 It appears from the facts given in this bulletin that cereal breakfast foods can be bought uncooked, partially cooked, or ready to serve. The difference in prices between the three kinds is in some cases very great, but in others so little that their extra cost probably is not more than the cost of fuel which would be used for cooking the raw meals. The greater popularity of wheat foods is indicated by the fact that -ij8 wheat foods, besides 29 wheat laxative preparations have been found in one market, 18 of corn, 17 of oats, 7 of rice, 2 of barley and i of rye. Attention is called to the relative food value and cost of these preparations and the more general use of oat and corn foods is suggested. Oatmeal and "Rolled Oats," sold in bulk or in various pack- age forms, are the most nutritious and, considering their food value, the cheapest of the cereals. The uncooked oat prepara- tions sell generally now for from 7 to 12 cents a pound. They contain from ij^ to 2 times as much protein, 3.9 times as much fat and 120 more calories — or heat producers — per pound than other commonly used cereals, and the ratio of protein to non- protein calories is what is required in a complete ratioiL Wheat, Cracked or Flaked, is, next to oats, the richest in protein, but one of the most expensive cereal foods. A very large number of preparations made from wheat are on the mar- COMPOSITION OF CEREAL FOODS. 39 Breakfast Foods — Concluded. Pounds per hundred ^ ^ Cost in 1917. CD ts d Ih 6 6 ^ ai (U 60 4J bfl a> lO 'S-^ >>+^ ft ai "d J3 rt J^ ^ ^ c ^ M^ fi CJO S , W) a ^ OJ Ul tn 3 rt «-4 rt t/3 ^ — } "ui ;_, J3 d ctS Vi OJ _C 3 C/3 13 0) o5 S c en c 03 6 c s c c c/1 K c^ u W fin ta O rt -^ .-ti .5 ^ K W CL, o» w 'o" -S -c" -tJ 'd 'O W P^ 1-1 en T^ ^ t/2 tn t/1 t/1 . E 00000000000 oa M c c (1) a M J3 ^ Pi rt 0) & i2 +> o o SUGGESTIONS AS TO PURCHASE. 41 ^i- in 00 n o 00 00 On 9 O 03 ^ to o eg 2 m. in fo ^ !:i 00 p^ Ph 3 d j^* bo 0) 1-1 03 U ,J3 3 ^ 3 .£2 0^ 03 C3 < 0) ^ c ^ g .3 CD 03 13" it! CL ^ ffi J? ^ CO fe ^^ — ^ -M Vh 03 :; M > fe m p:i O O O M ^ -^ ca (-1 O 1-^ K^ fx^ O Ph p: ^ 13 fin w Oj o3 s "S in tJ a :3 Q "c3 a 3 pq 13" 6 jM 03 ;3 M "■f^ a 02 ,c! "tuO 4^ -(-T bjO • ^ o3 o3 '■+J < a o 00 ro O O _• 00 00 o "vT 10 in in 8^0 to G IS o3 s s o ,£, ^ VD t^ ^ ^ ^ ^. to CO ^ Ln — r- M 3 o a ^ to oj :3 to d to _y5 c U a w C c 4; pq S M iS "O Tf tJ tT 13 •a Ta" ^ (U JIJ •t Pi 13 S ^ s ^ pa "cS H "o '0 "o "o ■tJ *J ■»-> +-» 4J 0! rt rt "rt a 0! rt OS OJ rt nJ ti SUGGESTIONS AS TO PURCHASE. 43 o o 00 00 CJ o — o o ~ o — in in vi) ^ Q ^ ^ r-- <^ — — Wl a; bC ^ O 03 ; — ] ;ii o» ^ -o tn , ^ 13 xi ^H O o3 u o ^ ^ ^ OT 03 ^ M