Cerealine, also known as malt flakes, was a popular 19th century American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

 product and the first dry breakfast food. Similar to but predating corn flakes

Corn flakes

Corn flakes are a popular breakfast cereal originally manufactured by Kellogg's through the treatment of maize. A patent for the product was filed on May 31, 1895, and issued on April 14, 1896.-History:...

, which appeared in 1898 and are first rolled and then toasted, cerealine is corn grits

Grits

Grits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eaten at breakfast. They consist of coarsely ground corn, or sometimes alkali-treated corn . They are also sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Muskogee language word...

 in the form of uncooked flakes. It was originally used by the brewing industry.

More popularly, Cerealine Flakes, colloquially called simply Cerealine, was also the brand name for raw-flake cereal made from grits by the Cerealine Manufacturing Company of Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, USA.

History

After having long been used for beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

 brewing, cerealine in the late 19th century became one of the three most popular cereals of that time, along with cracked wheat and oatmeal

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is ground oat groats , or a porridge made from oats . Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats....

. All three were typically sold by retailers who bought cereal in barrel lots and scooped it out to sell by the pound to customers. Cerealine Flakes was later sold in packages.
White-corn cerealine flakes were invented, perhaps accidentally, by Columbus, Indiana

Columbus, Indiana

Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...

 mill worker James Vannoy circa 1884 or 1887. Cerealine was established as a breakfast food by at least 1897, when the Illinois Farmer's Institute annual report noted that, "Some mills make hominy of white corn, roll it into broad, flat flakes, called cerealine, which are used here as a breakfast dish...."

Cerealine Manufacturing

Aurora, Indiana

Aurora, Indiana

Aurora is a city in Lawrenceburg and Center townships of Dearborn County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,965 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Aurora is located at ....

's T. & J.W. Gaff & Co. distillery built the Cerealine Mill, at 607 Jackson Street in Columbus, Indiana

Columbus, Indiana

Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...

, in 1867. Their Cerealine Manufacturing Company moved to Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 sometime prior to 1898, though the Columbus mill's building remained extant and was restored in the late 20th or early 21st century for use as a cafeteria

Cafeteria

A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...

 and conference center by the engine

Engine

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...

 manufacturing corporation Cummins Inc.

Prior to being annexed by Indianapolis in 1895, the settlement around what was then called the Cerealine Works was known as Cerealinetown.

External links

• Carson, Gerald. "None Genuine Without this Signature" chapter, Cornflake Crusade (Rinehart & Company
  Rinehart & Company
  Rinehart & Company, an American publishing company, was the successor to Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. In 1946, following the departure of John C. Farrar, the company was renamed Rinehart & Company. The brothers Stanley M. Rinehart and Frederick R. Rinehart continued to operate the company until its...
  
  , New York, 1957), pp. 200-211. Archived from the original March 3, 2011.