Corn flakes

Corn flakes, or cornflakes, are a popular breakfast cereal made by toasting flakes of corn. The cereal was first created by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in 1894 as a food that he thought would be healthy for the patients of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan where he was superintendent. The breakfast cereal proved popular among the patients and the Kellogg Company was set up to produce corn flakes for a wider public. A patent for the process was granted in 1896.

With corn flakes becoming popular in the wider community, other people, particularly a previous patient at the sanatorium, C. W. Post, started to make rival products. Various ingredients were added and different grains were used. Dr Kellogg continued to experiment and in 1928 started to manufacture Rice Krispies, another successful breakfast cereal. The trademark rooster that appears on the cereal packets and which first appeared in a television commercial may have been inspired by the Welsh word ceiliog, suggested by Kellogg's Welsh friend Nansi Richards. Nowadays there are many generic brands of corn flakes produced by various manufacturers. As well as being used as a breakfast cereal, the crushed flakes can be substituted for bread crumbs in a recipe and can be incorporated into many cooked dishes.