{"id":2181,"date":"2015-05-08T10:44:11","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T14:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nybg.org\/science-talk\/?p=2181"},"modified":"2019-06-03T15:41:32","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T19:41:32","slug":"breakfast-in-a-blast-the-invention-of-puffed-cereal-at-nybg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/science-talk\/2015\/05\/breakfast-in-a-blast-the-invention-of-puffed-cereal-at-nybg\/","title":{"rendered":"Breakfast in a Blast: The Invention of Puffed Cereal at NYBG"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lisa Vargues<\/a> is a Curatorial Assistant at The New York Botanical Garden<\/a>\u2019s William and Lynda Steere Herbarium<\/a>. Her work includes digitizing plant specimens, historical and new, from around the world for the C. V. Starr Virtual Herbarium<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"puffed<\/a>
Bowl of puffed rice image courtesy of Lisa Vargues.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In December 1901, Nathaniel Lord Britton, the New York Botanical Garden’s Director, reportedly (and understandably) appeared to be a little worried when a succession of blasts, sounding like gunshots, erupted from a third-floor lab in what is now the Library building. Thankfully, nothing was amiss. Botanist Alexander Pierce Anderson was immersed in a successful experiment that would not only prove a scientific theory but also transform breakfast for millions of people.<\/p>\n

With suitable precautions, Anderson had used a hammer to crack open hermetically sealed and heated glass tubes, each containing corn starch, wheat flour, and, later, rice and other grains. All of the starch particles in the tubes had exploded, proving the theory, proposed by plant physiologist Dr. Heinrich Meyer, that a starch granule contains a miniscule amount of condensed water within its nucleus.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The heading from Anderson\u2019s \u201ccereal product\u201d patent. Courtesy of the Archives of The New York Botanical Garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"A<\/a>
A photo of Alexander P. Anderson in Munich, Germany. Courtesy of the Archives of The New York Botanical Garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This water, \u201cunable to escape during the heating period because of the pressure, had flashed into steam at the moment of the explosion and shattered the starch granule,\u201d explained historian Harrison J. Thornton. Each rice grain, Anderson observed, had \u201cexpanded to eight or more times its original volume, while retaining its original form.\u201d Other cereals reacted similarly. The cornstarch had expanded into a white porous mass. Realizing the commercial potential of his discovery, Anderson forged ahead to develop it into an enormously popular household staple: puffed cereal.<\/p>\n

Anderson, born in Minnesota in 1862 to Swedish immigrants from Sm\u00e5land, had excelled in school, had worked from childhood into adulthood on his parents\u2019 farm, and had taught in one-room schoolhouses. At age 27, he faced a series of life-changing hardships: over the course of just four months, both of his parents died, and a fire devastated the family farm.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>
From one of his numerous laboratory notebooks, a sweet puffed rice recipe created by Alexander P. Anderson for the 1904 St. Louis World\u2019s Fair\/Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Courtesy of the Archives of The New York Botanical Garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His plans shifted. While earning B.S. and M.S. degrees in botany at the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. at the University of Munich in Germany, he learned of the intriguing Meyer starch granule theory. Subsequent botanical work lead to a position as Curator of the Herbarium at Columbia University in New York City, with the opportunity to conduct research at the newly founded Botanical Garden.<\/p>\n

Anderson discovered that his puffing process was \u201capplicable to nearly all starchy seeds and starchy substances, greatly increasing their nutritive availability\u201d and emphasized that it is \u201centirely different from the \u2018popping\u2019 of corn or other grains.\u201d In 1902, Anderson left Columbia and the Garden to focus on financing, patenting, and developing his process, leading to his longtime employment with the Quaker Oats Company.<\/p>\n

Prior to being marketed as a cereal, Anderson\u2019s puffed rice was successfully promoted as a confection at the 1904 St. Louis World\u2019s Fair. Cannon-like cylinders discharged downpours of puffed rice in a giant cage, wowing the crowds, who purchased packages of his novel treat. Eventually, Anderson\u2019s puffed rice and wheat cereals were widely marketed by Quaker as \u201cfood shot from guns\u201d and pitched in ads by major Hollywood stars such as Shirley Temple (who enjoyed puffed wheat with peaches), Bette Davis, and Bing Crosby. \u201cProfessor Anderson\u2019s gift to food science\u201d was one of many ad taglines launching him to fame.<\/p>\n

\"Stereoscope<\/a>
Stereoscope image of the 1904 St. Louis World\u2019s Fair, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, U.S. public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anderson\u2019s prolific and wide-ranging research involved about 15,000 experiments within 35 years, including delving into aerodynamics and adhesives. During Anderson\u2019s farming days, his father\u2019s encouraging words, such as \u201cPlow well and deep, and we will have a good crop next year,\u201d inspired hard work and preparation, which clearly served him well throughout his life.<\/p>\n

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References & recommended further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n