IN THE KITCHEN
The Quick Quirk Quiz
The Surprising Stories, Hidden History,
and Unusual Origins Behind Familiar Things
By Janet Spencer, Trivia Queen of the Universe
Royal Ruler of Useless Information
Master of Arcane Knowledge & Extraneous Lore
Keeper of Forgotten Facts & Startling Statistics
Published by Janet Spencer at Smashwords.com
Copyright 2009 Janet Spencer
Discover other works by Janet Spencer at
www.smashwords.com/profile/view/triviaqueen
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Goddess of Grain
Fried Flakes
Perfect Porridge
Boiled Squashed Wheat
Innovative Oats
Great Grape Juice
A Barbarian Plant
Canned Grease
A Milk Merger
A Wild Apple
An Old Lady’s Orchard
A Chinaman’s Cherries
Pineapple Paradise
An Australian Nut
A Precious Plant
An Essential Mineral
The Salt Seller
A Spicy Sauce
A Fermented Flavor
A Signature Sauce
Tomato Paste from Tomato Waste
Sandwich Sauce
Rough and Raw
A Musical Group and a Miracle Mixer
Carl’s Food Chopper
A Threaded Neck
Plastic Product Parties
Soapy Steel
Goddess of Grain
In Greek mythology, Demeter was the goddess of grain and fertility. Her name came from the words meaning ‘earth mother’. She nourished young things, the green earth, the changing seasons, and the cycle of life and death. The Romans later adopted the goddess, changing her name to Ceres. Her Roman name probably came from the root word ker meaning ‘to grow’ which also gives us ‘create’ and ‘increase’. She was typically depicted holding a basket of flowers or fruit and wearing a garland of grain. Ceres had many minor gods acting as her assistants, with each one presiding over a different aspect of agriculture: one to turn fallow land, one to prepare the fields, one to plow the furrows, one to sow, one who weeded, one who thinned, one who harvested, one who carted, one who stored, and one who distributed. Even today there are statues of Ceres on top of the Missouri State Capital and the Vermont State House, acting as a reminder of the importance of agriculture in the local economy. The Chicago Board of Trade Building also sports a statue of Ceres because they deal in the trade of agricultural commodities. More important, however, is the constant remembrance of Ceres in a common word denoting grains or any product made from grains. Every time a child pours a bowl full of Wheaties in the morning, it harkens back to this goddess of grains. What’s the word?
Answer: Cereal.
Fried Flakes
In 1921 a man who ran a health clinic in Minneapolis was mixing up a batch of bran gruel for his patients. He thought the gruel was good for them, but they hated the taste. But on this day, he accidentally spilled some of the gruel on the hot stove top, where it quickly cooked, transforming into crunchy flakes. He sampled one. It was good! He took his discovery to a friend who worked at a milling factory called the Washburn Crosby Company. George Cormack, the head miller, agreed the flakes had potential, and began experimenting, trying to figure out the right formula that could withstand shipping without crumbling. After many experiments, he had the perfect flake. At first it was called Washburn's Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes. Perhaps because the name wouldn’t fit on a box, a company-wide contest was held to choose a shorter name, which it still carries today. Later, Washburn Crosby Company merged with 26 other mills and became General Mills. One beautiful day the General Mills marketing man was walking through a neighborhood when he wondered why nobody was outside. Then he realized they were all indoors listening to the World Series on the radio. He concluded that advertising the cereal in conjunction with sporting events would be a good idea, so they bought billboards on the wall of the local ballpark and began sponsoring radio broadcasts of the games. Ever since, the cereal has been associated with athletes. What’s it called?
Answer: Wheaties.
Perfect Porridge
When the silver panic of 1893 caused economic disaster across America, a wheat mill in North Dakota was struggling to survive. Because times were hard, one of the owners had been taking home ground wheat, which his wife used to make porridge. The porridge, similar to grits, was good. He convinced his partners they should add this as a sideline to raise extra cash. They had no money to invest in development, packaging, or marketing, so they packed samples using things they found in their attics and storerooms. They cut the cardboard for the cartons by hand, crated them in wooden boxes made from waste lumber, and pasted labels on the top. One of the partners who had been a printer found a printing plate with an illustration of a black chef, and they used that for a label design. They gave the product a name that reflected the quality of the contents, and included these samples in the next shipment of flour they sent to their flour broker in New York. Within 12 hours of those samples being received, the struggling millers received a telegram stating, “Forget the flour. Send more cereal.” They went into cereal production full time. By 1897 demand outstripped their capacity to produce it, so a larger plant was built in Minneapolis. In 1962 the company was acquired by Nabisco, and it remains one of American’s favorite hot breakfast cereals today. What’s it called?
Answer: Cream of Wheat.
Boiled Squashed Wheat
Henry Perky designed rail cars. But one morning in 1892 he was enjoying breakfast in a restaurant in Nebraska when he noted that the man next to him was eating boiled wheat. When he asked the man why he was eating such a strange sort of cereal, the man replied that he had stomach problems and this was the only thing he could digest for breakfast. Perky himself suffered from tender digestion, so he began adding boiled wheat to his diet and found it eased his indigestion and tasted good, too. After experimenting, he developed a wheat cereal. But Perky wasn’t interested in cereal; he was interested in the machines that make cereal. With the help of a mechanic, Perky developed a machine consisting of two rollers that squashed grain between them in such a way that it produced endless strings of compressed grain formed into little ‘wheat mattresses’. He wanted to sell these wheat-mashing machines to hotels, restaurants, and bakeries. He patented the invention and started up the Cereal Machine Company in 1895, but the cereal he was producing became so popular so quickly that he never had a chance to market the machines before he was up to his neck in orders for cereal. By 1898 it was being sold all over the world. The popularity of the cereal spurred him to invent wheat crackers as well. The company Perky formed was sold to the National Biscuit Company in 1928, now known as Nabisco. The cereal and the crackers are still produced. Bonus points if you can name them both.