Breakfastis one of the few things on the satellite everyone from every land can get behind . Whether your first meal of the day is a bowling ball of cereal or violet - purple pancakes made from an alien tuber , breakfast is the great unifier .
But allow ’s get back to grain . As a kid , you belike loved two sort : the super - sweetcereal that came with toysinside and of course , Cheerios . If you were lucky enough to consume the latter every morning , you hump firsthand how it ’s one of those cereal you could not outgrow . It was probably the first cereal you ever strain , and it very well may be the last grain you ’ll ever eat .
So where did this Hellenic food grain originate , andhow does itget that contour ? translate on for the answers , plus more details about Cheerios , you live , for those of us who just ca n’t give up our obsession with one of the good breakfast cereals out there .
1. They’ve Been Around Since the ’40s
True story ! Cheerios made theirworld debut in 1941when a physicist work for General Mills name Lester Borchardt developed a machine that puff out oats . The party wanted a product that would compete with Wheaties and Corn Flakes . Those popular cereal were made of Indian corn , but General Mills made Cheerios with oats .
2. They Were Originally Called “Cheerioats”
Because General Mills plump with oats or else of corn for its new cereal grass , it marketed that in its name — Cheerioats . But then Quaker Oats claimed using the word " oats " wastrademark infringement , so General Mills changed the name of the breakfast cereal to simply Cheerios in 1945 . The name Cheerios plays on the O shape of the puffed oats much well than Cheerioats , anyway .
3. They Almost Weren’t O-shaped
The iconic type O shape we now know was n’t always the design . In fact , according to General Mills , the ship’s company tested more than 10 shapes and sizes until it settled on the iconic Cheerio . But the cereal has strayed from that soma on a few occasions . In honor of the millennium , Cheerios introduced Millenios , a browned bread - flavored cereal with diminutive numeral 2s in accession to the familiar O - shapes so you could easily spell out 2000 . And more recently , in honor of National Heart Health Month in February 2020 , General Millsadded middle shapesto Honey Nut Cheerios and original Cheerios .
4. Honey Nut Cheerios Wasn’t the First ‘Flanker’
Three years before the dear Honey Nut Cheerios was introduced in 1979 , General Mills releasedCinnamon Nut Cheerios in 1973 . It was the first prescribed " flanker " for the brand ( flanker are the different potpourri of Cheerios available in depot ) . " With Cinnamon Nut Cheerios , we discontinue a product that would have been OK for a year or two , but we did n’t want the first Cheerios flanker to give way , " Ted Cushmore , the selling managing director of Big G family cereals in the 1970s , sound out on the General Mills blog . " The cereal did n’t have a broad enough flavor profile , so rather than redevelop we determine to start over to see if we could return newfangled and better ideas . " Just a few yr subsequently in 1979 , the caller followed up with the massively successful Honey Nut Cheerios . But despite the name , Honey Nut Cheerios does n’t includenuts . Therecipe was updated in 2006replacing footing almonds with almond seasoning .
5. And It’s Not the Only ‘Flanker’ Either
Honey Nut Cheerios may be the most popular of the Cheerios flankers , but it ’s not the only one by far . Here are just a few others available : Toasted Coconut Cheerios , Blueberry Cheerios , Maple Cheerios , Cheerios Oat Crunch , Peach Cheerios , Multi - Grain Cheerios , Apple Cinnamon Cheerios , Chocolate Cheerios , Fruity Cheerios , Frosted Cheerios , Banana Nuts Cheerios , Cheerios Oat Crunch , Oats ' N Honey , Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios , Cinnamon Cheerios , Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch , Honey Nut Cheerios Treats Bars , Pumpkin Spice Cheerios and Very Berry Cheerios . Wow !
6. The First Cheerios Mascot Was Cheeri O’Leary
6. Cheerios Went Gluten-free in 2015
Yes … cheerio are made from oat , and oat are naturallygluten - innocent . But to meet the Food and Drug Administration ’s strict guidelines for adding the gluten - free label on the box , General Mills had to uprise a style to sort out the minute amount of wheat , rye and barleycorn that would inevitably twine up foul those oats at the farm or during rapture . So it design a system that can sieve millions of pounds of oat every day to secure that every15,000 grains of oatshave no more than one metric grain of pale yellow , barley or rye contamination . Once those oats are milled into flour , it ’s see to it again for gluten before it ’s load into consecrated gluten‑free truck and rail cars .
7. Why They’re Baby’s First Finger Food
What parent has n’t given their piffling one a fistful of Cheerios ? The finger food seems to be the go - to for child just learning to feed themselves . So what is it that makes thecereal so idealistic ? Well the shape is perfect for those tiny finger to grip and foot up . Plus , because they ’re puffed , and have the unique O cast , they dissolve easily without feature to be chewed , which means they ’re also less likely to make choke .
8. How They Get That Signature Shape
If you ’ve ever wondered how they get those tiny holes in the center of every footling Cheerio , you ’re not alone . It ’s in reality a middling simple process . Once the dough is mixed , it’sforced through a die cutthat forms it into the iconic count O. Those fresh lolly Cheerios are then dry out and fed into what ’s call apuffing gun , where they ’re puff out and toasted wry . Pretty cool clobber .
