HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast
porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
mix made from
wheat middlings Wheat middlings (also known as millfeed, wheat mill run, or wheat midds) are the product of the wheat milling process that is not flour. A good source of protein, fiber, phosphorus, and other nutrients, they are a useful fodder for livestock and ...
. It looks similar to
grits Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are of ...
, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first manufactured in the United States in 1893 by wheat millers in Grand Forks, North Dakota and debuted at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...
in Chicago, Illinois. The rice-based Cream of Rice also forms part of the product line, and is often a recommended early food for infants and toddlers and for people who cannot tolerate wheat or
gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grai ...
. Cream of Wheat was owned by
Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco's ...
from 1961 to 2000 when Nabisco was bought by
Kraft Foods Inc. Kraft Foods Inc. was a multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It marketed many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earned more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell H ...
B&G Foods B&G Foods is an American branded foods holding company based in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company was formed in 1996 to acquire Bloch & Guggenheimer, a Manhattan-based producer of pickles, relish and condiments which had been founded in 1889. ...
acquired the Cream of Wheat and Cream of Rice brands from Kraft in January 2007.


History

After the Panic of 1893, the Diamond Milling Company in Grand Forks was faced with low prices and reduced demand for flour. Diamond's Scottish-born chief miller, Tom Amidon, proposed that the company package a breakfast porridge that his wife would make from the portion of the wheat not used in making flour. This was made from the "middlings" of the wheat, a protein rich part of the wheat berry. After initially being uninterested, Diamond's owners–Emery Mapes, George Bull, and George Clifford–eventually agreed to test the product. They sent 10 cases, in strawboard boxes handmade by Amidon, to their brokers in New York along with a regular shipment of flour. Another employee suggested the name "Cream of Wheat" which was hand-lettered on the boxes along with a stock illustration of a black chef holding a saucepan which Mapes, a former printer, had on hand. Just hours after the brokers, Lamont, Corliss & Co., distributed the product to grocers they
wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
Diamond ordering another 50 cases. The next morning, the brokers sent a second telegram saying, "FORGET THE FLOUR. SEND US A CAR OF CREAM OF WHEAT." Diamond directed its factory to begin manufacturing only Cream of Wheat. As demand increased, the company moved to a new factory in
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, in 1897, and changed its name to The Cream Of Wheat Company. Six years later, the company outgrew its first Minneapolis plant and moved to a new location in the city. This was replaced by a third facility in 1927 where production remained for decades. The company was listed on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
in 1929. While the original variety continued to be produced, the company introduced "Enriched Quick Cream of Wheat" in 1939 which cooked more quickly, minutes vs. 10 minutes, and had added vitamins and minerals. This was followed in 1958 with "Instant Cream of Wheat" which cooked in 30 seconds. In 1961, Cream of Wheat was acquired by the National Biscuit Co. (later renamed Nabisco) for . Philip Morris Companies acquired Nabisco and with it Cream of Wheat in 2000 and merged it with its Kraft Foods subsidiary. Kraft closed Cream of Wheat's Minnesota plant in 2002, relocating production to other Kraft facilities. In 2007, Cream of Wheat was acquired from Kraft by B&G Foods for approximately .


Cream of Rice

Despite the many similarities between the products, Cream of Rice had an entirely separate origin and history to Cream of Wheat prior to 1983 when they were united under Nabisco. The Cream of Rice Company, a
Delaware corporation The Delaware General Corporation Law (Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code) is the statute of the Delaware Code that governs corporate law in the U.S. state of Delaware. Adopted in 1899, the statute has since seen Delaware become the most im ...
based in Chicago, was incorporated by T. C. Fredrich, O. C. Wilson, and Howard D. Stewart in October 1915. Frank O. Balch, the company's secretary and treasurer, filed a trademark application for the "Cream of Rice" logo in December 1915. The trademark was registered in 1917. The company reported strong sales initially and market penetration of over half of retail stores in Chicago by February 1916. However, the company was liquidated by court order in 1921. A new company, the American Rice Products Company, was founded in 1921 in New Orleans by a group of investors from Chicago to take over the assets and "Cream of Rice" brand from the failed business. The brand was acquired in 1937 by Grocery Store Products Company and initially produced in New Orleans. In 1949, production moved to
West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...
. An attempt by Kraft to acquire Grocery Store Products in 1970 was called off due to objections by the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
. In 1971 when Grocery Store Products was acquired by
Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...
, Cream of Rice went with it but kept its West Chester plant. In 1983, Clorox sold the poorly performing Cream of Rice to Nabisco which already owned Cream of Wheat. Production of both brands was consolidated to the Cream of Wheat manufacturing facilities in Minneapolis after they were acquired along with Nabisco by Kraft.


Preparation

Cream of Wheat is prepared from the box by boiling water or milk, then pouring in the farina while stirring. As it is stirred, the farina starts to thicken. The use of milk instead of (or in addition to) water gives the dish a creamier taste. In the United States market, there are three unflavored mixes available (10-minute, -minute and 1-minute). In the Canadian market, there are two unflavored mixes available (8-minute and 3-minute). Cream of Wheat is also sold in an instant format which includes the use of single-serving packets. These are prepared by simply mixing their contents with hot water and allowing the result to set in a bowl for approximately two minutes. It is common to customize the hot cereal with the addition of sugar, fruit, or nuts. As a result, several flavors are sold of the instant variety: Original, Apples 'N' Cinnamon, Maple Brown Sugar, Strawberries 'N' Cream, and Cinnamon Swirl. In October 2012, Cream of Wheat added a new chocolate flavor to their instant line and later introduced a Bananas & Cream flavor.


Package design and controversy

The original boxes of Cream of Wheat were handmade and lettered, and were emblazoned with the image of an
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
chef produced by Emery Mapes, one of Diamond Milling Company's owners. The character was named
Rastus Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. History "Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel ...
and was developed by artist Edward V. Brewer. Rastus was included on all boxes and advertisements. It has long been thought that a chef named Frank L. White was the model for the chef shown on the Cream of Wheat box, a claim White himself made. White's headstone contains his name and an etching taken from the man depicted on the Cream of Wheat box. Leading up to 2020, there had been public pressure aimed at various companies to change branding with perceived racist origins, such as
Aunt Jemima Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for Baking mix, pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed i ...
and
Uncle Ben's Ben's Original, formerly called Uncle Ben's, is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that was introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Its headquarters are in Denver Harbor, Houston, Texas ...
. The character of Rastus had once been depicted as a cook who was barely literate and did not know about
vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...
s. ''Rastus'' is also a derogatory term traditionally associated with
African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
in the United States. For these reasons, B&G Foods had been under public pressure for years to make changes. Public demands to remove symbols of racism increased during the 2020 protests around racism. In response, on June 17, 2020, B&G Foods announced that it was "initiating an immediate review of the Cream of Wheat brand packaging". On September 25, 2020, the company announced that the chef's image would be removed from all Cream of Wheat packaging.


Marketing

Famous illustrators such as
N. C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...
,
J. C. Leyendecker Joseph Christian Leyendecker (March 23, 1874 – July 25, 1951) was a German-American illustrator, considered one of the preeminent American illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his poster, book and advertising illustrati ...
, and Henry Hutt all created ads for the Cream of Wheat brand.


Gallery

File:Cream of Wheat 1895.jpg, A Cream of Wheat advertisement from 1918 File:Cream-of-wheat-n-c-wyeth-1908.png, Oil on canvas by N.C. Wyeth 1908 "Where the mail goes Cream of Wheat goes" File:Cream-of-wheat-henry-hutt-1908.png, Artist: Henry Hutt – 1908 watercolor File:John-howitt-1909-cream-of-wheat-ad.jpg, Artist: John Howitt – 1909 File:Denman-fink-1911-cream-of-wheat-ad.jpg, Artist: Denman Fink – 1911 File:Cream of Wheat Ad.JPG, A Cream of Wheat advertisement from 1917 File:Cream of Wheat advertisement.jpg, A Cream of Wheat advertisement from between 1901 and 1925


See also

*
Frumenty Frumenty (sometimes ''frumentee'', ''furmity'', ''fromity'', or ''fermenty'') was a popular dish in Western European medieval cuisine. It is a porridge, a thick boiled grain dish—hence its name, which derives from the Latin word ''frumentum'', ...
*
Grits Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are oft ...
*
List of porridges Porridge is a dish made by boiling ground, crushed, or chopped starchy plants (typically grains) in water, milk, or both, with optional flavorings, and is usually served hot in a bowl or dish. It may be served as a sweet or savory dish, depend ...
* Malt-o-Meal *
Maypo Maypo is an American brand of hot cereals. The original product was maple flavored oatmeal but there are now a variety of flavors sold under the Maypo brand name. It was originally manufactured by Maltex Co. and is now owned by Homestat Farm, L ...
*
Semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Etymo ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{B&G Foods Breakfast cereals World's Columbian Exposition Porridges Greater Grand Forks Products introduced in 1893 Nabisco brands Wheat dishes