Just how do you puff puffed wheat?
Tom Chalmer of Creston, B.C., recalls seeing puffed wheat manufactured in an old blacksmith shop in Yorkton, Sask., back in 1930 or 1931.
He says the blacksmith had managed to produce a heap of the cereal that was lying on the dirt floor and that he, Tom, had taken home a sugar bag full.
I’d be interested in hearing from anyone with a long memory who can fill me in on this Dirty Thirties attempt at value-added agricultural production. Certainly at the time I didn’t hear of any quavering at Quaker or jitters at General Foods or mass hari-kari at Kellogg’s as a result of this competition.
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Tom was responding to the July 8 Fringe column on breakfast cereal. He wanted to know if one could produce puffed wheat at home.
Since the process involves heating up a mix of wheat and water under high pressure and then suddenly releasing that pressure, it’s a risky one for the average kitchen.
“Yes, dear, I know there is wheat all over the ceiling. I’ll get my squeegee out of the garage and deal with it right away.”
I haven’t bought any puffed wheat for 40 or more years but the price at that time was dirt cheap. Outside of the challenge implicit in manufacturing a product such as this, there wouldn’t be much gain in economic terms in producing your own.
However, don’t let me be a stone on the path of progress.
The last time I was in Creston it was a nice, quiet community with a high percentage of retireds. Maybe a thunderous blast from a pressure cooker would create some excitement.
