The cult of Grape-Nuts: not fish tank gravel but the best cereal ever! (Post Cereals Grape Nuts)

Member Name: theabster

Product:	Post Cereals Grape Nuts
Date:	22/01/09 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY and quite good for you too. Has texture! Stays crunchy in milk!

Disadvantages: There are none- except that world domination through Grape Nuts has not yet occurred

Grape Nuts

Now, I recently commented on the failings of Weetabix against supermarket brands (see my review on Weetabix for more!), however, all is not lost in the competitive world of processed cereals.

These are my favourite, favourite, favourite breakfast nibbles. Apparently, though rarely available in the UK they have a weird cult following whereby devotees manage to somehow track down this product amidst the variety of classic cereals on offer in stores nationwide. I am wholly devoted to Grape Nuts and to be honest, I have no idea why!

A bit of history

It is a breakfast cereal that was developed in Battle Creek, Michigan by C.W. Post in 1897. Post was a patient and later competitor of the 19th Century food innovator, that rather more well known man, Dr John Harvey Kellogg. It was marketed as a natural cereal that enhances bodily health and vitality whilst being compact, lightweight and of high nutritional value, even being labelled as "brain food". It is quite resistant to spoilage and thus was a choice for many expedition groups in the 1920s and 1930s. It was included as a component in the Jungle ration used by some US and Allied Forces in wartime operations before the World War II. Lucky souls!

It was the first product to ever be marketed using coupons to increase sales: Post offered a penny-off coupon to try and get people to try Grape Nuts during the late 1890s. He apparently had the bright idea of baking a wheat and barley load in a gas-fired oven and then used a coffee grinder to create the first few granules of joy.

What are they?

Grape-nuts, despite the name, have no grapes or nuts in the ingredients at all. They were called this name because of two reasons: 'grape' because of the type of sweetener used- grape sugar (maltose based as opposed to sucrose- the main form of most other sugars used in cereal) and 'nuts' because of their nutty flavour. Interestingly, they have now ditched the grape sugar altogether, though the name still remains. Ingredients are today:

Whole grain wheat flour, wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt, dried yeast, soy lecithin. (also iron, niacin amide, zinc oxide (source of zinc), vitamin B6, Vitamin A, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, B12 and Vitamin D.

So, as you can probably tell it's a pretty high fibre product that aims to keep up with current thinking as regards to a diet high in whole-grains being useful for weight maintenance. Overall, as part of an active and healthy lifestyle, it is definitely a good product when considering the relatively high-sugar and low-fibre content of many mainstream cereals, e.g. cornflakes. I am pretty sure that a lot of behavioural problems in children would be dealt with much more effectively if their diet was lower in the refined sugars that cause hyperactivity. Additionally, with 3g of fibre and 33g of whole-grain per serving (58g suggested), hopefully children (and adults!) will benefit from feeling fuller for longer and less inclined to snack on sugary or fatty foods. Some consider them a chore to eat- a horrible dry and favoured fare by the masochistic and the stoic! Ha! How wrong could they be! They are sold in little packets weighing just 16oz (the smallest box of cereal you are likely to find that isn't a single serving!) although I think in the US (or somewhere that I haven't found!) they come in larger packs such as 32 or 64oz. They are quite versatile: you can eat them cold (that's how I like them best), hot with warm milk or in various recipes like chocolate cornflake cupcakes, grape-nut muffins, ice cream sundae toppings or homemade cereal bars. I like them cold too much and they are in too short supply for me to have used them for such purposes yet, but I am sure they are delicious in any form. Check out www.postcereals.com/gn for more recipes and information!

My opinion!

Well, like I said, I am one of the devoted! A self confessed addict to grape-nuts. The little kibbles are curiously yummy, despite their simple ingredients and I love the way they stay really crunchy in milk. Be careful not to fill too big a bowl though- as they are really really filling (some might say too filling and heavy!) and sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach. That said, I often try to balance my bowl of grape nuts with some yummy chunks of banana or some raisins (or whatever I have to hand). Drenched in milk, they are the perfect start to your day, or the perfect end....or the perfect lunch. Or all three! I have been known....

Interestingly I came across a recipe recently that suggested how to make a similar cereal at home, thus when crisis ensues due to a failure to find any packets in the shops, this may be the route to follow.

A recipe for a Grape Nut type cereal:

3 ½ cups sifted whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups of milk
2 tbsp vinegar
¾ tsp salt

Mix the dry ingredients. Separately mix the vinegar with the milk and add to the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Spread the dough ¼ inch thick on a greased tray and bake at 375 degrees F. When cooled, grind in a food processor, though taking care not to get too carried away or you will pulverise into a flour!

Now that is just a recipe I have found on the internet, and I intend to firstly try it and then probably make a few adjustments. I really want to be able to create grape nuts at home as a little project and therefore I think I will try and stick to the ingridients in the original product as best as possible so as not to lose flavour. Soya lecithin, for example, is in Grape-nuts and can be bought readily from health food shops. Also, I think the yeast could be easily inserted back into a homemade recipe. I think I would also try and eliminate most of the sugar and potentially replace it with a fruit sugar or perhaps a tsp or two of malt extract. I think its that slight maltiness that give Grape-Nuts their characteristic taste. I shall commence this project then, as soon as I have finished my last packet (which will inevitably not be very long!).

Price and Availability

Like I said, they are in pretty short supply in Britain. I have seen them, however, for sale in Morisson's and I think Tesco's a couple of times. Here they retail at perhaps around £1.70 (which is quite a lot for such a wee packet!). But, never fear! I was delighted to find them in plentiful supply in Pound land (the original pound land as opposed to the other variations of which there are multiple!). So at £1 for a pack, I think that's quite a bargain.

It is difficult to explain my curious love for this product, but I urge you to try it as a healthy way to start your day, or as an alternative to the usual breakfast foods that you normally eat.

Summary: Join the Grape-Nut cult and become no longer an uncultured fool!