[1] Pop the corn, grab the milk, and enjoy a bowl of cereal. The recipe is below (photo © National Popcorn Board).

[2] It’s easy to reach for the sugar bowl, but consider brown sugar, demerara (raw) sugar, or maple syrup as alternatives (photo © Eduardo Casajus Gorostiaga | Unsplash).

[3] Fun for brunch: Set up a breakfast bar with popcorn and different toppings (photo © National Popcorn Board).

[4] Popcorn atop a whole-grain “granola” of amaranth, buckwheat, oats, and sesame, topped with fresh fruit. Here’s the recipe (photo © Eat Smarter).

[5] Popcorn kernels. Popcorn, Zea mays var. everta), is the only corn that will pop (photo © Markus Winkler | Unsplash).

[6] Breakfast popcorn and milk. Here’s the recipe (photo © John Kernick | Food And Wine).

[7] Popcorn in the field. Here’s how to grow your own popcorn (photo © Espoma).

March 7th is National Cereal Day. Cereal is what Americans eat for breakfast, but in the bigger picture, cereal refers to a group of grasses that are grown for their edible components: grains composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. They include barley, kamut, maize (corn), millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, triticale, and wheat. Cereal grains are the seeds of the grasses.

All are members of the Poaceae family, also called the grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture (the latter two are commonly referred to collectively as grass).

The edible cereals divide from the family level into different tribes, genuses, and species.

Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat, chia, quinoa, and wild rice, are referred to as pseudocereals.

Most cereals are annual plants; one planting yields one harvest. They divide into cool-season cereals (barley, oats, rye, spelt, triticale, and wheat) that cease to grow in and warm-season cereals that are tender and prefer hot weather (maize, millet, rice, sorghum, teff).

Below:

> Popcorn cereal bowl recipe.

> The history of cereal.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of cold breakfast cereal.

> The history of porridge.

> The year’s 15 cereal holidays.

> The year’s 12+ popcorn holidays.

> The year’s 116 breakfast holidays.
 
 
STAPLE FOODS FOR THE WORLD

Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop, and are one of the key staple crops*. About 80% of the protein and 50% of the calories consumed by humans and livestock come from cereal grains. The U.S. is a major supplier of cereal grains to the rest of the world [source].

In their natural, unprocessed, whole grain form, cereals are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. When processed by the removal of the bran, and germ, the remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrates. (Here’s more about whole grain cereals.)
 
 
RECIPE: POPCORN CEREAL BOWL

Popcorn is made from a particular variety of maize (Zea mays var. everta) which expands and puffs up when heated. It’s well-known to Americans as a snack, but Americans also ate it as a breakfast cereal in the 19th century (see below.

Not only is freshly popped popcorn a delicious breakfast cereal; it’s also a whole grain—and it’s food fun, to boot!

A recipe follows, as does the history of grains.

There are a variety of choices for the topping. Truth to tell, we were out of berries but we had a bag of trail mix. That was our first topping, until we replenished our supply of berries.

Thanks to the National Popcorn Board for this recipe. Check their website for many more popcorn recipes.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the popcorn in a bowl and add cold milk, just like any breakfast cereal.

2. SPRINKLE with the optional sugar and top with your choice of stir-ins. Dig in!
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CEREAL

Cereals were the foundation of human civilization. Most archaeologists and paleoanthropologists agree that agriculture began around 10,000 B.C.E., when nomadic people living near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia (the “Fertile Crescent,” which is modern-day Iraq) settled into villages and began cultivating and breeding wheat. Some believe that the desire for a fixed residence for the growing of wheat was based on the demand for beer.

 
Pursuant to this article on popcorn: corn was domesticated about 10,000 years ago in what is now Mexico. The archaeological record shows that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years. Fossil evidence from Peru suggests that corn was popped as early as 4,700 B.C.E. [source].

Agriculture produced food that enabled the support of increased populations, leading to larger societies and eventually the development of cities. Since agriculture bred immobility, it led to the accumulation of material goods.

And cereals determined how large, and for how long, an army could be mobilized [source].

The word “cereal” is derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture. and grain. The Romans credited her with the discovery of spelt, an ancient strain of wheat, and with the knowledge of how to grow, fertilize and harvest cereal crops.

By the early 1700s, the rice and oats had been imported to America from the Old World and were found to be hardy grains for the terrain and climate. Europe’s staple grain, wheat, did not fare well on the East Coast of the continent; wheat flour had to be imported.

Maize, which was grown by the Native Americans, became an everyday part of the American diet for bread, breakfast cereal, corn pudding, johnnycakes, and more—even pound cake. The steamroller mill subsequently made it possible to quickly process wheat before it decayed.

In 1834 the mechanical revolution in farming began when Cyrus McCormick introduced his mechanical reaper, which allowed two field hands to do the work that had previously taken five to do. In 1847, he patented another important farm implement, a disk plow that facilitated the planting of even rows of cereal grasses.

In the 1890s, combine harvesters were introduced. Soon, they would be powered by internal combustion engines and a single farm could harvest almost 20 times as much land as could have been harvested at the outset of the 19th century. That led to efficient corporate farming possible, and the amount of wheat available for the U.S. to export worldwide [source].

While man had boiled cereal grains into porridge since the earliest times, the growth in corn, oat and wheat production led to the packaged breakfast cereals that people worldwide enjoy today.

The U.S. is also the world’s top popcorn producer [source].
 
 
Popcorn As A Breakfast Cereal

While a tale exists that Native Americans brought popcorn to the first Thanksgiving in 1621, the fact is that the corn grown in New England at the time (Northern Flint corn) has a hull too thin to pop effectively. No archaeological evidence of popcorn has been found at these sites.

The idea of popcorn as breakfast cereal likely stems from a real Victorian-era trend. By the 1800s, newer varieties of popable corn from South America had been introduced to the U.S..

Famous authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Laura Ingalls Wilder in Farmer Boy (set in the 1860s), wrote about eating popcorn in milk. This led later readers to assume the practice went all the way back to the Pilgrims.

In reality, it was a relatively modern “novelty” food at the time she was writing.

While popcorn with milk might be the spiritual ancestor of cereals like Corn Pops, it wasn’t the first breakfast cereal.

The first ready-to-eat breakfast cereal was Granula, invented in 1863 by James Caleb Jackson—roughly 100 years after the Colonial period ended.

> Here’s the history of cold breakfast cereal.

Boiling grains for porridge dates to ancient times. The practice of boiling grains and starches into a mash is one of humankind’s oldest culinary traditions, far predating the invention of agriculture.

According to recent archaeological findings, the practice is at least 32,000 years old, although evidence suggests humans may have been processing starchy plants for much longer.
 

[8] The practice of boiling grains is at least 32,000 years old (photo © Gordon Ramsay Group).
 
________________

*A food staple is a food that makes up the dominant part of a population’s diet. They are eaten regularly—some are eaten daily—and supply a major proportion of the populations’ energy and nutritional needs. Cassava, maize, plantains, potatoes, rice, sorghum, soybeans, sweet potatoes, wheat, and yams are some of the leading food crops around the world [source].

†Central Asia is a region in Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which comprises the modern states of China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Are there days when you pace around the kitchen, wanting a special treat—maybe a fresh, warm cookie? But you don’t have the will to bake from scratch, so you keep searching. And then you give up and eat some Nestle’s morsels from the bag or some teaspoons of preserves from the jar? Not satisfying, but it has to do.

We’ve been there. And even if you can’t relate to this tale, how about this one:

You keep some packages of Home Dough gourmet frozen, individually shaped cookie dough on hand. Then whether you want just one cookie or an assortment, you just remove the required number from the package.

Then, melty, gooey, mouthwatering cookies are just 10 minutes away!

With Home Dough in your freezer, you can easily bake cookies at the last minute: unexpected guests, visiting the neighbors, movie night, or general sweet cravings.
 
 
TAKE A BITE!

Home Dough currently has three flavors:

 
Each is a delight, with a shout-out to Molasses Ginger because…where can you find a good molasses ginger cookie?

Gluten-free versions are coming soon.

Founder Jami Changaris launched Home Dough after spending more than 50 years fine-tuning cookie recipes for her five children and their friends, classmates, teammates, and teachers.

Because of the high demand, she crafted her cookie dough in balls to be frozen in advance, ready to go into the oven whenever cookies called.

Unlike refrigerated, store-bought cookie doughs, Home Dough is preservative-free (that’s why it needs to be frozen).

Why is it “gourmet” cookie dough?

All of the ingredients are first-class: all-natural, mostly organic, and Non-GMO Project Verified.

All that’s left is for you lay in a store of them. The bags of eight ready-to-bake dough balls don’t take up much space in the freezer, so there’s no reason to wait.

> ORDER YOUR HOME DOUGH TODAY.<

And consider sending a variety pack to your favorite cookie-lover!
 
 
> The history of cookies.

> 30 cookie holidays to celebrate below.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH

The idea to sell refrigerated cookie dough was born in the 1950s, an era time when women were largely homemakers who made almost all of the family’s food from scratch.

Nestlé and Pillsbury introduced the first commercially-available premade cookie dough in supermarkets [source].

Nestle sold refrigerated logs of chocolate chip cookie dough, and Pillsbury Slice ‘N Bake Cookies were launched in four flavors: Butterscotch Nut, Crunchy Peanut, Sugar Cookie, and Toasted Coconut.

Otis Spunkmeyer introduced retail frozen cookie dough to grocery stores in 1990 (previously it was available commercially to foodservice operations) [source].

Don’t Eat Raw Cookie Dough

Whether packaged or home-made, Americans learned to love to eat raw cookie dough.

But eating raw cookie dough can pose a serious health risk, namely the foodborne illnesses of salmonella and E. coli, which can arise from uncooked flour and eggs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strongly discourages the consumption of all food products containing raw eggs or raw flour, and Home Dough includes the warning on its bags of dough.

So tempting though it is, don’t eat untreated cookie dough in its uncooked state.

Yes, there are brands of edible cookie dough—including the chunks added to ice cream—that avoid these hazards by using pasteurized eggs and heat-treated flour.
 
 
COOKIE HOLIDAYS

Brownies and other bar cookies are included in this list. Bars are cookies because they are eaten with the fingers, as opposed to cake, which requires a fork.

[1] Fresh from the oven: a stack of chocolate chip cookies (all photos © Home Dough).

[2] Keep the packages in the freezer until you’re ready for a warm, aromatic cookie.

[3] We were thrilled with Molasses Spice, a cookie flavor often overlooked.

[4] Oatmeal Toffee is a nice switch from the conventional Oatmeal Raisin cookie.

[5] America’s favorite cookie flavor: Chocolate Chip.

[6] In just 10 minutes, frozen balls of cookie dough become irresistible snacks.

[7] A stack of all three flavors. Bring on the milk!

[1] Delicious warm potato salad with bacon, watercress, green beans, and a Dijon vinaigrette (photos #1 and #3 © Colavita) .

[2] You can find baby, or creamer, potatoes, in three colors: yellow, red and purple (photo © Melissa’s).

[3] Roast the bacon until crisp, then dice. Roasting the bacon cuts down on smell and spatter (photo © iGourmet).

[4] Fresh watercress adds brightness and a layer of peppery flavor (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] Crunchy green beans layer on more flavor (photo © Deshmukh | Wesual | Unsplash) .

[6] Colavita makes EVOO, balsamic and wine vinegars, and other fine products. Take a look at the line.

[7] Grainy mustard was the original form of the condiment (photo © Maille).

This potato salad recipe has enough green in it for St. Patrick’s Day—and it’s a wonderfully flavorful recipe. Created by Colavita, roasted baby potatoes combine with bacon, watercress, and green beans in a delicious Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Of course, it’s delicious year-round, served either warm (as indicated below) or chilled.
 
 
> The history of bacon.

> The history of potatoes.

> The history of mustard.

> The history of watercress.
 
 
RECIPE: POTATO SALAD WITH BACON, WATERCRESS,
GREEN BEANS & DIJON VINAIGRETTE
 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Dressing

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, Dijon mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the olive oil to form a thick dressing. Set aside. The dressing can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

2. POSITION a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the strips of bacon on the parchment.

3. ROAST the bacon in the oven until it’s cooked and crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Once cool, slice the bacon into ½” pieces. On another large rimmed baking sheet…

4. TOSS the potatoes with 1 tablespoon Colavita olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile…

5. BLANCH the green beans. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add ½ teaspoon salt and the green beans. Boil for 4 minutes, drain.

6. POUR half of the dressing directly over the hot potatoes on the baking sheet. Toss until the potatoes absorb the dressing. Transfer the potatoes to a large salad bowl.

7. ADD the watercress, green beans, and bacon to the salad bowl and toss, adding 2 more tablespoons of the dressing if needed.

8. SEASON to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF WATERCRESS

Watercress (Nasturtium officianale) is a salad green noted for its distinctive peppery, mustard-like flavor. It’s packed with vitamins and other nutrients, some of which are calcium, folic acid, iron, and vitamins A and C.

The archaeological record of watercress can be found dating back 3,000 years to the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. It grew wild in cool flowing streams, where it grows submerged, floating on the water. It was subsequently cultivated.

Watercress is a member of the Brassicaceae family of antioxidant-rich vegetables*. It is believed to have originated in or around ancient Greece, and remains an integral part of Mediterranean diets.

While the ancients knew nothing about vitamins and minerals, the Persians did observe that their soldiers were healthier when watercress was part of their daily diet.

The Persian King Xerxes (519 B.C.E.-466 B.C.E.) ordered his soldiers to eat watercress to keep them healthy during their long marches. It was also used by soldiers to both prevent and cure scurvy.

A later general, Napoleon, Napoleon (1769-1821) was a huge watercress enthusiast [source].

Watercress has long been regarded medicinally. Among other uses, the Romans treated insanity with watercress and vinegar. Roman emperors ate watercress to help them make “bold decisions.”

In Crete, islanders still swear by its aphrodisiac powers, and ancient watercress recipes are handed down from one generation to the next.

The peppery salad green was also used as a breath freshener and palate cleanser.

The Greeks also observed the health benefits of watercress. When Hippocrates, the father of medicine, founded the first hospital on the Island of Kos around 400 B.C.E., he is said to have located it hospital beside a stream so that he could grow a plentiful supply of watercress to help treat his patients [source]. One important use was to treat blood disorders.

Later, the herbalist John Gerard (1542-1612) promoted watercress as a remedy for scurvy [source].

One of Britain’s best-known dishes, watercress soup, became very popular in the 17th century when it was claimed that it cleansed the blood.

Across the pond, watercress was recorded as a menu item at the very first Thanksgiving celebration, in 1621.

Lewis and Clark regularly found watercress on their trek across the Louisiana Purchase in 1804-1806. The U.S. Army planted watercress in the gardens of forts along the western trails, as food for their soldiers.

In the 1994 book, James Cook and the Conquest of Scurvy, author Francis E. Cuppage notes that Captain James Cook was able to circumnavigate the globe three times (between 1768 and 1779), due in part to his use of watercress in the diet of his sailors.

The first notation of watercress cultivated on the Continent is by Nicholas Messier in Erfurt, Germany, in the mid-16th century. Cultivation began in England in 1808s, when a farmer near London popularize it as a salad ingredient.

Typical of food trends, it was not long before it became increasingly difficult to meet the sudden increase in demand for watercress [source].

Eating a bag of watercress is said to be a good cure for a hangover. We don’t know anyone who’s tried it, but a peppery watercress salad would be refreshing after a long night.

________________

*The high-antioxidant Brassicaceae (brah-si-KAY-see-ay) family of flowering plants—formerly the Cruciferae) and sometimes called the Brassicas or cruciferous vegetables for short—are nutritional powerhouses, packed with potent, cancer-fighting phytonutrients. Members include arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, horseradish/wasabi, kale, kohlrabi, mizuna, mustard greens, radish, rapeseed/canola, rapini, rutabaga, tatsoi, turnips, and watercress, among others.

Watercress is often referred to as a member of the “mustard family.” The Brassicaceae family is commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family.