How Are Cheerios Made?

Every recipe begins with a list of ingredients, and Cheerios are no different. The FDA requires food products to list ingredients on the packaging. The order of these ingredients is very important since the most predominant ingredient is listed first and the rest are listed in descending order. Cheerios are a popular breakfast food with consumers seeking good sources of whole grains since whole grain oats is the first ingredient on the cereal box. The remaining ingredients include modified corn starch, corn starch, sugar, and salt. Mothers who are concerned about the high sugar content in cereal prefer Cheerios since brown sugar is the fourth listed ingredient. A number of breakfast cereals on the market today list sugar as the second most predominant ingredient. Other ingredients in Cheerios include the preservative tocopherols, the leavening ingredient calcium carbonate, the additive tripotassium phosphate, and additional vitamins like vitamin E

Cheerios also claims to be good for your cholesterol. While eating whole grains has been linked to lower cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease, it’s impossible to say that Cheerios are a definitively healthy breakfast. Anything can be a part of a healthy diet in moderation. Just make sure to follow serving sizes, avoid overly processed foods and consult with your physician about what diet works best for you.

To make Cheerios, the dry ingredients are first mixed with water resulting in a raw batter that will eventually become the familiar O-shaped cereal. Cheerios get their classic shape when the batter is pressed through special molds. Each tiny circle is then put through a drying process. Following this drying period, hot steam is applied to the cereal in a special pressure cylinder. When the cereal is removed from the high pressure cylinder and returned to a normal atmosphere, the water inside turns to steam and causes the Cheerios to puff up. At this point, the cereal is almost done. A little more drying time, as well as the addition of sprayed on vitamins and minerals, completes the process.

First called "Cheerioats," the original Cheerios cereal debuted in 1941 by the Minnesota-based company General Mills and were marketed as the first ready to eat cereal. Still a popular finger food and breakfast decades later, the Cheerio family has grown to include a number of tasty varieties such as Peanut Butter Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Chocolate Cheerios, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Banana Nut Cheerios and Berry Burst Cheerios. As well as Frosted Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Gluten Free and Multi-Grain Cheerios are also on the market.

Related LeafTv Articles