Breakfast cereal is available in a packaged dry form such as Alpen, or it can be made fresh. Most warm cereals can be classified as porridges, in that they consist of cereal grains which are soaked in hot water, cooked and/or boiled to soften them and make them palatable. Sweeteners, such as brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup, are often added either by the manufacturer, during cooking, or before eating. Porridge is especially popular in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and England. Porridge became important in Scotland due to the freezing winters. The Scottish people prefer porridge to be made with only water and
Breakfast cereal Cereal Company (Quaker Oats, but see below) created a cereal made from oats in 1877, manufacturing the product in Akron, Ohio. Separately, in 1888, a trust or holding company combined the nation's seven largest mills into the American Cereal Company using the Quaker Oats brand name. By 1900 technology, entrepreneurship, and the "Man in Quaker Garb"—a symbol of plain honesty and reliability—gave Quaker Oats a national market and annual sales of $10 million. Early in the 20th century, the Quaker Oats Company (formed in 1901 to replace the American Cereal Company) jumped into the world market. Schumacher, the innovator; Stuart,