Grape-Nuts is a
breakfast cereal developed in 1897 by
C. W. Post, a former patient and later competitor of the 19th-century breakfast food innovator, Dr.
John Harvey Kellogg. Despite the name, the cereal contains neither
grapes nor
nuts; it is made with
wheat and
barley. Post believed that
glucose (which he called "grape sugar") formed in the baking process. This, combined with the nutty flavor of the cereal, is said to have inspired its name. Another explanation originates from employees at
Post, who claim that the cereal got its name due to a resemblance to grape seeds, or grape "nuts." The cereal originally prepared by C. W. Post when developing the product was a batter that came from the oven as a rigid sheet. He then broke the sheet into pieces and ran them through a coffee grinder to produce the "nut" sized kernels.