You Say Granula, I Say Granola!

There was a bit of a “you say granula, I say granola” tiff involved in the naming of granola.

First, it was “granula.”

Granula was invented by James Caleb Jackson in the 1860s. Jackson was an abolitionist, a medic, a Christian evangelist and a  therapy-spa operator.  He promoted a clumpy Grape Nuts-like graham flour product as a means to vegetarianism, health and clean living. Soaked in milk, Jackson argued that his breakfast food provided a healthy alternative to the traditional fat-heavy American breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage, and butter.

A few years later, Jackson had some unwelcome competition. John Harvey Kellogg, who also operated a health “sanatarium,”  began selling his own version. He even…gasp…called it granula.

Jackson was not amused. A nasty legal struggle ensued.

In the end, Kellogg bought some peace by renaming his product “granola.”  Sales were modest, however. (Could’ve been the dour advertising on the box below. Just sayin….)

Then, fast forward…there was Wavy Gravy.

Gravy, born Hugh Romney, Jr., was the operator of a 1960s-era commune called Hog Farm. In a bit of historical serendipity, Gravy (pictured above) was hired to provide security at Woodstock. (You know, THAT Woodstock. Peace. Love. The whole bit.)

While peace and love did indeed  dominate the festival, there was another major problem: Food.

Who would feed that unexpectedly large crowd? Several large-scale food event companies were approached but declined the job. Finally, a small operation named Food for Love was hired but was quickly overwhelmed as the crowd swelled to 400,000. Festival attendees were reduced to bartering for hot dogs and Dixie Cups of water at $1 a pop. Good vibrations aside, the food scene was grim.

Quickly, organizers looked to Gravy and his Hog Farm Commune for a different kind of security:  feeding  the masses. (Local government stepped up, too— airlifting ten thousand  sandwiches, blankets, and other supplies to the hungry and cold concert goers.) The Smithsonian Magazine published an interesting piece on Woodstock and the food crisis. Here is a link: Smithsonian.

Gravy, for his part, set up a Hog Farm Free Kitchen.  Famously, at one point, Gravy stood on the Woodstock stage and  announced “breakfast in bed for 400,000” as cups of granola were passed among the thousands who were sheltering in their sleeping bags. In that moment,  granola forever earned its place in hippie lore and language.

Commercial companies quickly took notice of granola’s higher profile and popularity and, by the early 1970s, companies like Heartland, General Mills, Quaker, and Kellogg began producing granola for a wider audience. For a while, Ben and Jerry’s marketed a “Wavy Gravy” ice cream with a nod to granola.

Today, of course, you can find innumerable varieties of granola for sale in your local market. Granola has gone mainstream.

Here is a granola recipe inspired by a recipe in Joshua McFadden’s new cookbook, Grains for Every Season. The granola is getting very good reviews from Blue Cayenne’s tasters. You can buy McFadden’s book at your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

Peace and love.