0:00:02 > 0:00:04Dried spaghetti and wheaty breakfast bricks,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07two of the most popular supermarket foods.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11They're both made from the same single ingredient.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15To find out what, we're going to make our own, from scratch.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17We think we know these foods,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20but how much do we really know about them?
0:00:20 > 0:00:22How would you think you'd go about making one of those?
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Well, it looks a bit like very skinny spaghetti.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Obviously something sticks it together but I'm not sure what.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Snap it!
0:00:29 > 0:00:30THEY LAUGH
0:00:30 > 0:00:33How do you think they make it so straight?
0:00:33 > 0:00:34Let it dangle.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36I just eat spaghetti, I don't know.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38HE LAUGHS
0:00:39 > 0:00:43I love finding out what happens to the stuff that we eat.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47But finding out what factories do to our food isn't easy.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51So to copy the big boys, I've set up my own Food Factory
0:00:51 > 0:00:52here in this barn.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56To help me discover what the masters of mass production do,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59I'm going to need some factory workers.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Clocking on for today's shift are MasterChef host John Torode
0:01:03 > 0:01:07and Celebrity MasterChef champion Lisa Faulkner.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10But whose version of today's supermarket food
0:01:10 > 0:01:13will go in the basket and whose will go in the bin?
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Our shift at the Food Factory is about to begin.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40John, Lisa, absolutely fantastic to have you here at the barn.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Would you like to look at what we're going to be making?
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Yes, please. I think we better had, hadn't we?
0:01:45 > 0:01:47- I'm really nervous.- I am.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50You're going to be making wheaty breakfast bricks -
0:01:50 > 0:01:52that's what I like to call them.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Are these things that you would have eaten in the past?
0:01:54 > 0:01:55I've eaten one of them in the past.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Could you fill them with chocolate like a pain au chocolat?
0:01:58 > 0:02:00- That would be lovely. - Ah, now it's coming out.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02No, you can't, John.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Once you achieved one of these, you know what,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07you can do whatever you like with it. But how hard can it be?
0:02:07 > 0:02:09They're just chunks of wheat, aren't they?
0:02:09 > 0:02:11- Yeah, easy!- More like noodles.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Lisa and John, are you ready for your first shift here in the barn?
0:02:14 > 0:02:16- Follow me.- Crikey.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25There's only one ingredient, but making these breakfast bricks
0:02:25 > 0:02:28is much harder than it seems, even for these two.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Shall we have a little look? What can you see inside?
0:02:33 > 0:02:35- Noodles.- It is noodley, isn't it, yeah?- It's noodles.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37And what is the texture?
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- Well, it's just dry and crispy. - OK, what else?
0:02:40 > 0:02:44They're bland as anything. They look like a loofah!
0:02:44 > 0:02:46They taste like a loofah.
0:02:46 > 0:02:52Well, your challenge is to make two rival wheaty breakfast bricks,
0:02:52 > 0:02:53and then when you've made them,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56we're going to offer them to some Taste Testers, and they will decide
0:02:56 > 0:03:00whose is most like the one that you buy from the supermarket.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01- OK?- OK.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04It all starts here, with your ingredients.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Now, this one's easy, because there's only one
0:03:08 > 0:03:10and it's already been pre-cooked.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Grab your ingredients, please. Get to work!
0:03:13 > 0:03:15They're not completely alone.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18My factory foremen, Marty and Tod, are here to help.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23We need a machine that's going to turn this grain into shreds.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25- I have a cunning plan.- Good.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27There's only one ingredient - wheat -
0:03:27 > 0:03:30and I've made this challenge even easier
0:03:30 > 0:03:32by boiling the wheat in water first to soften it.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36So all they've got to do is flatten the wheat into sheets
0:03:36 > 0:03:39and cut it into thin shreds.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Easy for two chefs of their calibre, surely?
0:03:42 > 0:03:44How many are we going to make?
0:03:44 > 0:03:45Hopefully, at least one.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48- What we need to do is...- Right.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49HE GROANS
0:03:49 > 0:03:53- ..give this mangle a makeover.- Cool.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Working out how to make such a simple food
0:03:55 > 0:03:57may look deceptively easy.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01In fact, John and Tod look like
0:04:01 > 0:04:04they've cracked the rolling bit from the off.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07See how it's making a film of dough already?
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Oh, my goodness. Look at that. That's cool.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Marty's hoping his contraption will flatten and shred
0:04:14 > 0:04:15the wheat at the same time.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18This is what's going to make our shreds.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22We've got two new rollers, what I have carefully made.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23You're very clever.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25That one's the smooth roller.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29That one though has got lots of little grooves cut in it,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33so when they roll together, this will squish the wheat,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35and we'll end up with our shreds in the grooves.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Breakfast cereal was one of the first foods to be mass produced.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Its inventors had to work out not only how to build the machines,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45but how to prepare the ingredients.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49John and Lisa only have one ingredient - wheat.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51But breakfast cereal pioneers
0:04:51 > 0:04:53realised they had to do something to it
0:04:53 > 0:04:57before they could make it into shapes.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59If I crush an uncooked grain of wheat
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and put it under the microscope,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05you can see what they discovered they had to do.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07So this white stuff up here is starch.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09That's all ground up to make flour.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12But this sort of powdery stuff here is no good
0:05:12 > 0:05:14if you're trying to make breakfast cereal.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17So what happens is they boil it for an hour first.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21When the white starch powder is boiled in water,
0:05:21 > 0:05:23something amazing happens.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25It turns to jelly.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Look what happens when I squeeze it.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32All of those powdery starch granules have bound together
0:05:32 > 0:05:34into one big blob.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38And then they leave this for a while to harden just a little bit,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41and you can bind it together into a big ball of putty like this.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45The softened starch is the secret to making shapes
0:05:45 > 0:05:48and it's what makes this breakfast cereal possible.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49- How we going, guys?- Very well.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52This looks like some sort of tennis training device.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- No, that's Dennis.- Dennis?
0:05:54 > 0:05:55Dennis Hopper.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00- He's the hopper. So we're feeding the wheat into the hopper.- Yep.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02And then it's going through a set of rollers
0:06:02 > 0:06:05and then it's being rolled off and being scraped off in sheets.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Then we'll just try and get long sheets of it,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09roll it all together and then we'll cut it out.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Let's start the production line.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15- So you ready to catch, John? - I am, yeah.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- Ah, there we go.- So you're going to knit them together?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Yeah. Knit them all together first.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24And then we'll dry them a bit before we shred them.
0:06:24 > 0:06:25That is not bad.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28As long as you end up with a wheaty breakfast brick,
0:06:28 > 0:06:29I'll be a happy man.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33John's pinning his hopes on a two-stage process -
0:06:33 > 0:06:36flatten, then cut into shreds.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Lisa and Marty's mangle mash-up combines both stages.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42This laundry device was much more common
0:06:42 > 0:06:45back in the day these biscuits were invented.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47You seem to have a wheat torturing device here?
0:06:47 > 0:06:49- We've got a wheat mangle. - A wheat mangle.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Can you explain to me how it's going to work?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Do you know what, it's going to work brilliantly!
0:06:54 > 0:06:56This is going to be squished between the two rollers.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00And this is going to shred the wheat.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Well, please, start your production line.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Are you sure this is going to work?
0:07:07 > 0:07:09- Yes!- Yes, it's going to work. We'll get there.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Do you know, Marty knows exactly what he's doing.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13He's built this brilliant machine.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15I think some adjustments, guys?
0:07:15 > 0:07:19- A few adjustments. - We're going to oil our rollers. - Shall I come back later?
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- Yes. Come back. - That's probably a good idea.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24'Oh, dear. Not such a promising start for Lisa.
0:07:24 > 0:07:30'John's sheets worked well, but now his shredding device has hit a snag.'
0:07:30 > 0:07:32The rollers aren't rolling. Do you know what I mean?
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Yes. Well, it's shred-ish.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40And finally Lisa has come up with a fix for the malfunctioning mangle.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- Take this away. - Throw it in the skip?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Get rid of that. We'll use it as a rolling pin.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49What we need a paper shredder or linguine cutter, pasta maker.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52- Paper shredder, I can do. - You got a paper shredder?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55With their original ideas lying in shreds,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58these MasterChef veterans might be heading for a fall.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03It's time for quality control, and John's still having problems.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05John. It's a bit like tagliatelle.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08- No, that's paper shredder. - Paper shredder!
0:08:08 > 0:08:10We had to use a paper shredder,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12because we can't cut through the old pizza wheels.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15And what happens here you see, is they stay together,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19and every so often, you get lovely, lovely little ones like this,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21- which we should have.- Absolutely.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23But to do that, I mean,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26about five hours work to get those seven strands so far.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27So the paper shredder it is.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31So they're a little bit bigger, but, look, they're cool!
0:08:31 > 0:08:32That's pretty good.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34What do you mean pretty good?
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Let's have a look over here.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39This reminds me of something my cat did the other day,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41but also it reminds me a little bit of...
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- you know that wallpaper that was made with woodchip.- Yes.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- It's largely like that. - Can I tell you something?
0:08:46 > 0:08:51The good thing about this, is that I think it might actually look
0:08:51 > 0:08:56more like a shredded brick thing than that.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And so, aesthetically, this might just do it.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Currently they look more like sheets than wheaty bricks.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06What you need to do is find a way to chop them off neatly at the sides
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and then plump them up into nice little pillows like this.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11OK? Back to your stations, please.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16'After five hours in the barn, John and Lisa are only partway through,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18'but I'm sure they won't be beaten.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21'I'll leave them to work out how to layer up their wheaty sheets
0:09:21 > 0:09:25'and transform them into breakfast bricks.'
0:09:31 > 0:09:36I'm off to discover why another wheaty treat
0:09:36 > 0:09:38keeps in the kitchen cupboard for ages.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41How long do you reckon pasta lasts on the shelf?
0:09:41 > 0:09:44I would have thought it would have a shelf life of six months.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46A month?
0:09:46 > 0:09:48- A year?- Six months.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Six months? Grab the blue pack there.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Have a little look at the back.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- It says how long it lasts. - Ooh, years.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59So it lasts, from now, three years.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01That's quite a long time, isn't it?
0:10:01 > 0:10:03I'm shocked by that, I really am.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05How do you think they make it last so long?
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Do they nuke it?
0:10:07 > 0:10:12They might not nuke it, but just how do they make it keep so long?
0:10:12 > 0:10:17In fact, come to that, how do they even make each strand so long?
0:10:17 > 0:10:21To straighten out this pasta puzzle, I'm going to make my own.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25First, I need a special kind of flour to make my dough.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28This flour comes from durum wheat.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32I've never made dough in an industrial plaster mixer before.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37Oh, my Lord, she's going to blow!
0:10:39 > 0:10:42This type of dough is super-sticky.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Interesting consistency!
0:10:48 > 0:10:50I'd like to see anyone make a spag bol out of that!
0:10:50 > 0:10:55So how do they turn a sticky blob into super-straight dry spaghetti?
0:10:55 > 0:11:00In the factory, they use a machine called an extruder,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03and it's a massive gleaming tower of stainless steel.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06I thought I'd cobble it together using one of these.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08It's a meat mincer.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11There we go.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14A spiral inside the mincer will force the dough
0:11:14 > 0:11:19out of the holes, forming long and perfectly straight strands.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22At least, that's the idea. Oh, look, here we go!
0:11:22 > 0:11:26It's coming through, look! This is really difficult.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29It's quite hard work.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31OK, it's starting to drop and as it drops,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33it's getting faster and faster. Argh! Oh, no!
0:11:33 > 0:11:36HE LAUGHS
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Oh. Hmm. It's all going a bit wrong.
0:11:39 > 0:11:40HE LAUGHS
0:11:42 > 0:11:46But with less of a drop and some nifty knee work, I'm in business!
0:11:48 > 0:11:50That'll do.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Look at that, that's brilliant!
0:11:56 > 0:11:58But dried spaghetti it isn't.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02It's not that straight either, but I've got a fix for that.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Now, I know it looks a bit crazy,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08but this is what they do in the factory - they hang the spaghetti up
0:12:08 > 0:12:10and they use gravity to get the strands of spaghetti
0:12:10 > 0:12:13really, really straight, and I think it's kind of working.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14A few little kinks left.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Straighter, but still not dry.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24This shed will solve that.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30In the factory, rows of pasta curtains pass through
0:12:30 > 0:12:32sophisticated dryers.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Just like mine, sort of.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43Fitted with these fan heaters, it'll be a roasting 80 degrees in here.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46I can't dry my spaghetti too fiercely, though,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48because it'll crack.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Under the microscope, you can see the problem.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54The outside edges dry faster than the inside -
0:12:54 > 0:12:57as the outer layer shrinks, it's not long before...
0:12:57 > 0:12:59SPAGHETTI CRACKS
0:12:59 > 0:13:02..there are cracks all along the outside of the spaghetti.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07The challenge for the big boys is how to dry the pasta
0:13:07 > 0:13:10to the brink of cracking.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12And then, they put water back in!
0:13:12 > 0:13:16I'm going to use a wallpaper steamer.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21By making the air moist again from time to time,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24the pasta will dry faster, with no cracking.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29ROOSTERS CROW
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Next morning...
0:13:31 > 0:13:35will I be greeted by dried straight spaghetti or a pasta disaster?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Ha-ha!
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Oh, blimey, look, it's like a shed load of monster hair.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44It looks quite dry.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47It's pretty straight - little bit of a bend on it but not bad.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50That's a pretty good one!
0:13:50 > 0:13:51Under the microscope,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53my spaghetti is as straight as the shop-bought stuff,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55and no cracking!
0:13:55 > 0:13:59A few bits of flour to stop mine sticking, but otherwise it's perfect.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01HE GIGGLES
0:14:01 > 0:14:05It's a bit brittle, but that just proves it's dry.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09It's the dryness that stops bugs and bacteria growing.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14And that's why spaghetti keeps safely in your cupboard for years.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Time to put my spaghetti in.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Of course, there is a classic student version of testing
0:14:27 > 0:14:30whether or not your pasta is cooked - chuck it at the wall
0:14:30 > 0:14:33and if it sticks, it's supposed to be ready.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34HE LAUGHS
0:14:34 > 0:14:35It sticks!
0:14:35 > 0:14:36# Hey mambo
0:14:36 > 0:14:38# Mambo Italiano
0:14:38 > 0:14:40# Go, go, go
0:14:40 > 0:14:42# You mixed up Siciliano
0:14:42 > 0:14:45# It's a so delisha everybody come copisha... #
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Here goes. This pasta has come a heck of a long way.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Well, it looks like the sauce is clinging onto it quite nicely,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54that's a good start.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00Hmm. It's nearly there!
0:15:00 > 0:15:03It's nearly there. It falls apart a little bit too much in your mouth.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It's kind of a bit more like the stuff you get out of a can.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10My very own dried spaghetti.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Made from 100% wheat.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16But only our Taste Testers can decide
0:15:16 > 0:15:19whether my spaghetti's as good as shop-bought stuff.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23You're not actually judging the sauce, you're judging the spaghetti.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25I think this more like the tinned spaghetti you get.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29- I don't think it holds the flavour of the sauce as well.- Ahhh.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31It is more wheaty.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33What about the texture - has it got the same bounce?
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- Bit gritty.- Bit gritty? - It's got more flavour.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39- You reckon this is like the stuff you buy in the supermarket?- Better.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Better? Yes.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Back in the barn, I've challenged John and Lisa
0:15:50 > 0:15:53to make me some wheaty breakfast bricks
0:15:53 > 0:15:57made from just one ingredient - 100% wheat.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01If anyone can do it, it should be these MasterChefs.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Now they've got to come up with a method
0:16:03 > 0:16:07to transform their wheaty sheets into something
0:16:07 > 0:16:09that looks much more like the shredded stuff
0:16:09 > 0:16:10we buy from the shops.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13All right, are we ready to pick this up and get it crimped?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15OK, guys. So, wow, what have you got here?
0:16:15 > 0:16:18What we've got now is we've got all our shredded wheat
0:16:18 > 0:16:20laid out in layers.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25And now what will happen is we'll bring this down and then, with all the pressure we can muster,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27push it down, but not cut it.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- But crimp it.- Squeeze it, crimp it.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Squeeze all the things together.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34- Well, that's the theory. - It's a thing of beauty.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35It is a thing of beauty.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40OK. Before you get too far, guys, before you get too far,
0:16:40 > 0:16:41can you explain to me, two things?
0:16:41 > 0:16:44How are you going to layer your wheat into nice bricks
0:16:44 > 0:16:46and then how are you going to chop them up
0:16:46 > 0:16:48into nice little pillows like that?
0:16:48 > 0:16:52- What we've decided to do is fold them...- Fold them?
0:16:52 > 0:16:56..over. So we're going to roll them, really, we're folding them.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58So they won't have like 20 layers,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- but they will have a lot of layers.- OK.- About seven.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03- Maybe. We'll see. - But they're quality layers.- Yes.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- It's like a Swiss roll made out of wheat?- Yep.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- Yes, but it will still have the grooves.- Mm-hm.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11I think it's going to look all right.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I think it's going to look pretty near to him.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15OK, that's the theory.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Later on, we'll test them and decide which one of these bricks
0:17:18 > 0:17:21is going to go in the basket and which one is going to go in the bin.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Lisa is hoping rolling up her flattened wheat
0:17:27 > 0:17:29will prove the winning formula.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32Or perhaps not.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37John's pinning all his hopes on his crimping contraption.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Ooh, they're looking good.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44120 years ago, it took the inventor of Shredded Wheat,
0:17:44 > 0:17:49Henry Perky, three years to perfect his machine.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53The idea of mass producing food in factories was brand new,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56and breakfast cereals didn't even exist.
0:17:56 > 0:17:57Here he is.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01And he invented it together with his friend, William, back in 1892.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Now, his brainchild did make them rich,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06but it almost bankrupted them first.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Because they didn't try to sell the bricks themselves,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11they tried to sell the machinery to make them.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14It was only when Perky started selling the cereal,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17he got seriously rich.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Now, a lot of people think that cornflakes
0:18:19 > 0:18:22were the first ready-to-eat cereal, but it's not true.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24It was these bricks.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27In fact, Perky looks so pleased with his breakfast biscuit innovation,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30he even seems to be wearing one!
0:18:31 > 0:18:35John and Lisa have given it their best shot to copy Perky's brick.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40- Oh, baby! - Now, that, I get excited about.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42- Look at that!- That is fantastic! - Oh, yes!
0:18:42 > 0:18:46But these bricks contain too much moisture for a breakfast cereal
0:18:46 > 0:18:48which must keep for months.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Oh, they're a bit crumbly.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53So the next stage is vital.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Now they need to bake them, and that requires an oven.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01And when they're baked, the bricks will puff up and dry out.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Hopefully.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06If the starch isn't baked right through,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10they'll end up with soggy bricks, which will rot in the box.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12So as they prepare for the bake-off,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16whose biscuits will be baked best - John's or Lisa's?
0:19:16 > 0:19:17Yeah, I think this will do the job.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Wheat is an amazing ingredient -
0:19:26 > 0:19:30you can easily eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33And by far the most popular way to eat it at lunchtime is,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35you guessed it, the sandwich.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39In a world without wheat, there'd be a lot less bread
0:19:39 > 0:19:41and millions fewer sarnies.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Well, we all have our favourite sandwich,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51and inside this box is mine, the ploughman's.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53The trouble is, however well I wrap it,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55I know that within a couple of hours,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58that sandwich is bound to turn soggy.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02And if not soggy, then certainly stale.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03So where am I going wrong?
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Tell me what you think of that little baby there.
0:20:06 > 0:20:07It's quite wet.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Your ingredients are falling out, your bread's going wet.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12- You wouldn't make a sandwich like that?- No.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15I wouldn't even feed that to the birds.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17These workers are all sandwich savvy.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21They make thousands of them every day.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24# It ain't what you do it's the way that you do it... #
0:20:24 > 0:20:25They all work here,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29one of the largest sandwich factories in the world.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33At Greencore in Nottinghamshire, over three million sarnies
0:20:33 > 0:20:36roll off this production line every week.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Emma Cox is one of their sandwich experts.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41I'm all dressed up to find out
0:20:41 > 0:20:45how they stop these sandwiches from going soggy and stale.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55You can't relax, can you?
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Look, we're actually running out, we'd better get a move on.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02It's cold in the here, like working inside a fridge.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06But the bread we're loading up is lovely and soft.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09When I make a sandwich at home, if I put it in the fridge,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13it would come out really hard, and my kids wouldn't eat it.
0:21:13 > 0:21:14Yep, that's right.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Apparently, normal bread goes stale in the fridge,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22because the cold causes the starch inside it to grow into crystals.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26It's these crystals which make the bread go hard.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28But that doesn't happen here.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31We add special natural ingredients
0:21:31 > 0:21:34that try to help the starch not crystallise,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36which stops it from going stale.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39These special natural ingredients are called bread improvers.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43They don't stop the starch crystals growing,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45but they slow them right down.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49That means the bread stays soft in the fridge. Genius!
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Can I have some to take home?
0:21:55 > 0:21:57We've stopped our bread from going stale,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00but now we need to prevent it from going soggy.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05We love tomatoes in our sarnies, but bread hates moisture.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10So why don't tomatoes turn supermarket sarnies to mush?
0:22:10 > 0:22:12We buy a special variety of tomato
0:22:12 > 0:22:15which is slightly lower in moisture content
0:22:15 > 0:22:16and has slightly thicker walls.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18So you're actually after tougher tomatoes,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- so that they'll hold up better?- That lose less water.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Yes. And it's also important the way we slice.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27So we put the top of the tomato to the top.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29We slice through that way to keep the seeds in the middle
0:22:29 > 0:22:32to stop them falling out. And if the seeds stay in,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34then that stops the bread going soggy.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36But that's not all they do.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39They've got another trick to stop the sandwiches going soggy.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42We use mayonnaise or butter as a barrier,
0:22:42 > 0:22:43because they're high in fat.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45- As a barrier? - Barrier.- Barrier to what?
0:22:45 > 0:22:48So if we're putting tomatoes on, or leaf,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51then it stops the water from going into the bread
0:22:51 > 0:22:52and making it soggy.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Making sandwiches on an assembly line
0:22:54 > 0:22:57requires lots of people to layer up the fillings.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59How hard can it be?
0:22:59 > 0:23:02- Can I have a try?- Yeah, do you want a go?- Yeah!- OK.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07They've let me loose making my favourite sandwich, a ploughman's!
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Ooh, hang on!
0:23:10 > 0:23:11No, no!
0:23:11 > 0:23:15I'm sorry, so I got a bit over-enthusiastic. Argh!
0:23:15 > 0:23:17What do I do...?
0:23:17 > 0:23:21They're getting away from me, that's the trouble! Agh!
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Why can't I do it?
0:23:25 > 0:23:27What I need is one of these babies.
0:23:27 > 0:23:33This robot can churn out a whopping 3,600 sandwiches an hour -
0:23:33 > 0:23:36an average of one a second!
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Can this fella make the cheese and pickle ploughman sandwiches as well?
0:23:40 > 0:23:43No, this line just makes the really simple sandwiches
0:23:43 > 0:23:46that are just a mix. So cheese and onion, or an egg and cress mix.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48It can't put on tomato or cucumber.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50So it's not quite as clever as humans yet?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Not quite as clever as that.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Who'd have thought there'd be so much going on
0:23:55 > 0:23:57inside a supermarket sandwich?
0:23:57 > 0:24:00They've tinkered with the bread and selected special fillings,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03just to make sure, by the time we eat them,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07they're as fresh as when they were made!
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Back in the barn, John and Lisa are approaching the final bake-off.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23These breakfast biscuits must be baked until brown but not burned!
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Remember this is a factory, not home cooking -
0:24:26 > 0:24:29we need speed, scale and standards.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33Lisa and Marty are hoping to achieve precision
0:24:33 > 0:24:35with their wheaty brick barbecue.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37- How long do you reckon? - I don't know.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- A couple of minutes?- Yeah. - Before it starts charring!
0:24:41 > 0:24:44John and Tod are using a metal locker from a factory.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47It's a blow torch-fired locker-shocker!
0:24:48 > 0:24:52- Hey!- We've got toasty stuff going on.- Yay!
0:24:52 > 0:24:54The back as well.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56- I think we need to turn it round.- Turn them round?
0:24:56 > 0:24:59This is the critical stage of the process.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01They must decide how long to leave their biscuits inside the oven
0:25:01 > 0:25:04so the starch is cooked right through.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06It's going to take a little bit longer than I thought,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10- because they're really squidgy, they're really soft in the middle. - Hmm.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12I think now drop it down to 140.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- So what's the temperature now?- Hard to say.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17The soggy starch in the softened wheat
0:25:17 > 0:25:19must be completely dried out in the oven.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23If it isn't, the biscuits will rot in the box.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Has Lisa been too timid?
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Has John over-cooked it?
0:25:28 > 0:25:30It's the moment of truth.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33OK. John, Lisa. Please stop your production lines.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Package up your product, and we'll taste them.
0:25:44 > 0:25:45- Thank you.- Thank you, John.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50That's the end of production. Bring me your wheaty breakfast bricks.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52OK, let's have a good look.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59OK. What we're aiming for is one of these.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01I'd say this is slightly more Swiss roll-like,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03John's slightly more hedgehog-like.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07So you've got a bit of browning. Bit of dark brown, light brown.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- That's actually burned, isn't it? - No. It's just a little extra colour.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Let's remember, right, we had all day to make those.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15These guys have had 120 odd years to work their process out.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16HE LAUGHS
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Right, so I'll dig in. Lisa's first.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22OK.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Tough. I mean it doesn't have the crispness and the lightness
0:26:25 > 0:26:26of the real thing.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32It's very soft inside.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34- OK.- Inside, the starch is still wet.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36OK. Shall we try the hedgehog?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Oh, look, it's falling apart very nicely.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Mmm. Mmmmm.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Don't kick me!
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Did you see that? What you've done here, John, is you've managed
0:26:51 > 0:26:53to get all those starch granules to dry out again.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56And that is quite an achievement, I have to say.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59So, the taste, fantastic. There's nothing there at all!
0:26:59 > 0:27:00THEY LAUGH
0:27:00 > 0:27:03A slight wheatiness, but in this situation, that's a positive thing.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I'm very impressed. OK, well.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08We've got a whole group of very hungry Taste Testers,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10and it's them who will decide
0:27:10 > 0:27:12which one is closest to the ones in the supermarket.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14OK, John and Lisa, grab your trays,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17because we're going to go outside and meet the Taste Testers.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- Oh!- That's not yours!
0:27:23 > 0:27:25APPLAUSE
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Ta-da!
0:27:28 > 0:27:29- What do you reckon?- Lot of crunch.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32- It's the closest you could probably get.- You're a star.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35- It's nice and light. I- think I must have got the only soggy bit.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Oh, well, didn't see that.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39- I thought it smelt right.- Yeah.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42And I liked the little burnt bits too.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45- I rather liked the crunchiness of the outside.- It's very crunchy.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47- It is quite a nice taste. - Good, I'm pleased.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Lisa and John, come here, please.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53OK, so if you thought that Lisa's breakfast brick
0:27:53 > 0:27:55was most like the one you buy in the shops,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57please raise your hands.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58OK.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02If you thought that John's was most like the one you buy in the shops,
0:28:02 > 0:28:03please raise your hands.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Four, five, six!
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Ooh! We have a winner.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Lisa, I'm terribly sorry, but your breakfast brick
0:28:11 > 0:28:13is going in the bin.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16John, your wheaty breakfast brick is going in the basket.
0:28:16 > 0:28:17Give them a round of applause.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- APPLAUSE - Well done, well done.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Well, John cracked it because his bricks were light and airy,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29and the starch was cooked all the way through.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32His breakfast cereal will last in the cupboard for ages.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36But John and Lisa have proved that making a simple breakfast cereal,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39even made from just one ingredient - 100% wheat -
0:28:39 > 0:28:41can be a massive challenge.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd