Editing Gruel (section)

==History==
Gruel predates the earliest civilizations, emerging in [[hunter-gatherer]] societies as a meal of gathered grains soaked in water. For these societies, the application of water and especially heat to grain improved its digestibility and nutritional content, and sanitized the mixture. This gruel also presented a viable medium for [[Saccharomyces cerevisiae|yeast]] to develop and ferment, serving as an important precursor for both [[bread]] and [[beer]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=Thomas R. |title=Bread, Beer and the Seeds of Change: Agriculture’s Imprint on World History |last2=Sinclair |first2=Carol Janas |publisher=[[CAB International]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84593-705-8 |location=Cambridge, MA |pages=26-30}}</ref>

Gruel was the [[staple food]] of the [[ancient Greeks]], for whom roasted [[meat]]s were the extraordinary feast that followed sacrifice, even among [[Greek hero cult|heroes]], and "in practice, [[bread]] was a luxury eaten only in towns". Roman [[plebeians]] "ate the staple gruel of classical times, supplemented by oil, the humbler [[vegetable]]s, and salt [[fish]]" <ref>Toussaint-Samat 2009, p. 93.</ref> for gruel could be prepared without access to the [[communal oven]]s in which [[history of bread|bread]] was baked. In the Middle Ages, the peasant could avoid the [[tithe]] exacted by paying in grain ground by the [[miller]] of the landowner's mill. When eaten by the peasant, the process was to roast the grains to make them digestible and grind small portions in a [[mortar and pestle|mortar]] at home. In lieu of cooking the resulting paste on the hearthstone, it could be simmered in a cauldron with water or, luxuriously, with milk.

In the [[United Kingdom]], it was a common remedy for the sick, relatively nourishing and easy to digest, and a standard component of the evening meal in British hospitals into the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=A pharmacopœia of selected remedies|page=107|author=Edmund Adolphus Kirby|year=1883|publisher=Oxford University}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Simple Fare for Sick Folk: recipes for feeding invalids & convalescents|author=May Byron|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=1934}}</ref>

In the [[Americas]], [[maize]] gruels were once one of the main food sources for many Mesoamerican peoples, such as the [[Maya peoples|Maya]] and [[Aztec]]s. [[Atole]] is a preparation of ground maize often flavored with [[chili pepper|chili]] and salt (for a savory dish), or, in more modern times, with [[piloncillo]] and [[cinnamon]] (for a sweet dish). It can be consumed as an important calorie source as a thicker meal, or as a liquid drink.

Gruel was on the [[Second and Third-class facilities on the RMS Titanic|third-class menu of the ''Titanic'']] on the eve of her [[Titanic sinking|sinking in April 1912]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shoup |first=Kate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UnlmDwAAQBAJ |title=Life as a Passenger on the Titanic |date=2017-12-15 |publisher=Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC |isbn=978-1-5026-3043-8 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:The_third_class_menus_of_R.M.S.TITANIC_(April_14._1912）.jpg|thumb|right|alt=The image depicts the third class menu of the RMS Titanic on the day of her sinking on the 14th of April, 1912, showing Gruel as part of the menu.|Third-class menu aboard ''RMS Titanic'' dated 14 April 1912, showing gruel as part of the menu offering]]