Final answer:
Stirring cereal too much during cooking can break down the cereal particles resulting in the product becoming too sticky. The excessive stirring develops gluten which changes the texture. Moderate stirring is necessary to avoid having a mixture that is not uniformly mixed or overly homogeneous.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question you've asked is related to cooking and food texture. When you stir cereal too much during cooking, it tends to break up the cereal particles. This often results in the cooked product becoming too sticky. Over-stirring can develop the gluten which makes the cereal very sticky and unpleasant to eat, quite opposed to it being too dry, too wet, or too lumpy, which are other possible concerns when preparing food but do not directly relate to the excessive stirring of cereal in cooking.
Stirring impacts how the components in the cereal interact with each other. With moderate stirring, ingredients might not be mixed uniformly, and you may end up with lumps. However, when stirring is too vigorous, it can lead to an excessively homogeneous mixture where the natural structure of the cereal is broken down too much, creating an overly sticky texture. It's all about finding a balance to ensure that the mixture is just right.