Swiss Birchermeusli (breakfast cereal)

[ShadowsDad]

Familia Swiss Birchermeusli Knock Off

I remember the original from my childhood (50 +years ago) and it was by far my favorite way to begin the day. This breakfast cereal never came out except on Sunday morning, and then not every Sunday. It was unbelievable delicious (it still is IMO). I also remember it being quite pricey. So is this version, but it yields a very large amount of product for the price if you make it yourself. Plus it’s a "really good for you" breakfast. No predigested grain here- it’s all "real" ingredients - no factory modified junk to make it easy to manufacture. It’s not difficult to make, but it can be tricky if one doesn’t follow the gist of the recipe. Many of the ingredients can be difficult to process if one doesn’t read the recipe first.

The meusli should be chewey, soft, naturally sweet, have texture, and just be delicious. It will also stay with you for a very long time while having quick energy and long term energy. It will also require far less for a breakfast than your eyes think will be required, so be warned. It will swell in your bowl and in your stomach. There’s all sorts of chew to the cereal, and also all sorts of fiber, so even the quick acting sugars in it are absorbed slowly by the naturally occurring fiber. The longer acting energy sources are also more slowly absorbed. This cereal is awesome as a breakfast. I normally eat no lunch and IMO none is required after a decent serving of this. Make it in your bowl then sit back and get ready for a relaxing chew while you think to the day ahead.

I always ate the original with cold milk and it plumped up on it’s own, but there’s no reason it couldn’t have hot milk or hot water added. See notes far below for more ideas.

Yield: one zip-loc gallon bag +. It will scale up or down nicely and no quantities are carved in stone.

I get all of the ingredients from the local natural food store.


16ozs dehydrated apple rings (then further dried) chopped after further drying

8 ozs sliced raw almonds

16 ozs oat groats, flaked (divide into 2 piles by eye)

8 ozs+ hazelnuts, cracked or whole; roasted to taste. With skins left intact and in the mix.

8 ozs raisins

8 ozs dates (chopped)

　

TIPS/PROCESSING:

If you can’t buy flaked oats, buy the groats and flake them yourself. Divide the pound into 2 even piles; by eye is fine. One pile will be used in the blender or Food processor to keep the stickychopped fruit from forming a mass. Quaker oats will do if that’s all you can find, but I prefer fresh.

I like my hazelnuts roasted @ 350°F for 20 minutes thereabouts, but roast yours to taste.

The dehydrated apple needs to be really dry for cereal use, not just "leathery" as they come from the store. Dry them further in a warm oven, this will take all day. Don’t rush it with high temps.

Add oats as necessary to the blender or food processor as required to prevent sticking as the apple is turned into pieces/powder. Use oats from one of the piles only. I just add a handful, no measuring. Keep one pile whole and out of the blender. Do much the same thing with the dates if you wish to use them. But add the oats before blending/chopping the dates to keep them from forming a sticky mass. You want to produce oat "flour" first; add the dates for chopping to that oat flour.

Instructions:

Add all of the ingredients to a roasting pan and mix well. A large bowl or stockpot would also work, but the bowl will need to be huge. A honkin' big stockpot is probably easier to find in the right size.

Put into a container for storage; a 1 gallon zip-loc bag works fine, and the bag will be quite full. You may need to settle the contents to get it all to fit in. The meusli will not look like granola and you shouldn’t expect it to. You’ll be able to see the distinct and separate ingredients and the pieces will be from dust size up to pieces the size of a hazelnut.

To serve pour an amount into a bowl, add milk or heated water or milk. Allow to plump, or if you can’t wait, just dig in. It will thicken in the bowl as you chew so don't be surprised if you'll need to add more liquid. You will not be able to inhale this breakfast in a rush, it will require time and chewing. Enjoy!

NOTES:

There is no real recipe for this, unless Familia has one in their archives, but todays Familia Swiss Birchermeusli IS NOT the same recipe of 50 years ago. Today it’s made of sticks and twigs and no where near as good as it once was. Where am I going with this? If you want to add something to my knock off recipe, go for it. The recipe I suggest is the knock off as best as I can remember it from my childhood, but it isn’t carved in stone. I would suggest not turning it back into sticks and twigs. If it becomes that add more dehydrated fruits and work them in as you did the apples.

I can think of one variation that I’m very interested in trying... add non-instant dry milk (or know how much non-instant dry milk powder to add to a quantity of the base meusli and mix in the bowl) and add hot water for a complete hot breakfast cereal. Edit 12/ 3/ 13: I’ve tried this since we rarely have milk on hand. I used non-instant milk and hot water (1:4 non-instant milk powder to hot water) and it worked fine. I added the milk powder and hot water to my bowl. I had to add it twice since the cereal soaks up liquid like a sponge . It will take some figuring out; make it to your spec’s. FWIW, to a bowl of this meusli I added 1/4 cup of non-instant milk powder and 1 cup of hot water. I did that in 2 additions though, 1/8 cup and 1/2 cup.

Other flaked grains might also work. I know that soft wheat flakes fantastically, maybe even better than groats. Hard wheat also flakes wonderfully. Nutrients from as many sources as possible is how our ancestors ate, we should too IMO. If you want more oats I would process them a bit in the blender or food processor to make them a bit finer than as they come out of the flaker. Otherwise you'd be in "danger" of making a twigs and sticks version. IMO, chew is good, but within reason.

Do you want to add more variation to the nuts or dry fruits? Go for it. Again, the recipe isn’t carved in stone. Why wouldn’t dry cherries be delicious in it? Or blueberries? Don’t forget fresh when they’re in season. Then there are dry peaches, apricots, a whole list of potential fruits and nuts. Again, this is the Swiss Birchermeusli of my childhood, but that doesn't mean you're in any way restricted to these items or this recipe. Can the almonds be roasted? Of course. But not in my childhood version of the Familia Swiss Birchermeusli which is what is posted. The almonds can be roasted and fine ground if you wish, as can the entire cereal, or just separate components of it can be. Putting all of the cereal through a grater would make the cereal a healthy fast food, but you'd lose the stop and smell the roses aspect of the time it takes to chew it. It might also make for a disgusting texture. I haven't tried it - it's pure speculation. In time I'll try putting it through a grater.

Bran, especially oat bran, within reasonable amounts, could also be added and would be completely unnoticed. But this breakfast has plenty of soluble and insoluble fiber already. It’s awesomely healthy!

Have fun with it! Enjoy!

For more meusli information/recipes just google "meusli recipes information". If you don't find anything get back to me; I have a file for you, but I'll be extremely surprised if nothing comes up. I found information 10 years ago. There has to be much more now.

[JRTASTER]

Brian,
Used to love this stuff.... a lot!
It did become incredibly expensive and the look-alikes weren't taste-alikes and pretty expensive in their own right.
Sounds like a great recipe!
Thanks,
jr/John

[ShadowsDad]

John, I've been testing it the past few days and I prefer it cold with whole milk. I find the flavors work better together as my mind remembers the original. When made hot the apple comes through far stronger. But I have an alternate for the cows milk too.

Check out the milk substitute recipe. You won't miss cows milk.

[JRTASTER]

Brian, thanks, I'll do that!
John

[drmoss_ca]

The Recipes subforum wasn't my idea and is evidently confusing. I'll move those threads into here and get rid of it.

Chris

[Squire]

Interesting stuff Brian, thanks for taking the time to post it. If I may offer a suggestion, pecans instead of hazelnuts.

[drmoss_ca]

Squire, it's Brian's recipe.

C.

[Squire]

Sorry Brian, edited my post to give credit where due. The cold weather has got me a bit sluggish, 32 degrees this morning which is Arctic this far South.

[ShadowsDad]

Squire, read the recipe, you can change it into anything you want. What I posted is as close to the original that I knew as a boy. But by all means, make it your own with whatever changes you want.