Putting the Moo Back in Muesli

June 7, 2007 2:17 PM

I want to either buy or make muesli that looks, tastes and feels like the muesli that is available for breakfast in most European hotels.

I became addcited to muesli after several stays in Europe. Nothing in the world is better than the lightly sweet, creamy texture of good muesli.

I've purchased several US domestic products that claim I just need to "add milk" but are either too crunchy or just mush after doing so, and taste nothing like the muesli I remember.

Does anyone have a great muesli recipe or recommendations for purchasing off the shelf muesli? In reaseaching this question, I went to the wikipedia Muesli site and found their recipe containing lemon juice and condensed milk intriuging, but am a little skeptical about combining the two ingredients.

posted by Xurando to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

British Muesli is made unique by the additional inclusion of milk powder, small cornflakes and powdered brown sugar, to the standard Muesli staples. Add in some oats, nut chippings and raisins, and you'll be off to a flying start.
posted by humblepigeon at 2:22 PM on June 7, 2007

My aunt who lived in germany would never make muesli without grated apples and yoghurt. I think the apples are the key to making it less crunchy. Oh -- and she uses raw oats rather than the crunchier toasted oats you find in most boxed muesli.
posted by rossmik at 2:48 PM on June 7, 2007

I grew up on Alpen Muesli and almost always had it in yogurt, not milk. You could purchase a pack of 6 boxes from Amazon.com.
It has a great balance of nuts, fruits, and oats. However, I like the pre-packaged smaller size as I always find the muesli in boxes invariably spoil quickly even when transferred to a glass jar.
posted by sweetlyvicious at 2:51 PM on June 7, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'll second Alpen Muesli. Great stuff and nearly identical to the European stuff.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:15 PM on June 7, 2007

I'll third--Alpen Muesli is the way to go. It comes in the "Original" which has sugar or "No Added Sugar". I'd first try the Original and see if you like it. Lucky for me, my local grocery store sells both kinds!
posted by Maishe at 3:30 PM on June 7, 2007

My husband is a big muesli fan and swears by the stuff from the food market at Ikea. Finax "Good for You" is the brand.
posted by libraryhead at 3:55 PM on June 7, 2007

my husband, a german, makes his own muesli with bulk whole oats, nuts, more nuts, raisins, wheat germ, brewers yeast, sometimes dried blueberries or raspberries and occasionally throws in some commercial muesli. The main difference between what he makes and the typical stuff in the grocery store is that he doesn't add any sugary anything to the mix. The result is very close to what I have had in Germany.
posted by bluesky43 at 6:10 PM on June 7, 2007

I'm not all that fond of the stuff but in my view nothing out a pack is going to cut it.

I'd second what Mr Bluesky43 and Auntie Rossmlk are getting up to.

I think a mix of both fresh and dried fruit seems to work best. In my experience Yoghurt tends to make the whole thing a bit too thick for that time of the day but if presses your buttons.... Hazelnuts seem to go well for some reason. Never tried lemon juice but it sounds plausible. Condensed milk ? Errrh, nein danke!
posted by southof40 at 11:19 PM on June 7, 2007

I make my own with raw oats, raisins, dried apricots cut into pieces, wheatgerm if I remember to buy it, sunflower seeds, crushed linseeds/flax seeds, and serve it with yogurt, and sometimes any fresh fruit I have. I love it but it makes my SO blow up like a balloon, so YMMV...

I've stayed in quite a lot of hotels in Europe and many actually serve Alpen, so if you can get this in the US this may be your best bet.
posted by altolinguistic at 3:59 AM on June 8, 2007

I make my own muesli with some/all of the following: raw oats, spelt, rye, almonds, hazelnuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds. OK, this is not a traditional recipe, but it is good. I don't spend any time making it, I just shake a bunch of stuff out of various bags into my bowl at breakfast. For me this works great. It's cheap and I can get all organic ingredients and it can be different every day.

In Vienna a few weeks ago my hotel served muesli with, I would swear, small bits of dried pineapple in it. It was served already in the yogurt so it was a little hard to tell.

I think traditional muesli recipes call for soaking it overnight. I prefer it less mushy.

My husband (also a German) mixes yogurt and milk with his muesli. But I prefer the Swedish filmjölk, which is, I think, something like a cultured buttermilk? The consistency is between yogurt and milk.
posted by bluebird at 4:13 AM on June 8, 2007

This company is the epitome of healthy German Muesli at the bootom of the page they say that their US distibuter is SEITENBACHER AMERICA LLC, Odessa (Tampa), FL, Tel: [phone], Valerie Reed.

I prefer Kölln Fruit Wholegrain Muesli, but I found no ninformation about US distribution there.
posted by mmkhd at 8:05 AM on June 8, 2007

I find Alpen to be too crunchy for my taste, but I really like Familia's no added sugar muesli. It's Swiss, and I've found it at most Whole Foods stores, and sometimes regular supermarkets as well.
posted by Messily at 6:16 PM on June 13, 2007