Friday, April 23, 2010

Bircher-muesli (fresh muesli)

Bircher-müesli / Kaerahelbe-toorpuder e. Bircher-müsli

Our little family spent a week in Davos, Switzerland at the end of March. I wish I could show you gorgeous photos of the impressive slopes, hillside restaurants and skiing chalets. The truth is, that K. spent a week enjoying the slopes, whereas I and our little daughter spent most of the time trying to recover from the rather annoying cold that had hit us out of the blue :( At least by the time we were back in Zürich we were recovered enough to have enough energy to check out the Ladurée shop and Café Péclard in town, so it wasn't all wasted on us. During our vacation we had breakfast at three different hotels in Switzerland, and true to their local traditions, they all served Bircher-müsli ;)

If you haven't heard of Bircher-müesli before, then it's cold cereal or "fresh müsli" that was first served to its patients by a Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner over a century ago. Since then müsli has become popular all over the world, although the original müsli has changed quite a bit when travelling across time and space. The Bircher-müeslis we tried in Switzerland were quite different, and some versions were better than others, but it truly was a breakfast staple and found everywhere. (And not just for breakfast - we saw it on the menu at a riverside café in Zürich, where it came topped with a huge pile of whipped cream!!! I'm not convinced that the doctor would have approved that ;))

Here's a version I've been making for a few years now.

Bircher-muesli
(Bircher-müsli)
Serves 2

Night before:
250 ml/1 cup rolled/old-fashioned oats
125 ml/half a cup (boiled) water
half a lemon, juiced

In the morning:
150 ml (10 Tbsp) plain yogurt
one large green apple, grated (Granny Smith is excellent)
2 Tbsp honey

To serve:
fresh fruit or berries or soft raisins
toasted nuts
a little honey

Place oats on a bowl, pour over the water and lemon juice. Leave to soften overnight in a cool place.
In the morning stir in the yogurt, honey and grated apple.
Top with sliced fruit or berries and a drizzle of honey.
Serve and enjoy.

4 comments:

Elis said...

Pille, ma muidu pudrusööja pole, aga selle proovin ma küll ära! Väga isuäratav!

Jennifer said...

Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I used to live in Germany and now that I am back in the USI have missed eating muesli for breakfast. Can't wait to try this recipe out.

Kosmos said...

nice...


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Cynthia said...

I can't wait to make this. I haven't had authentic bircher-muesli for over 20 years. I'm adding your recipe to a list I am putting together for some of my cancer-fighting friends. Thank you!