Bircher Muesli

Muesli is a Swiss creation, and Bircher Muesli is a variant invented in the 1900s. Growing up with Swiss parents it's not surprising then that I grew up eating the stuff. Religiously. It wasn't strictly a breakfast item for us, it was a delicious snack at any time of the day, even as a dessert. We'd even often eat it with lashings of whipped cream. Probably not such a healthy addition, but bloody delicious nonetheless. These days I skip the cream, but I have fond memories.

Over the past few years I've seen Bircher Muesli pop on cafe menus, I'm not surprised though as it's a nutritious and satisfying dish. However, it's ridiculously easy (and cost effective) to make at home.

Now that summer is basically here, and seasonal summer fruits are plentiful, I've started making my usual weekly batches of it. You think I'd be sick of eating the stuff all through my childhood, but no, it's a summer staple. You can use different fruits, and different yogurts, and different additions such as nuts or dried fruits etc. So no batch ever has to taste quite the same. But every time you'll still have a wonderfully soft and creamy Bircher Muesli.

So today I'll share the way I make it, which is pretty much how my mum would traditionally make it, only difference being I like to add nuts and no cream. There are no hard and fast rules about measurements, but I've given a basic guide. And ingredients can easily be customised to your tastes. Just never skip the grated apple, that is sacrosanct!

BIRCHER MUESLI

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
No more than 1 and 1/2 cups milk
juice of one lemon
splash of fruit juice (amount depends on how thin you want your muesli)
yogurt of your choice, approx 3/4 cup, mum would always use 'fruit of the forest'
one apple, grated
any other fruits of your choice, chopped
optional - chopped nuts, eg almonds or hazelnuts

Method:

To prepare the muesli you need to soak some oats in milk overnight. I like to make a decent quantity, a few days worth, so I use an old 2 litre ice cream tub as my container. I use approx 1 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats and just over one cup of milk. I never measure it though but I did on this occasion to give an example. You don't need to measure because basically you just want to slowly pour milk over your required amount of oats until you see the milk just rising above the top layer of oats, then stop. This will give you the right amount of liquid no matter your quantity. The oats will soak up that milk. No need to stir or anything, just leave the container in the fridge overnight.

Tip: you can replace the milk with fruit juice if you wish.

Next day, add the juice of a lemon and pour in a wee bit of fruit juice to loosen up the oats. Stir well. Next, stir in the yogurt. Now add the fruits:


 

You really can just add any of your favourite fruits. Personally I would never skip the grated apple though, it just would not be the same without it, to me it's a traditional must-have.

Finally you can add any other embellishments you like, such as chopped nuts or even a dash of cinnamon.

I find my batches keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days at most, but obviously will depend on the freshness of your ingredients. Also, some added fruits like bananas or apples will not be looking their best after a day or two. If this kind of thing bothers you then you may want to only add the fresh fruit to the batch on the day/s you plan to eat it.