The muesli I make. The grains are toasted dry in the oven, so they taste nutty and stay crisp in milk, but nothing coats them: no oil, no sugar. It has the tooth of granola without the fat and sweetness the North American versions lean on.
Picks
Crunchy and nutty, sweet only from the fruit.
- Choosing the grains: Rolled oats and wheat flakes, and sometimes other flakes
- Toasting or soaking: Toasted dry, with a pinch of salt
- Fruit, nuts, and seeds: Toasted nuts and dried fruit, about 3:1:1, the fruit stirred in once the grain is cool
- Milk, yogurt, or juice: Milk or oat milk, eaten straight away; frozen berries on top
Where it comes from
Toasted muesli was on Swiss shelves from 1959, alongside the raw kind (see Classic muesli). In North America it was on shelves as crunchy muesli by the 1980s at least.
Why these picks
- Dry toasting. It browns the grain for flavour and drives off moisture for crunch. Oil would make it richer, but it doesn’t need it.
- No sugar. The dried fruit sweetens it, and toasted grain tastes sweeter than raw.
- Oats and wheat together. They toast in about the same time, so they go on one pan.
- Frozen berries. They thaw into the milk and chill it, so the muesli stays crisp a little longer.
How it fails
- Soft in the jar: it went in before it was cool. Let it cool on the pan.
- Bitter or scorched: the layer was thin at the edges, or the nuts were in for the whole time. Stir halfway, and give the nuts less time.
- Bland: under-toasted, or no salt. Take it to golden, not just dry.
Variations
- More fruit: push it toward fruit and nut, about 2:1:1.
- With yogurt: a spoonful on top in place of some of the milk.