Bircher oat recipe?

[cakewench]

Hey :)

I was wondering if any of you had a good recipe for Bircher oatmeal? I've had a few fantastic bowls at various B&Bs (not here, but in Australia of all places), and I've now become addicted to Movenpick's little single serving cups of the stuff. It gets a bit pricey, though, and I'm interested in making my own. I'm even happy to improvise on the fruits/nuts myself, but I would like a good starter recipe.

Most importantly (possibly): what type of oats found here in Germany are best suited for this? I'm assuming they should be a bit tougher than the average 'zart' ones, in order to not get too mushy too quickly.

Thank so much!

[Suzanne F]

I used to get Familia brand muesli, which refered to itself with "something Bircher" or maybe as being the creation of Dr. Bircher-Benner. Sorry to be a bit vague, but it's probably more than 20 years since I bought it. Does that brand still exist?

[pirate]

Familia exists even in the USA. Given that organic-bio foodshops are more prevalent in Germany than in the USA you should have no difficulty finding something useful.

[curlywurlyfi]

I think the crucial thing for Birchermuesli is that you have to grate in a whole unpeeled apple, seeds + all. Hmmm.

[Boris_A]

I was wondering if any of you had a good recipe for Bircher oatmeal?

The original recipe of my Swiss compatriot Dr. Bircher:

4 spoon of oats (Ive always seen the zart ones)

half cup of water, let soak for several hours

4 spoon of sugared, condensed milk

4 spoon of lemon juice

500 g grated apples, without the "house"

4 spoons of grated hazelnuts, almonds, whatever nut

Dont forget, this recipe is from about 1900, when raw, unpasteurized milk could be dangerous and viamine C was scarce in winter time.

You can easily replace water and condensed milk with fresh milk and reduce a bit the lemon juice, if its too sour for you.

I prefer a mix joghurt/milk instead of pure milk.

Bananas and berries (in summertime) are great to add.

[cakewench]

Thanks for the responses, and the recipe! The only muesli I have seen labled as 'bircher' has also had fruits and other things already mixed in, unfortunately. I want fruit in there, but not the ones they want me to have, evidently.

The recipe sounds perfect, Boris, thanks! I assume the spoons are the big soup spoon-sized things. That's according to my (German) bf, anyway. He makes fun of me for my tablespoons and teaspoons, but it appears as if there is a similar system in place here. hah.

I should be able to try this out by Monday. I will report back.

[cakewench]

hallo! A Bircher update, because I said I would!

Thanks again for the recipe help, Boris. I've tried a couple of variations this week, always plain yogurt instead of the milk, a few different fruits (bits of coconut to fit with an orange theme, yeah), etc. Less water, as I like the oat-y texture. etc.

The next victims are the pears my overzealous bf purchased at the market this past weekend. They haven't been touched by either of us since, and someone has to do something with them!

[noodle8561]

I lived in the Swiss for a couple of years, and for a time took a room on the outskirts of town. My landlady had wonderful grapes, raspberries, cherries, and blackberries, and used to make muesli for supper on hot summer days. She would mix a becher of plain yoghurt, a few tablespoons of oats (and she absolutely loved the Quaker Oats), a splash of cream, a greated apple, sometimes a few almonds or filberts, sometimes a splash of lemon juice, and then go out to do yard work while it was soaking. She'd add berries, grapes, or cherries before serving. I still think what made it especially wonderful was the quality of the yoghurt and cream! Yum!