Bircher Muesli Recipe
Photo © Wikipedia
Bircher Muesli was the brainchild of Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner and he used it to treat patients in his clinic in Zurich. He had been inspired to create this dish after having been on a hike in the Swiss alps. He was ahead of his time in his views on the importance of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet and the original Bircher-Benner recipe for Muesli looked like this:
- 1 tablespoon rolled oats, soaked in 2–3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cream
- 200 grams grated apple
- optionally topped with 1 tablespoon ground hazelnuts or almonds
Dr Bircher-Brenner probably had no idea how Bircher Muesli would take off in Switzerland but nowadays it can be seen in cafes all over Switzerland as a staple for breakfast, lunch and even as an afternoon snack all over the country.
Our favourite recipe is one sent in to us by NewInZurich reader Sabine and it goes as follows:
Sabine’s Favourite Bircher Muesli
Ingredients
- 150g quick rolled oats (you may need to soak longer if you can only find the traditional ones)
- 410ml milk
- 50ml apple juice
- 2 – 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 apple, cored and grated (including peel)
- Honey to taste (about 1.5 – 2 tablespoons) – or, if you prefer you can use agave nectar
- 375g pot organic yogurt
- Optional pinch of cinnamon
- Toppings : red fruits like raspberries and blackberries bring colour and flavour. Choose a couple or so good tablespoons of your favourite fresh or dried fruit, nuts etc. and experiment and find out your favourites! We love rasperberries, blackberries blueberries and strawberries with coconut flakes – but mango is great too! Follow your fancy!
Bircher Muesli is a two stage process. You make one part the night before and leave it in the fridge and in the morning you add the remaining ingredients, mix together and enjoy. If you make a batch lot (as per this recipe) it should keep in the fridge for about 4 days or so. However, if you are in a rush simply combine everything the night before – it still tastes excellent!
Method:
- Mix together the oats, milk, apple juice and lemon juice and leave it overnight in the fridge.
- When you wake up add the grated apple, yogurt, cinnamon and mix together
- Sweeten to your taste with honey (or agave nectar)
- Add your favourite toppings – fruits (fresh raspberries, blackberries, dried berries, raisins, banana, toasted coconut, mango – whatever you like best). Don’ t forget to add nuts too – for flavour and crunch, e.g. hazelnuts, walnuts etc)
We hope you like this very Swiss recipe! En guete!
Our thanks to Sabine for passing on this recipe.
