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Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a Fast moving consumer goods food product intended to be consumed as part of a breakfast. It is usually eaten cold as a ready-to-eat meal and mixed with a liquid, such as milk or water, though occasionally Nut and fruit are also added....
 based on uncooked rolled oats
Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten....
, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner
Maximilian Bircher-Benner

Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner was a Switzerland physician and a pioneer in nutritional research.At his sanatorium in Z?rich, a balanced diet of raw vegetables and fruit was used as a means to heal patients, contrary to the beliefs commonly held at the end of the 19th century....
 for patients in his hospital. It is available as a packaged
Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Fast Moving Consumer Goods , are products that are sold quickly at relatively low cost. Though the absolute profit made on FMCG products is relatively small, they generally sell in large quantities, so the cumulative profit on such products can be large....
 dry form, or it can be made fresh.

In Switzerland, it is also eaten as a light evening dish; Birchermüesli complet is muesli with butterbrot
Butterbrot

The German word "Butterbrot" describes a slice of bread topped with butter or margarine, almost always with another "ingredient" on top. The words in formal and colloquial German and the different dialects for butterbrot vary from "belegtes Brot", simply "Brot" , "Butterstulle", "Stulle", "Schnitte", "buterbrodas", "B?tterken" to "Bem...
 and milk coffee.

Originally known in Swiss German
Swiss German

Swiss German is any of the Alemannic Germans spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are called Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg which are closely associated to Switzerland's....
 as Birchermüesli or simply Müesli, the word is an Alemannic
Alemannic German

Alemannic German is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy....
 diminutive of Mues which is related to the Old English word moose, meaning stew
Stew

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, poultry, sausages and seafood....
 or pottage
Pottage

Pottage is a stew of meat or fish with grains, herbs and /or vegetables.It was the staple food of people living in Great Britain from neolithic times on into the Middle Ages....
.

li was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner
Maximilian Bircher-Benner

Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner was a Switzerland physician and a pioneer in nutritional research.At his sanatorium in Z?rich, a balanced diet of raw vegetables and fruit was used as a means to heal patients, contrary to the beliefs commonly held at the end of the 19th century....
 for patients in his hospital, where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy.






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Muesli
Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a Fast moving consumer goods food product intended to be consumed as part of a breakfast. It is usually eaten cold as a ready-to-eat meal and mixed with a liquid, such as milk or water, though occasionally Nut and fruit are also added....
 based on uncooked rolled oats
Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten....
, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner
Maximilian Bircher-Benner

Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner was a Switzerland physician and a pioneer in nutritional research.At his sanatorium in Z?rich, a balanced diet of raw vegetables and fruit was used as a means to heal patients, contrary to the beliefs commonly held at the end of the 19th century....
 for patients in his hospital. It is available as a packaged
Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Fast Moving Consumer Goods , are products that are sold quickly at relatively low cost. Though the absolute profit made on FMCG products is relatively small, they generally sell in large quantities, so the cumulative profit on such products can be large....
 dry form, or it can be made fresh.

In Switzerland, it is also eaten as a light evening dish; Birchermüesli complet is muesli with butterbrot
Butterbrot

The German word "Butterbrot" describes a slice of bread topped with butter or margarine, almost always with another "ingredient" on top. The words in formal and colloquial German and the different dialects for butterbrot vary from "belegtes Brot", simply "Brot" , "Butterstulle", "Stulle", "Schnitte", "buterbrodas", "B?tterken" to "Bem...
 and milk coffee.

Originally known in Swiss German
Swiss German

Swiss German is any of the Alemannic Germans spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are called Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg which are closely associated to Switzerland's....
 as Birchermüesli or simply Müesli, the word is an Alemannic
Alemannic German

Alemannic German is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy....
 diminutive of Mues which is related to the Old English word moose, meaning stew
Stew

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, poultry, sausages and seafood....
 or pottage
Pottage

Pottage is a stew of meat or fish with grains, herbs and /or vegetables.It was the staple food of people living in Great Britain from neolithic times on into the Middle Ages....
.

History

Muesli was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner
Maximilian Bircher-Benner

Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner was a Switzerland physician and a pioneer in nutritional research.At his sanatorium in Z?rich, a balanced diet of raw vegetables and fruit was used as a means to heal patients, contrary to the beliefs commonly held at the end of the 19th century....
 for patients in his hospital, where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy. It was inspired by a similar "strange dish" that he and his wife had been served on a hike in the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps

The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position with the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
. Bircher-Benner himself referred to the dish simply as "d'Spys" (Swiss German for "the dish", in German "die Speise"). Muesli in its modern form became popular in western countries starting in the 1960s as part of increased interest in Health food
Health food

Health food is a term that has been used in the United States since the 1920s and refers to specific foods claimed to be especially beneficial to health....
 and vegetarian diets.

Packaged muesli


Packaged muesli is a loose mixture of mainly rolled oats together with various pieces of dried fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
, nut
Nut (fruit)

Nut is a general term for the large, dry, oily seed or fruit of some plant. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts....
s, and seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s. It commonly contains other rolled cereal
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
 grains such as wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
 or rye
Rye

Rye is a Poaceae grown extensively as a grain and forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some rye whiskey, some vodkas, and animal fodder....
 flakes as well. There are many varieties, some of which also contain honey
Honey

Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bees , and derived from the nectar of flowers. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance?this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners...
, spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
s, or chocolate
Chocolate

Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree.Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world....
. This dry packaged muesli can be stored for many months. It can be served quickly after mixing it with milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
, yogurt, coffee
Coffee

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the Coffea. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans....
, hot chocolate
Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate is a warm beverage that typically consists of shaved chocolate or cocoa, heated milk or water, and sugar. While hot chocolate is generally thought of as a drink consumed for pleasure, recent studies have suggested that hot chocolate possesses health benefits due to antioxidants that can be found in cacao....
, or fruit juice and (if desired) pieces of fresh fruit. Alternatively, the mix may be soaked overnight in milk and then served with fresh fruit or compote
Compote

Compote is a dessert made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are immersed in water and with sugar and spices added to the dish, over gentle heat....
 to taste.

Fresh muesli

Fresh Muesli
Muesli can also be freshly prepared using either dry rolled oats
Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten....
 or whole grain
Whole grain

Whole grains are cereal that contain bran and cereal germ as well as the endosperm, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm....
 oats that have been soaked in water or fruit juice. Other ingredients commonly included are additional grated or chopped fresh fruit (e.g., banana
Banana

File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
s, apple
APPLE

This article is about the satellite APPLE. For the fruit apple, see Apple. For other uses see Apple .The Ariane Passenger PayLoad Experiment , was an experimental communication satellite with a C-Band transponder launched by Indian Space Research Organisation satellite on June 19, 1981 by Ariane 1, a launch vehicle of the European Spac...
s, berries
Berry

In everyday English, a berry is a broad term for any small edible fruit. Most berries are juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and don't have a stone or pit....
, grape
Grape

File:Table grapes on white.jpgA grape is the non-Climacteric #In_botany fruit that grows on the Perennial plant and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis....
s, mango
Mango

Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae....
), dried fruit
Dried fruit

Dried fruitis fruit that has been drying , either naturally or through use of a machine, such as a food dehydrator. Raisins, prunes, and Date palm are examples of popular dried fruits....
, milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
 products (e.g., yogurt, cream
Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
, condensed milk
Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is Milk#Cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product that can last for years without refrigeration if unopened....
, fromage frais
Fromage frais

Fromage frais is a dairy product, originating from Belgium and north of France. The name literally means "fresh cheese" .Pure fromage frais is virtually fat free, but cream is frequently added to improve the flavor, which also increases the fat content, frequently to as high as 8 percent of total weight....
, quark
Quark (cheese)

Quark is a type of fresh cheese of Central European origin. Dictionaries usually translate it as curd cheese. It is soft, white and un-aged, similar to Fromage frais....
, cottage cheese
Cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed so some whey remains. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity giving sweet curd cheese....
), lemon
Lemon

The lemon is the common name for Citrus limon. The reproductive tissue surrounds the seed of the angiosperm lemon tree. The lemon is used for culinary and nonculinary purposes throughout the world....
 juice
Juice

Juice is a liquid naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue. Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or Maceration fresh fruits or vegetables without the application of heat or solvents....
, ground nut
Nut (fruit)

Nut is a general term for the large, dry, oily seed or fruit of some plant. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts....
s, seeds, spices (especially cinnamon
Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree 10?15 metres tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, and is native to Sri Lanka.The leaf are ovate-oblong in shape, 7?18 cm long....
), honey
Honey

Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bees , and derived from the nectar of flowers. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance?this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners...
, and muesli mix. And it can contain soy milk.

Original Bircher-Benner muesli recipe

A slightly modernized version of the original Bircher-Benner recipe is still a prototype for most fresh muesli today. For one serving, it consists approximately of:

  • 1 tablespoon
    Tablespoon

    A tablespoon is a type of large spoon usually used for serving. A tablespoonful, an amount equal to the capacity of one tablespoon, is commonly used as a unit of measurement of volume used in Cooking weights and measures ....
     rolled oats
    Rolled oats

    Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten....
    , soaked in 2–3 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    Lemon juice

    Lemon juice, a fruit juice, is the juice of lemons . Fresh lemon juice is obtained by squeezing lemons. Lemon juice, either in natural strength or concentrated, is sold as a bottled product most of the time, usually with the addition of ascorbic acid and a preservative such as E223....
  • 1 tablespoon cream
    Cream

    Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
  • 200 gram
    Gram

    The gram , ; symbol g, is a Physical unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or Scientific notation kg, which itself is...
    s apple
    APPLE

    This article is about the satellite APPLE. For the fruit apple, see Apple. For other uses see Apple .The Ariane Passenger PayLoad Experiment , was an experimental communication satellite with a C-Band transponder launched by Indian Space Research Organisation satellite on June 19, 1981 by Ariane 1, a launch vehicle of the European Spac...
     (about one large, preferably a sour variety), finely grated and mixed with the above directly before serving
  • optionally top with 1 tablespoon ground hazelnuts or almond
    Almond

    The Almond is a species of tree of the genus Prunus, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae and native to the Middle East....
    s


The original recipe actually used sweetened condensed milk
Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is Milk#Cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product that can last for years without refrigeration if unopened....
 instead of cream, a compromise due to hygiene concerns regarding fresh milk products
Raw milk

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized....
 in 1900 (bovine tuberculosis
Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacterium, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the genitourinary system, the gastrointestinal system, bones, joints, and even the...
 etc.), before pasteurization
Pasteurization

Pasteurization is a process which slows microbial growth in foods. The process was named after its creator, France chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur....
 and refrigeration
Refrigeration

Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable....
 became commonly available. The original recipe also advised to soak the oats in water overnight; this long soaking time is unnecessary with modern rolled "quick oats", which the manufacturers already soften through a steam treatment. .

Health benefits


All the main ingredients of muesli are considered important elements of a healthy diet:
  • A diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of cancer
    Cancer

    Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
     and other age-related diseases, and a serving of muesli can contain one or two servings
    Serving size

    The serving size of a food product is a confusing term, as it is found both on the Food Pyramid and on Nutrition Labels and has two related but differing meanings....
     of fresh fruit.
  • Oat
    Oat

    The common oat is a species of Cereal Agriculture for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed....
     products have been shown to help lower high blood cholesterol
    Cholesterol

    Cholesterol is a lipidic, waxy alcohol found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. It is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes where it is required to establish proper membrane permeability and membrane fluidity....
     concentration (hypercholesterolemia
    Hypercholesterolemia

    Hypercholesterolemia is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood . It is not a disease but a metabolism derangement that can be secondary to many diseases and can contribute to many forms of disease, most notably cardiovascular disease....
    ) and thereby reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis
    Arteriosclerosis

    Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries ...
    .
  • Products made from whole
    Whole grain

    Whole grains are cereal that contain bran and cereal germ as well as the endosperm, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm....
     oat and wheat grains are rich in fibre and essential trace element
    Trace element

    In analytical chemistry, a trace element is an Chemical element in a sample that has an average concentration of less than 100 parts per million atoms, or less than 100 micrograms per gram....
    s.
  • Some types of nuts (especially walnut
    Walnut

    Walnuts are plants in the family Juglandaceae. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meter s tall , with pinnate leaves 200?900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnut but not the hickory in the same family....
    s) are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are associated with many health benefits, including the development of the nervous system
    Nervous system

    The nervous system is a Neural network of specialized cells that communicate information about an animal's surroundings and itself. It processes this information and causes reactions in other parts of the body....
    .
  • Milk
    Milk

    Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
     products, often served with muesli, are a rich source of calcium
    Calcium

    Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
     and protein
    Protein

    Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
    .
  • The fruits that are in Muesli, as well as the oats are a source of fiber
    Fiber

    Fiber or fibre is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of yarn. They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissue s together....
     as well.


The low glycemic index
Glycemic index

The Glycemic index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI....
 of muesli without added sugar or honey helps with diabetes control.

While Muesli can be a vegan or vegetarian dish, it is not a raw food dish if the rolled oats are heated or steamed or "processed" in some fashion, but it is if traditional, old-fashioned, non-steamed, non-heated, just-rolled oats are used.

See also

  • “Muesli belt” malnutrition
    Muesli Belt

    "Muesli belt malnutrition" was a term coined by Professor Vincent Marks, author of the book Panic Nation to describe the supposed phenomenon that parents feeding their children what is seen as a "extremely healthy" diet could be depriving their children of essential fats....
  • Alpen
    Alpen (food)

    Alpen is the brand name of a muesli cereal that includes wheat, raisins, hazelnuts, almonds, and oats, manufactured by the Weetabix Limited cereal company of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England....
     – a Weetabix
    Weetabix (food company)

    Weetabix Limited is a food processing company that is responsible for the production of breakfast cereal brands. Weetabix is also the name of one of the company's products, a wheat-based breakfast cereal in the form of relatively large Biscuit#British_English_meaning....
     pre-packaged dry muesli mix
  • Granola
    Granola

    Granola is a breakfast and snack food consisting of rolled oats, nut , honey and sometimes rice, which is baked until crispy. During the baking process the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose, breakfast-cereal-type consistency....
     - a breakfast and snack food similar to muesli, except it is baked.
  • Mueslix
    Mueslix

    M?eslix is a Kellogg Company brand pre-packaged dry muesli mixture. When it was first marketed in Canada in the late-1980s, Kellogg's named it "M?sli" and attempted to trademark the name, but the trademark was successfully challenged as the term had pre-existed in German for over eighty years....
     – a Kellogg's brand pre-packaged dry muesli mix