Question re European breakfast - hot cereal

[Flaxbee]

Weird, I know. But when my husband and I have traveled (mostly Finland and Russia) it seems a standard hot breakfast cereal has been on offer in the hotels, and it is not oatmeal (or at least not the 'normal' oatmeal you find from Quaker Oats). Nor is it some sort of cream of wheat.

My husband loves the stuff. Can anyone help me find a recipe for it, if you know what I'm talking about? :hi:

Thanks for any input!

[spinbaby]

1. Kasha?

I'm not really sure what it is, except it's hot cereal of some kind they eat in Russia.

[supernova]

2. Is it muesli

Muesli is a brand name, but it's a kind of loose granola with oats, wheat berries, nuts, and dried fruit.

[MajorChode]

9. I've never seen muesli served hot

That's not to say there aren't those who eat it that way, but I haven't seen it. Hotels will typically just have a big container of it with a scoop to put it in a bowl along with a carafe of milk so it can be made just like any other cold cereal.

[Warpy]

14. The recipe for using it as hot cereal

used to be right on the Familia box. Yes, it can be either hot or cold.

However, it would still have the texture of oatmeal, so that was likely not it in the OP.

What it might have been is porridge made from steel cut oats.

[hippywife]

3. Can you look up the hotels you stayed in

on the internet and send them an email to find out for sure? :hi:

[GoCubsGo]

4. Kasha, maybe?

Kasha is buckwheat groats. You can find it in some grocery stores that have a Jewish section.

[Warpy]

16. That's certainly another possibility

although buckwheat has a very strong, distinctive flavor. I actually prefer it in savory applications. I'd need a lot of sugar to eat it for breakfast.

I think it's likely a tossup between buckwheat groats and steel cut oats.

[housewolf]

5. According to Wikipedia, re Russian Breakfast Cereal

Russia

In Russia, a breakfast is kasha, a porridge of buckwheat (Russian: гречка, grechka), farina (Russian: манна, manna), or other grains. Kasha is found throughout much of Eastern Europe, including Poland and Croatia.


and EHow -
Hot Cereal
# Kasha is a staple food of Russian breakfast. The word kasha translated means "porridge." Kasha is a hot cereal that adults and children alike eat in the morning. It's also called buckwheat groats and is typically made from cracked wheat, but can be made from rye or millet. Kasha is cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar. Depending on individual taste, kasha can be made thick or thin like oatmeal.

You may have to do some experiementing with different grains to find something similar

[Flaxbee]

7. wow - that sounds like it!

It was a mix of grains -- we've stayed in a variety of hotels in St. Petersburg and Moscow and the morning cereal was always very similar, tasted like a mix of grains.

Thanks! I'll experiment.

[kestrel91316]

15. I fixed a blend of kasha and rolled oats for breakfast recently - it was nice

for a change, I need to do it again.....

[Coyote_Bandit]

6. I had something similiar

on a cruise ship. They served it cold and called it museli. In the years since I've tried lots of recipes and none have even come close. None of the grains I've tried seem to have the right consistency. The stuff was creamy and sweet. Filling but not too rich. It did not include raisins or other fruits (dried or fresh). Just grains. Wonderful stuff I tell ya......

[Flaxbee]

8. Yeah -- though when we had it, it was always in a container served hot

But you could add what you wanted - apricots, nuts, whatever. But the base cereal itself was really very good by itself.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. I will bet this is similar

I eat it several mornings a week.

[DrDan]

11. now there is a significant time zone difference . . . you are sure it was breakfast-time there?

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I used to fix my kids a seven grain hot cereal and they loved it.

I think this is the one I used to buy. At the time, I could only find it at health food stores, but it might be more readily available now. It contains organic whole grain cracked wheat, organic steel cut oats, organic whole grain barley grits, organic soybean grits, organic wheat bran, organic whole grain buckwheat grits, organic yellow corn grits, organic whole grain hulled millet.

[The empressof all]

13. Sounds like Kasha to me

If you have an Eastern European store near you they often have it in bulk. It's also one of the main ingredients in Kishka which is the most foul sausage in creation.

If you don't have a European store near you---you may be able to find it in the Kosher section of your grocer. It's often mixed with bow tie noodles for kasha and bows.

If you have a "Natural" store near you just get buck wheat groats. If you have cooked leftovers they are very nice added to pancakes.