Homemade cereal can be just as crunchy and tasty as store-bought brands. Granola is the most popular DIY cereal, but cornflakes and baby cereal can also be made at home. Using fresh ingredients and storing correctly are important tips.
People have been making their own crunchy granola for decades, but savvy home cooks know that homemade cereal doesn’t have to be limited to trail mix types. In fact, recipes abound that result in crunchy, savory breakfast treats that taste a lot like some of the popular brands. Some people like to make their own cereal because it saves money, while others indicate that homemade cereal is healthier. Whatever the motivation, using fresh ingredients, preparing the dough correctly, and storing it correctly are helpful tips.
By far the most popular type of DIY cereal is granola. Hundreds, if not thousands, of fruit, nut, and grain recipes populate the internet and cookbooks. The wise cook knows there’s no need to follow a granola recipe to a tee. Double the almonds or cashews, substitute the golden raisins and dried cherries, or omit the shredded coconut will simply produce variations on a theme. Granola recipes call for oil; dieters can reduce, but not eliminate, the amount of oil used and still create toasted granola crunch.
Cornflakes, a perennial favorite in many households, can be whipped together using just cornmeal, honey and a little oil plus a splash of water and a pinch of salt. After the homemade cereal dough is created using a blender, the cook just needs to roll it into foil as thin as possible and cook it. It’s important that the resulting giant flake cool completely before breaking into the traditional sized flake.
It’ll be easy to convince kids that homemade popped amaranth-based cocoa cereals — a high-protein grain — are a treat; they don’t need to know that this homemade cereal rules out the preservatives and high sugar content that the commercial version is loaded with. It’s made with maple syrup or brown rice syrup, so a little sweetener goes a long way. The addition of golden raisins, a cinnamon shake and of course cocoa powder adds to the sweet sensibility. This cereal is unlikely to hang around for long, but cooks making a double batch should be sure to store it in a sealed container to keep it crunchy.
For many new parents, making homemade baby cereal is their first foray into the world of cereal created in the kitchen. The thought of leaving commercial versions that contain who knows what’s in baby’s first foods is enough to send some moms and pops straight to the kitchen. Homemade cereals for smaller diners are easy to whip up in a food processor or dedicated coffee grinder capable of reducing rice, barley or other grains to a powder. Cooking in water or milk for a few minutes is all that’s needed, and of course, pureed banana or other fruit makes it better.
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