Yesterday's post about hot cereal vs. toaster pastries received a number of comments, suggestions and memories.
One commenter suggested Maypo. I was never a fan. I don't know why; I like maple flavor. Maybe it's time to give it another try.
In my childhood, the big breakfast treat was Coco Wheats, then produced in Warsaw, Indiana by Little Crow Foods,* latter snapped up by MOM Brands, who were themselves et by the Post cereal empire not long afterward -- but you can still get Coco Wheats and they're still good. Now that I am more-or-less grown up, I'm not sure I'd want that much chocolate every morning for a week. My siblings and I ate them with milk, enough to produce a pretty soupy mix.
MOM Brands was better known by its earlier name, the Malt-O-Meal Company. I've never had Malt-O-Meal but it sounds interesting.
I have waxed rhapsodic about good, old-fashioned oatmeal before. Not the instant, I prefer the real, cook-for-five-minutes stuff. I like it plain, made with water and with a bit of sugar. My Mom served it with a dollop of butter, but I never warmed to that, or milk, either.
I liked Ralston hot cereal, when I could get it. It seems difficult to find now in less than bunkhouse-sized quantities.
A commenter suggested a brand I'd never heard of, Cream Of The West! No, it's not made of old Conestoga canvas, hand-rolls and cow horns, it's a toasted-wheat cereal and looks like it would be tasty.
What else is out there? The Cream Of Wheat people went on to make Cream of All Kinds Of Grains, and I'm pretty sure Cream of Rice is still around. (One of my Dad's occasional breakfasts was cold cooked rice with milk and sugar; he liked unsalted popcorn the same way. Both were treats from his Great Depression childhood).
What other hot cereals were there, and which are still around?
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* I'd like to point out that there was very little crow -- indeed, none -- in any of their products.
+1 for Cream of the West, a Montana product that is hard to find outside the Intermountain West. I order it: https://creamofthewest.com/shop/best-whole-grain-cereal/
ReplyDeleteAlso available from Amazon for twice the price.
Milk toast was always a winner. 2 slices of toast, covered in warm milk, sugar, and a dollop of butter in the middle. Depression era heaven; not much in favor now these enlightened days.
ReplyDeleteLong cook oatmeal, hands down. Either rolled or Irish. We add just a bit of chopped dry fruit before cooking, and Herself likes Pecans after cooking. Me, cream and a dash of honey.
ReplyDeleteEither way, the real trick for us is to stir the dickens out of it after cooking. It breaks up the grains, releasing starch, and makes it creamy.
A small slow cooker works well for steel-cut oats. Toss in oats, milk and/or water, pinch of salt, chopped dried fruit, dash of cinnamon. Put liner in microwave until liquid is foamy. Put in base, cover, take dog for a walk. Return to cooked oats. Mix in a beaten egg or two and a dash of vanilla, let sit for a couple of minutes, enjoy.
ReplyDeleteJust another bump for oatmeal . . . with a little cinnamon, honey to taste, and blueberries right in the bowl. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I still see Cream of Rice in some stores. I picked up my late father's habit of having Cream of Wheat on a plate, with butter and dark brown sugar (I tried molasses for a while, and that was okay too).
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I probably had more Malt-O-Meal, original flavor not chocolate (yuck), than oatmeal. Malt-O-Meal is good stuff. And as far as oatmeal is concerned, either rolled or steel cut no “quick” oats for me.
ReplyDeleteCracked wheat cooked as a porridge with brown sugar and butter is economical and tasty.
ReplyDeleteYou can get the hard red winter wheat that runs about 18% protein content.
I have not had it in awhile. Probably because I do not leave the hand mill set up for easy use.
A favorite wintertime hot cereal growing up was Maltex, cracked wheat flavored with barley malt syrup.
ReplyDeleteAn unflavored cracked wheat hot cereal is Wheatena.
I haven't seen them on a grocery shelf for many years. A search engine finds them.
- DanaK
Diced candied ginger is a tasty way to sweeten a hot cereal.
ReplyDelete