The History behind Muesli you probably never knew! Loaded with dried fruit, paired with berries, full of essential nutrients – the modern Muesli boasts of many benefits.
It has even become the choice of breakfast cereal for today’s time-piched generation. But have you ever wondered, where did this muesli-madness all begin?
The Surprising Origins
While Switzerland might be renowned as the home to the alpine mountains, Swiss chocolates, and not to forget great watches, it is also the birthplace of muesli.
The word muesli is derived from the term “mus,” that means puree or porridge. Because that’s how it was meant to be! You’d be surprised to know that the current crunchy version that we see flooding our supermarket shelves, just vaguely resemble the real deal.
What’s even more ironic, is the fact that muesli was meant to be a light supper or appetizer at most and never a breakfast dish!
It all began in a Doctor’s Mind
To trace the origins of the popular breakfast cereal, we will have to step into the early 1900’s, when tuberculosis was a prevalent ailment. Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, a revolutionary physician, was someone who believed that the disease could be controlled by dietary adjustments.
Dr. Bircher, who managed to survive a terrible bout of jaundice by following a rigorous diet regimen, was convinced that the same approach could be used to fight tuberculosis too.
The result of his conviction was “Apfeldiätspeise” or the ‘Apple Diet Meal’, as Bircher called it. The first batch of muesli invented by the doctor was a mix of oats and nuts mixed with water, lemon juice and condensed milk and topped with raw apples.
The enterprising physician soon opened a sanatorium at the foothills of the mount Zürichberg and hundreds began pouring in to try the doctor’s miraculous diet-based wellness plan for themselves.
And since then, there has been no looking back for the humble cereal mix.
