294647 Thu Oct 30 13:07:08 -0800 2003 57 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1616570 This is a very specific sort of question. I"m searching for alternative liquids to splash into cold cereal, my basic staple food. I'm not looking for interesting and delicious grain milks, or new taste sensations. Actually, I'd like something as blandly milk-like as possible. Because I LIKE milk and cereal, and don't want to embark on some new combo that overwhelms and skews my appreciation of the cereal. Furthermore, the more distinctive and "interesting" the milk, the more rapidly I'm going to get sick of it. EdenSoy soy milk is out. It's got that intense bean-iness that can work in a pinch, but basically turns even a sprightly cereal like Corn Flakes into a maudlin experience. It's a decent into Soyland. Paul Trapani suggested Trader Joe's Vanilla "Rice-Um" Rice Milk, but it's very sweet, and only works on Kashi "7 in the morning" cereal (which is, in fact, what Paul uses it on). I'm figuring all decent soy milks will have that beany thing going on, and flavored anything will be too overbearing. So I guess I need an unflavored rice milk (really unnutritious, but oh well...). Any alternative ideas? Suggested brands of rice milk? Would prefer organic. I'm not generally an organic nut, but anytime you concentrate a lot of food (e.g. juices), you're also concentrating the bad stuff. Oh, and don't tell me yogurt. If you tell me yogurt, it means that you just don't understand cereal. ciao Thu Oct 30 13:07:08 -0800 2003 0 Jim Leff 1 1616577 i hate that soy milk "beaniness" too. but i love "silk" brand vanilla soymilk on almost any kind of cereal (although yes! kashi works particularly well....) Thu Oct 30 13:23:06 -0800 2003 1616570 0 jerusha 2 1616585 I second the vote for Silk vanilla soymilk. The vanilla is not very strong, but does a good job masking the bean flavor. It is somewhat sweet but not overly so. Thu Oct 30 13:32:42 -0800 2003 1616577 0 Guy 1 1616579 Horchata If there are any flavorings that will work with rather than disrupt most cereal, they're cinnamon and sugar. I'm not familiar with any bottled or (shudder) powdered horchatas that are good. Maybe somebody else can help. You could make your own and go really easy on the flavorings and sugar. Here's a recipe. You don't even need to blend and strain, you can just use the liquid and toss the rice after boiling. Link: http://members.tripod.com/~iskra/nomilk/rmilk4.htm Thu Oct 30 13:27:49 -0800 2003 1616570 0 nja 2 1616648 They have it many stores already made - expecially if the clientele is of Mexican decent. Thu Oct 30 16:18:32 -0800 2003 1616579 0 kc girl 2 1616673 I picked up bottle of horchata at a taco truck once, took one look at the label and put it back -- it was full of corn syrup and chemicals. There must be some good brands out there, but I think you'd have to be careful. Stick to fresh or homemade. Thu Oct 30 17:26:57 -0800 2003 1616579 0 Ruth Lafler 1 1616584 silk brand soy milk is much less "beany" than other types i've tried. it is actually quite tasty on cereal. you will find it in the refrigerator section of any grocery or natural foods store (right beside the regular milk). i find the vanilla too sweet and prefer the plain flavor. Thu Oct 30 13:32:38 -0800 2003 1616570 0 queue 2 1616600 I concur. Jim, if you're reading this, try Silk, it's fine stuff, and I've switched completely from cow juice to Silk. Thu Oct 30 13:57:04 -0800 2003 1616584 0 AlanH 2 1616711 Yep, I'm a Silk fan too. I like the Silk original--I find the unsweetened Silk a little to acrid tasting. I find most rice milks too, well, rice-y. Fri Oct 31 00:29:39 -0800 2003 1616584 0 divstudent 1 1616591 Several years ago I used a brand called Rice Dream for this very purpose. I don't like it on it's own, but it works fine in cereal. I'm pretty sure that I preferred the unflavored variety as well. That said, I don't know how it holds up vis-a-vis other rice milk brands. Thu Oct 30 13:41:21 -0800 2003 1616570 0 ADL 1 1616597 I've been using enriched Rice Dream (organic) in morning smoothies. I just bought a soy product at an Asian market yesterday and haven't tried it yet. It's packets (13 in a bag)of soy powder that you mix with water so I guess you could control your consistency and flavor. It says Green Food on the package in English. It was recommended by a friend from China whom I consider a great cook. I asked her for a recommendation but I was really looking for a product posted on the LA board 10/19 about soy milk someone had found. I wanted something to use besides milk to make creamy soups. Good luck. Thu Oct 30 13:49:49 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Sweet Pea 1 1616606 I'm partial to Almond Milk-- it's got a light almondy flavor that complements a not-so-sweet cereal... Thu Oct 30 14:06:25 -0800 2003 1616570 0 chococat 2 1616653 I agree with the almond milk. It works very well on cereal. Thu Oct 30 16:27:01 -0800 2003 1616606 0 Jane 1 1616610 Jim, I find Hamony Farms' soy milk to be very non-beany. It's the least beany to my taste, including the excellent Silk. Their Vanilla is especially good. Link: http://us.treeoflife.com/Content/Business/default.asp?qsSectionId=273 Thu Oct 30 14:12:47 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Erika 1 1616617 my younger daughter just switched to plain, unflavored soy milk on her cereal joining her vegan sister in this choice - she really likes the grain flavor, thinks it works well with the cereal flavors. I would say if you cant get the protein into your meal there in the am you ought to switch away from cold cereal breakfasts - an all starch meal is sort of nutritionally impoverished. Thu Oct 30 14:24:39 -0800 2003 1616570 0 jen kalb 1 1616622 Westsoy makes an organic, unsweetened soy milk that I like. The only ingredients are filtered water and soybeans. Now, it doesn't taste beany to me, but I've been using it for so long that perhaps I'm not the best judge. But it seems very neutral, tastewise, and I use for many cooking applications. Caveat - Westsoy Original looks very similar, but it's sweetened. Thu Oct 30 14:31:10 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Marcia 1 1616632 Why are you switching if you like milk? If it's a lactose problem, try Lactaid milk. It tastes almost identical to milk but it doesn't have lactose in it. Along the lines of the soy/rice milk suggestions, try oat milk. I lived in a cooperative in college where all of these kinds of milk were common, and this was the only one that was close enough to milk for me. I don't remember a brand name though. Maybe Westbrae? Thu Oct 30 15:22:31 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Tamar G 2 1616743 I tried Lactaid milk once and thought it had a really weird, bitter aftertaste. It was so bad I couldn't get past one sip. However, I know a few people who drink it regularly and say it tastes like normal milk. Did I get a bad batch? Or does it really have a different taste that maybe I particularly dislike? Fri Oct 31 10:08:17 -0800 2003 1616632 0 Jujubee 3 1616753 I think the after taste of Lactaid is a little off so I don't like drinking it by the glass. In cereal, though, I can't tell the difference because I get the aftertaste of the cereal, not the milk. There are slight differences, but I think you probably had a bad batch because it tastes _really_ similiar to milk. Fri Oct 31 10:56:11 -0800 2003 1616743 0 Tamar G 2 1616755 Glad you posed that question! Maybe it spoils too fast? I brought up one of my kids on reconstituted dry milk. After a while, we were all using and drinking it. I made it richer than the directions suggested, and if it's really cold, it ain't bad. But it's definitely milk. Fri Oct 31 10:59:52 -0800 2003 1616632 0 Pat Hammond 1 1616650 I usually buy soy milk from a Chinese grocery store. Their soy milk is non brand and locally made, I think. Red cap is sweetened and blue cap is unsweetened (could be vice versa). There is also a chinese brand of soy milk, you may want to try that. I do not remember the name of company, but the soy milk is a little less beanie than Eden soy or other popular brand's soy milk. Try to look at a food lable. If Soy is listed before Water, then there are more soys, I thiink (at least that is my understanding...). Thu Oct 30 16:19:25 -0800 2003 1616570 0 anko 1 1616655 VitaSoy is even better that the Silk brand (which is good, but Vitasoy is even more milk flavored - whole milk tasting). At the main site, the picture changes to different of their products. So, I linked the specfic page. There is a header click for "Where to Buy" The Vitasoy I am talking about in a carton like milk and has a plastic screw top on the eaves of the carton. It looks like it a purple carton - its has calcium in it. The vanilla is a little sweet, but the CREAMY ORIGINAL is great (blue carton). I'm not sure the other ackaged one are the same because I have only gotten the milk carton one. I sometimes found it at Ralph's, but not all or even always at the same store. It is rather expensive, so, maybe that's why. You may have to e-mail the company itself and see if they can tell you where you can get it in your area. But there is a link to "Where to Buy" on the page linked below. You will like it - The creamy original is not too sweet. (oh, the chocolate is good, too, but has a hint of coconut flavor - just a hint of it) Link: http://www.vitasoy-usa.com/vitasoy/ Thu Oct 30 16:34:19 -0800 2003 1616570 0 kc girl 2 2278615 VitaSoy with milk and cereal is good, but they must be the unrefrigerated tetrapacks. Sat Feb 10 03:31:18 -0800 2007 1616655 24229 corneggs 1 1616664 About 15yrs ago my doctor told me to use Moka Mix, no fat, no chloresteral. I love it. Use it on my sugar frosted flakes and prefer it to water or milk. what ever you pick to use, give it a chance, and you will become a happy user. Thu Oct 30 17:05:40 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Wylie 2 1616713 but what the heck is it?? : ) I aspire to becoming a happy user, so this sounds perfect. ciao Fri Oct 31 00:53:54 -0800 2003 1616664 0 Jim Leff 3 1616767 Chees Jim! You don't know from Moka Mix? A non-dairy, soy based, creamer. The box says "Rich and Creamy". It sells in the SF Bay Area for $3.59 1/2 gal. I use at least that, a week. I've tried others, to cut cost, but, Moka Mix The Drink For Me. Fri Oct 31 12:19:22 -0800 2003 1616713 0 Wylie 4 1616774 The box also says it's,"Mocha Mix". Fri Oct 31 12:41:19 -0800 2003 1616767 0 Wylie 1 1616667 Powdered non-dairy creamer? Thu Oct 30 17:10:45 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Tom Meg 2 1616714 you're a miffed yogurt-and-cereal guy, I presume? : ) Fri Oct 31 00:54:32 -0800 2003 1616667 0 Jim Leff 3 1616735 Exactly. What is it about yogurt that turns you off? There's so much variety within the yogurt genre in terms of viscosity, tanginess, richness, sweetness, etc. Surely there's something out there that would fit your bill. Or maybe it's cultural... Fri Oct 31 09:18:33 -0800 2003 1616714 0 Tom Meg 4 1616748 Maybe he wants his cereal swimming instead of suspended! I love yogurt, all kinds, and have used it in a pinch on cereal. But for me cereal needs milk, or a reasonable facsimile. I do like yogurt with granola, but the granola is just a garnish for the yogurt. Fri Oct 31 10:38:43 -0800 2003 1616735 0 Pat Hammond 4 1616792 I love yogurt. And I can appreciate yogurt with some granola. But not as a blanket counterpoint to all cold cereal. Cereal, to me, must swim in liquid (so the cereal attains that essential part-wet/part crunchy texture), and the texture and flavor balance must work as an equilibrium. Look, I'm so finicky that I don't even like soy milk because it upsets the flavor balance. And a thick mass of tangy yogurt is worlds more skewed, both flavorfully and texturally. I'm not against the application of yogurt to any cereal. But I don't see it as a substitute for milk in my cereal life, anymore than I deem carrot sticks a substitute for potato chips. ciao Fri Oct 31 15:09:06 -0800 2003 1616735 0 Jim Leff 5 1616793 Just curious Jim, if you "so finicky that [you] don't even like soy milk because it upsets the flavor balance" (despite the fact that no two brands of soy milk taste the same), how do you handle the difference between different brands of cow's milk, different fat percentages, and even the change in taste from temperature variations? Can you eat Kellog's Raisin Bran if Post isn't available? Is there one single slim standard which you must adhere to? If so, I'm afraid there is NO substitute. Fri Oct 31 15:20:43 -0800 2003 1616792 0 AlanH 6 1616796 woops, sorry, my fault. should have said "soy milks I've tried". I do intend to try the ones recco'd in this thread. With ChowNews due in an hour, I've not had time to go pick up samples of all these alternatives! "If so, I'm afraid there is NO substitute." I think you may be right. But am trying to keep an open mind. Fri Oct 31 15:50:01 -0800 2003 1616793 0 Jim Leff 7 1616804 Good luck! You might even find some subs work better with some cereals than with others. Fri Oct 31 16:23:38 -0800 2003 1616796 0 AlanH 1 1616688 I haven't found anything closer to milk than Original Rice Dream. You can get it at Trader Joe's and most grocery stores. Thu Oct 30 19:17:54 -0800 2003 1616570 0 TerriL 1 1616690 On a bet I once put Old Milwaukee on my Captain Crunch, actually wasn't that bad. I worked for a chef who would eat Cocoa Puffs with 1/2&1/2, that was a little too rich for me. Thu Oct 30 19:30:16 -0800 2003 1616570 0 David Z 1 1616691 I like Trader Joe's low fat organic but it's a little sweet. Ran across link below of someone on a similar quest. Link: http://www.white-mountain.org/kim/soymilk.html Thu Oct 30 19:33:49 -0800 2003 1616570 0 badseed 2 1616715 great link, thanks! Fri Oct 31 00:59:44 -0800 2003 1616691 0 Jim Leff 3 1616727 Great link, but horrible commentary. I've tried many of these brands, and I really don't see where he came up with his descriptions. Fri Oct 31 07:59:25 -0800 2003 1616715 0 AlanH 4 1616814 1) I'm a she 2) Sorry if you don't like the commentary. Like I said, it's all subjective. That's just my tastes. Obviously, someone liked these products because they made it to market and are still being producted. This just grew out of a spreadsheet I was keeping, and someone said "You should put that online!" so I did. As with everything, your mileage may vary. Fri Oct 31 18:05:09 -0800 2003 1616727 0 Kim Flournoy 5 1616863 Have you tried the VitaSoy plain flavor? You list show you have tasted and commentary of the Vanilla flavor and I am curious if you enjoy the flavor of the regular plain flavor (in the blue carton). Thanks, I thought your list was fairly accurate for those I've tried. Sat Nov 01 16:11:55 -0800 2003 1616814 0 kc girl 6 1616888 I've tried the Vitasoy plain, and thought it was ok. I actually stopped keeping up that list after a year of not drinking milk, since I couldn't exactly compare them honestly anymore as I don't exactly remember the taste of milk nor long to find its exact plant-derived alternative. And I'm not willing to go buy a carton just in the interests of science. ;-) Sun Nov 02 02:49:29 -0800 2003 1616863 0 Kim Flournoy 1 1616709 Baby formula? Thu Oct 30 23:37:31 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Tom Meg 2 1616722 Breast milk? Fri Oct 31 03:52:20 -0800 2003 1616709 0 bryan 1 1616721 Bailey's Irish Cream. Fri Oct 31 03:08:49 -0800 2003 1616570 0 njtomainetraveller 1 1616732 i too, resisted soy milk until a friend recommended silk. i've come to prefer vita-soy vanilla, but the important distinction here is to get the stuff that's refrigerated. there's a huge qualitative difference between what's refrigerated and the stuff that's shelf-stable. must be some difference in how each is processed. btw, the vanilla makes a great hot chocolate. 1 tablespoon each cocoa and sugar, plus 1 1/2 cup vanilla soy. or 2 tablespoons finely chopped bittersweet chocolate. Fri Oct 31 08:52:37 -0800 2003 1616570 0 lynn 2 1616733 Just thought I'd mention that "carrageenan", the ingredient that makes soymilks have that creamier texture has been linked to cancer in the lab. It does, unfortunately, make soymilk yummier - if you're not near a Chinatown and cannot pick up the real thing, that is.... Another suggestion - nutmilks! Very easy to make yourself, if you have nuts, water and a blender..... Fri Oct 31 09:03:33 -0800 2003 1616732 0 BGrey 2 1616812 I like Silk too -- been drinking the plain for a while. I just tried the chocolate Silk and it was quite good! Jim -- Silk comes in 8 oz containers too so you can test it out cheaply. Fri Oct 31 17:21:35 -0800 2003 1616732 0 Margot 1 1616737 Also, if you are lactose intolerant, or if you have allergic reactions to cow milk, it's quite likely that you would be fine with goat milk. Goat milk (and sheep milk, actually) are both much, much easier to digest. I actually prefer the taste of goat milk to cow milk, but it's a tad overpowering for some..... Fri Oct 31 09:24:53 -0800 2003 1616570 0 BGrey 1 1616745 I cant have dairy , & I really like rice dream. It comes flavored or not. My husband likes 1/2 & 1/2 on his cereal and has substituted non dairy creamer before - I think its a little odd but he said it was basically the same. Fri Oct 31 10:30:31 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Katherine A/O 1 1616761 Stout. Then you don't even need the cereal. Fri Oct 31 11:18:40 -0800 2003 1616570 0 2chez mike 1 1616810 I haven't read through all the answers you've gotten, so you may already have this. In the middle ages, before dairy was so easy to get, people used "almond milk" as a thickener and dairy substitute in cooking. I have no idea what it would do to most cereals, but some might be wonderful, especially since almonds show up in so many granola type cereals. You'll find recipes by working your way through the gode cookery site - URL attached. It's a really fun site by the way. Also, fruit juice works on some cereals, but that's not what you're looking for at the moment, I realize. Link: http://www.godecookery.com Fri Oct 31 16:57:40 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Jane 1 1617197 Must be something in the, uh, water, because hot on the heals of this here interesting thread, there's a testing survey by Ben Wasserstein over on Slate, using dunkability with Chips Ahoy, rather than accompaniment to cold cereal, as the relevant metric. Link: http://slate.msn.com/id/2090629/ Tue Nov 04 14:40:48 -0800 2003 1616570 0 Marty L. 1 1617304 Cool to lukewarm tea (with or without some form of milk/faux milk, depending on your tastes) can make a nice neutral base for cereal. A Gujarati (Indian) friend introduced me to this and said he'd grown up eating this for breakfast; he liked to use watered-down Lipton (!) but others in his family preferred the extra spice and body of chai. Tue Nov 04 23:27:55 -0800 2003 1616570 0 PayOrPlay 2 1617520 i MUST try this soon! Mon Nov 10 19:52:17 -0800 2003 1617304 0 epicure-us 1 1617521 how about baby coconut water? it might overpower the cereal though...hmmm maybe, maybe not. i want to try it myself now just to see. Mon Nov 10 19:57:52 -0800 2003 1616570 0 epicure-us 1 2279465 Sorry to recommend milk, but must add this comment. I eat cereal daily with organic skim (SO much better than non-organic milk pumped with hormones, etc). My 1 year old son drinks whole milk (also organic). Sometimes for a treat, I put whole milk on cereal - it's a bit of religious experience....sigh.... Sat Feb 10 11:59:27 -0800 2007 1616570 49086 amyvc