Cream of Wheat and "crispy"

[cyclonefence]

Cream of Wheat: why did it take them so long to change the preparation instructions to something that made sense? The original instructions called for 1 cup of water or milk (milk makes delicious CofW) and 2 and a half tablespoons of Cream of Wheat. Do you know what a pain in the ass it is to measure out 2 and a half tablespoons? Especially early in the morning? Half a tablespoon is one and a half teaspoons. So you need three measuring spoons to make a cup of hot cereal. You could cut that back to two if you used 6 teaspoons for the 2 tablespoons (1 T=3 t) plus 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon.
No wonder my Cream of Wheat was lumpy.

The new instructions call for 1 and 1/4 cup of water or milk (really--try it with milk) and 3 tablespoons of Cream of Wheat. I am overjoyed.

"Crispy": whatever happened to the word "crisp?"

That is all.

[brooklynite]

1. So you were unable to experiment with the instructions until they said you could?

[cyclonefence]

7. I was a child

that's number one

number two This is chemistry, baby, and I was an English major. We don't experiment.

[brooklynite]

9. And I'm a Poli Sci major...

...one of the rules I applied to cooking was: recipes are advice columns, not medical prescriptions.


FWIW I'm doing 3 minute steel cut oats in an Instant Pot.

[cyclonefence]

12. English majors study texts without altering them

We leave that up the the creative types like poets.

Cooks Illustrated has a recipe for steel-cut oats that involves putting them to soak the night before. Then they're supposed to take ten minutes to cook. I might try that--I don't have an Instant Pot. I do prefer steel-cut to rolled oats.

I put chopped walnuts, a dab of butter, and maple syrup on my oats.

[samnsara]

2. i LOVE CoW and Grits too..however since Ive gone low carb I dont eat them..

..I would love to swap out my garlic parm bacon knots for a big bowl of CoW with brown sugar and lots of butter ( That I can have!)..needless to say I never made just one serving of any hot breakfast cereal.

[Lindsay]

3. Crispy comes from the song

"Good King Wenceslas."

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and crispy.

(I have no idea where that actually came from, but I think I remember hearing it on some casual silly thing the Beatles did back in the dark ages. In any case, that's the only way I ever think of that lyric now.)

[cyclonefence]

6. I think it's Rice Krispies

(and the word is "even&quot (rhymes with "Stephen&quot (although I do like "Deep and crisp and crispy" a lot)

[enough]

4. That word "crispy" has been driving me crazy for years. I feel so much better

knowing I’m not alone.

[Guilded Lilly]

5. I love Cream of wheat. Childhood favorite...

Mom made it on cold mornings in a double boiler and we would add a dollop of butter, a sprinkling of brown sugar and just enough milk to flow around the rim of the bowl!

Ultimate comfort food

[Ohiogal]

8. Never had CoW until I was a adult and made it myself.

My mother did not cook breakfast for us kids.

I discovered by trial and error .... you have to add the cereal to the liquid very gradually, and stir, stir, stir! Adding it too fast, or all at once, is what makes it lumpy.

[defacto7]

10. I just dump in an over full Tbsp and let it run over it a bit.

Works every time. It's all about whisking anyway.

[Harker]

11. I have a chip on my shoulder.

Not a crisp.

[sl8]

13. Two more measuring options:

1. Use the ½ tablespoon spoon, 5 times.

2. Use the (1) tablespoon spoon 3 times. Using your calibrated eyeball, only fill the 3rd spoon ½ full.

[procon]

14. Tip for no lumps in your CofW:

When the water is at a rolling boil, slowly sprinkle in the CofW while stirring madly. Continue the boil, stirring occasionally until the mixture foams up; be sure to use a bigger pot than you normally would. Cover, reduce to a low simmer and continue cooking as per the instructions. Letting the cereal rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes will make it thicken and improve the flavor.

I never measure. While my cook's eye is pretty good, it's easy enough to adjust the amount of liquid or CofW as desired.

This method works with other fine milled cereals, also grits and polenta.

[CentralMass]

15. That is how i do it as well.

[yellowdogintexas]

16. Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice for that matter are wonderful made with milk

I have not eaten either in ages. Something tells me they are not very WW friendly.