A lot of people think the best part of a cereal breakfast (or dinner if you’re on the Kellogg’s CEO’s recommended diet) is the sweet milk that’s leftover at the bottom of the bowl. In 2006, Christina Tosi became one of the first people to capitalize on that affinity when she developed a cereal-flavored milk for recipes at David Chang’s Momofuku; her trendy bakery Milk Bar still serves a cereal milk-flavored soft serve ice cream. Naturally, cereal brands have gotten in on the action: You can buy milk flavored like Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But, hey, what about the vegans and the lactose intolerant? Chobani just released a limited-batch oat milk that all cereal lovers can enjoy: Chobani Cereal Oatmilk. Does it successfully cut out the crunchy middleman? We tasted it to find out.
This stuff is a bit puzzling. When I first tasted it, I was like, oh wait, maybe it’s not supposed to taste like post-cereal milk—maybe it’s simply a sweet oat milk designed to eat with cereal to make things like bran flakes and Cheerios taste more delicious. Our designer Liv thought it tasted like animal crackers. Our intern Madison described it as “a little nutty.” I think it tastes like maple syrup in milk. I confirmed via Chobani’s website that it is, in fact, intended to taste like “bottom-of-the-cereal-bowl delicious” cereal milk, but that didn’t come through on first taste.
Pros: Chobani Cereal Oatmilk, like all Chobani oat milk, is very creamy and delicious. It’s sweet, complex, and pleasing to sip. I genuinely like it. And, like I said, I think it would taste really good with a bland cereal, like Cheerios or bran flakes.
Cons: I just can’t put my finger on what cereal it’s supposed to taste like. Does it even taste like cereal? Full disclosure: I’ve never had cereal milk ice cream from Milk Bar (even though I live, like, two miles from the Melrose store). Maybe this is a spot-on vegan version! But, blindfolded, I just don’t think I would identify it as cereal milk.
Gwynedd Stuart, Sporked’s managing editor, is an L.A.-based writer and editor who spends way, way too much time at the grocery store. She’s never met an Old El Paso taco or mozzarella stick she didn’t like.
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