The taste of nostalgia
Words: Kris Seto | Photos: Samantha Goh
If you were anything like me as a child, your favourite food groups were fats, oils and sweets. And one of your all-time guilty pleasures? Lapping the leftover milk from the bottom of a bowl of cereal. Everyone knows the taste – it’s that slightly sweet, kind of starchy, hint of corn, milk flavour.
As a kid, I remember sipping the edge of my cereal bowl and loving every last drop – the sugar kissed milk having been nectarised by the marshmallows of my Lucky Charms, or off my Frosted Flakes. Nothing accompanied my Saturday morning cartoons better than the taste of that sweet finale. For many – myself included – this has become a forgotten memory of the past, replaced by, unfortunately, more adult appropriate alternatives such as granola milk (mehh) or plain yoghurt (probiotic nonsense). It’s a relic that’s been washed away with the days of our childhood.
Forgotten, perhaps, but not lost, thanks to award winning New York City chef Christina Tosi, of the desserts-only Momofuku Milk Bar. Tosi has successfully captured and bottled this nostalgia at her easygoing East Village bakery by creating her own version of Cereal Milk™, which has garnered a cult like following along with her other notable new staples, including ‘crack pie’ (aptly named since it’s now widely considered a gateway drug) and ‘ultra moist cake truffles’ (‘pineapple upside down’ is a personal favourite). Surprisingly, Tosi’s simple recipe (milk, corn flakes, brown sugar and a pinch of salt) was not part of her intended plan.
On the eve of the highly anticipated opening of Momofuku Ko, Tosi was faced with a broken freezer and an empty dessert menu. Thinking quickly, she ran to the nearest 24-hour deli, followed her instincts and drew inspiration from old botched attempts to create cornbread infused milk while at wd~50. That night, Cereal Milk™ was born…
(To read more, order Cereal volume one here)
An ice cream shop in Portland, OR, Salt and Straw, just came out with a limited edition flavor similar to this. The base was a cereal milk flavor with hand picked Lucky Charms marshmallows mixed in. It was a dream.
the photography is so inspiring and delicious– my brain is cranking hard on ideas to contribute
It’s nice and surprisingly unusual to see beautiful art direction online.
Where is Cereal magazine for sale in NYC?
I love to take a look at virtual magazine. I am in London and I would like to get a copy of Cereal Magazine … I’ll be back Saturday for Brazil and wanted to take it.
Congratulations and thank you
Eu adorei dar uma olhada na revista virtual. Estou em Londres e gostaria de obter um exemplar da Cereal Magazine.. Volto sábado para o Brasil e queria leva-la.
Parabéns e obrigada
I love to take a look at virtual magazine. I am in London and I would like to get a copy of Cereal Magazine … I’ll be back Saturday for Brazil and wanted to take it.
Congratulations and thank you