Saturday, June 16, 2007

Breakfast Crisis Averted

Choosing the right - in every sense - breakfast cereal is a daily crisis for us all. Do we go for virtue - Kellogg's 190 per cent Vindaloo Bran with senna pods and plum concentrate - or vice - Nestle's Frosted Chocolate Bacon Nuggets with butter and beef dripping? I have, finally found the solution. John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal is so much more than just food, it is an education. The tin alone can keep you occupied for hours. This stuff won gold medals at the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893, at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and at the International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. You will be relieved to hear that it won its Uniformity of Granulation certificate on 28th June 1894, approved by John Boyd Thacher of the Chicago Committee of Awards, and, of course, that it is 'steel cut'. The oats themselves are, naturally, 'the golden heart of Ireland'. This is not a cereal, it is an education; no, it is an anthem. Furthermore, it takes half an hour to cook, giving one plenty of time to think, mutter and write a couple of posts. No doubt about it, you're a good man John McCann.

8 comments:

  1. What a magnificent website - a man cld broswe happily there for hours... It seems these oats require no cowjuice either, just water. That must be good.

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  2. A dash of honey is good, but little more is needed and you are unlikely to want to eat for several weeks afterwards. These oats of old Ireland will change your life, Nige.

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  3. I'm a bit of a gravel and road grit muesli eater, with yoghurt and fruit. Possibly explains why I'm losing my teeth.

    On another matter, Bryan, perhaps our winner's banner is a bit tacky to display on this site. No matter, we'll design another.

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  4. Admiral of the British blog award, ABBA. Or, a shield with cat sinister rampant. Better is the English archer gesture.

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  5. Your ABBA comment floored me, vince! Surely one of Bryan's readers is artistically talented enough to put together a shield for Bryan to display. (BTW, thanks for the recommendations earlier, particularly Rick Stein - much appreciated.)

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  6. The 'golden heart of Ireland' my arse. Meath and Kildare and now traffic-choked suburbs of Dublin. Frankly, I'd rather eat the contents of my hoover bag.

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  7. Seems a bit harsh, Neil - and they can't be any more traffic-clogged than anywhere else.

    My mother's been swearing by these oats for decades (though not since 1894).

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