Anyone know? When the weather gets colder, I want a nice warm breakfast that's easy to prepare.

It's a common lament among Nordics and myself that Germans and, apparently, the Swiss, don't "do" hot cereals very much. You won't find farina here or in Southern Germany though you *might* find it in France. Your best bet is Denmark and points north. I think you can also buy cream of wheat in the online expat shops but at a price that might be a bit too painful to bear.

I find it hard to believe that Semolina is not around...I'm sure I've seen it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semolina

I'm guessing 'farina' is not that different to 'semolina' - finer than couscous - my mum used to serve it up cooked in water or milk, with a dollop of cream and honey or brown sugar on the top...made from wheat....

Is it similar to 'Griess' ?
http://www.leshop.ch/leshop/Main.do/...Search/griess/

No problem finding polenta, couscous, tabouleh - you just want something a little finer...

Actually, the closest I've seen is marketed as baby food:
http://www.leshop.ch/leshop/Main.do/...e/Search/brei/

Oh, and it seems the Indians have a similar product, so maybe I can track it down on the next shopping tour at the Indian grocery store...

http://www.vegetarian-cooking-recipe...-of-wheat.html

I know it's not the same, but I like making oatmeal for breakfast during the colder months. It's called "vollkorn haferflocken" here -- something like that.

1 cup of that plus 2 cups water and/or milk. Throw in some raisins and cinnamon. Bring it to a bubbly boil while stirring VERY often until it has the consistency of mush.

Sprinkle it with some butter and brown sugar (which you can buy at Jelmoli) and voila!.

Hope you can find your Cream of Wheat, though.

Try asking in a Reformhaus,

http://yellow.local.ch/en/q/Reformhaus.html?rid=K6T_

You can say that again. Last winter, I suggested to my officemates that we make oatmeal for breakfast (we always do breakfast together). They looked at me like I was off my rocker. I could just as well have suggested serving rotten fish.

I think I'll do it this winter anyway. They've probably never had good oatmeal.

Good idea, but keep the rotten fish option open. They may not like the oats.

Well, cool. Thank you, everyone for the suggestions. I am going to take a look around for Farina, as well as oats (both are staples in my house!) at some of the expat shops. Worst comes to worst, we are going home for a visit around Christmas, so I will pick up a few boxes in the U.S. to bring back!

This might be the closest thing I've seen so far.

I picked up a recipe from Coop once, always willing to try "new" things... one of the ingredients listed was "hartweizengriess" which, it turns out, is cream of wheat.

I think I found it next to the polenta and such, while oatmeal tends to be near the cereals.


For oatmeal, they do have some different types of flakes, so it depends how you like yours. I sometimes like to go the easy route and simply get some granola type cereal and soften it in hot milk, there are a few brands of these cereals, it's about as close to "instant" oatmeal as it comes without going to the expat shops.

From the page Swisspea linked to the Migros home shop (LeShop.ch), I see you can also purchase it pre-made from Emmi, as Griess Köpfli, which is "hard" cooked so it stands up in a mound if turned out of the bowl / mold, or as Griess Töpfli which looks more like a cereal.

You cant be serious, you cannot find Semolina here in Switzerland?? Either you are looking for another variety of Semolina, but the cream of wheat we get in South Africa is available here in all Supermarkets

To the OP and the others did you ever try asking for Greissbrei at the local super?

Coop has an extremely fine semolina in the baby section, which cooks in 5mins, though I do find Migros brand to be bit too unprocessed for my liking.

Here are pics, of the Zwicky brand, and the brand found in Migros. Sorry I cant find a photo of the baby brei from Coop, but check in the baby food section, its a slender plastic bag

OMG, go to the local supermarket, everyone has it

Found both.

Coop Banhofbrucke in Zurich.

Thanks for the help everyone. In hindsight, my main issue seemed to be the translation. Once I knew what it was called, it was right there.

Interesting as I've not found it at some of the bigger shops around were I live. Have you tried cooking some yet? I'm wondering if it's ground finely enough and sifted. It might take some getting used to in terms of cooking time. I'd be interested to know how it works out.

Not yet. I'm waiting for a good, cold morning. I'll post how it works out.

Do, as I miss it, too. One cool thing you might want to try, is using some cranberry juice when cooking it and then whipping it with a mixer for a few minutes while it's still steaming. It has an amazingly light and fluffy texture.

I still wonder, though, why the hot cereals aren't really done in central Europe. It's curious.

I agree. I eat these, and I'm from Florida, where it doesn't even really get cold. It really sticks to your ribs and warms you up before heading out into the weather, which would seem like something people would want here where you actually have a winter!

Poptart, this is the one I get from Coop. Thinking about it, I think it is with the baking supplies at my regular shop, rather than near the polenta as I'd first thought, or near the other cereals.



When I cook it, I want to say I treat it like rice, 1c stuffs to 2c water and a pinch of salt in the water. I just guessed though, maybe it's not the right way to cook it - I wasn't bothered, I put milk and butter and sugar (or maple syrup, or brown sugar, or, or...) in mine so having it perfect on the stove isn't a big thing, as long as it's not burnt.

I found it on the Coop@Home site through the "Grains and Dried Veg" section, maybe if you're having a tough time finding in your stores, you can bring a printout of the pictures and they can help? I know the layout isn't necessarily the same from store to store, so maybe yours has it in a funky spot rather than not having it.

Same one I got.