Why are we here? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Why do you drive on parkways and park on driveways?
These are some of the world’s greatest questions. But for over a year now, I’ve had no time for the likes of them. I’ve been stuck on a more important question: which cereal is the best?
A handful of other websites, including Buzzfeed, Thrillist, and the Huffington Post, have asked the same question, and while these lists were helpful, they were lacking a certain…something: they didn’t address the leftover milk. Which cereal makes for the best milk?
Photo by Gabi Rosenthal
So, I decided to solve this question for myself. I went to ECV (arguably UGA’s nicest dining hall) and tried a bowl of EVERY. CEREAL. THEY OFFERED.
For the sake of science, I tried to keep the conditions consistent throughout the course of the experiment. I used 2% milk in every bowl, and I followed the same tasting routine: I let each bowl “marinade” for three minutes before tasting the milk, and I used water as a palate cleanser between sips. Here’s what I found:
18. Kashi Go Lean Crunch
This was utter garbage. Just trash. It was about a 3 (out of 10) on the sweetness scale, and it had this odd flavor to it…maybe gin? Never again Kashi. Never. Again.
17. Corn Flakes
Plain. This milk tasted like corn chips and milk. It wasn’t gross (only Kashi was gross), but it wasn’t good. I expected nothing from Corn Flakes, and Corn Flakes didn’t let me down.
16. Cheerios (plain)
Photo by Gabi Rosenthal
Similar to Corn Flakes, but grainier. Corn Flakes tasted like (duh) corn, and this milk tastes like toasted oats. Zero out of 10 on the sweetness scale.
15. Rice Krispies
Very slight sweetness on this one. Tasted like toasted rice with just the faintest hint of sugar. Maybe a 1 out of 10 on the sweet scale.
14. Frosted Mini Wheats
Much sweeter than I remembered, 4 out of 10. Tasted like grain and powdered sugar, which I’m pretty sure are the main ingredients. Something in the miniature wheats seemed to thicken the milk a bit. It was disconcerting.
13. Life
Jeez man, I had the wrong impression about life. I thought it was healthy! It’s called Life for Pete’s sake!! But this is some sugary stuff with 6 out of 10 sweetness. It tasted like a spoon of sugar in milk. So it was ok.
12. Kix
Very mild sweetness, maybe a 1 out of 10. Tastes like an actual cob of corn. I liked it well enough.
11. Corn Chex
Something about this, the plainness, the wholesomeness, the nostalgia, made me really enjoy Corn Chex. It tasted like fresh toasted corn and wholesome farm raised milk. Good stuff.
10. Froot Loops
Photo by Gabi Rosenthal
Insanely sweet. Like 9 out of 10 on the sugar scale. This milk will give you diabetes if you drink enough of it. The mild “frootiness” was pleasant. Not overwhelming.
9. Frosted Flakes
As sugary as the Froot Loops, but the lack of artificial “froot” flavor helped its rank: 9 out of 10 on the sweetness scale. Good overall.
8. Reese’s Puffs
ECV’s lone chocolate flavored cereal. However, this lacked any real chocolate flavor. This milk tasted similar to peanut butter Combos, but sweeter. It gets a 3 out of 10 on the sweetness scale.
7. Special K with Strawberries
Photo by Gabi Rosenthal
Now may be a good time to confess that I’m not a huge fan of sweets. I realize they have their place, but in my opinion sweet is not the most important component of cereal. That being said, Special K with Strawberries had just enough sugar to make it pleasant, and the strawberry flavor was great compared to “froot” flavors.
6. Honey Nut Cheerios
Heart healthy never tasted so good. It was a 5 on the sweetness scale, and (like it claims) rather nutty. Toasted grain flavor nearly overpowers the sugar.
5. Lucky Charms
Tastes like grains and marshmallows. Really great. Maybe a 4 on the sweet scale, which is somewhat surprising.
4. Hidden Valley Oats n’ Honey Granola
Photo by Gabi Rosenthal
The wild card. Who’s actually heard of this stuff? I hadn’t, but I’m a believer. 4 of 10 on the sugar scale. The milk has caramel notes, and it has a hint of toasted bread.
3. Raisin Bran Crunch
This is my favorite cereal, so it would make sense that I enjoy the milk it leaves. IF you’ve never had it, don’t let the word bran fool you. This stuff is sugary, probably a 7 out of 10, and you can really taste the raisins in the milk.
2. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
This was the heavily favored champion going into this test. Everyone loves the milk from this stuff, and for good reason. Not too sweet (5 of 10) and pleasantly cinnamon flavored, they should probably just sell Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk in cartons instead of Peeps milk.
1. Cap’n Crunch Original
Photo by Gabi Rosenthal
The clear winner and champion. 6 out of 10 on the sweetness scale. This milk has caramel and vanilla notes that really won me over. After the tests were over, I had a whole bowl of this stuff. I HIGHLY suggest it.
Love cereal? Looking for more cereal stories? Look no further: