The Real Reason You Should Save Your Cereal Milk

Thanks to Christina Tosi, we'll never look at cereal milk the same way again. When Tosi launched Milk Bar ⁠— a bakery that now boasts locations from New York to LA to Toronto ⁠— she managed to convey the nostalgia of sweet, childlike joy through sophisticated baking. Birthday cake. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches. And, of course, cereal milk-flavored soft serve — an idea so appealing and iconic that it's spurred a number of copycats (via The Daily Meal).

Tosi was certainly onto something when she turned cereal milk into crave-worthy treats, and not just leftover spoonfuls at the bottom of the bowl, sweetened with sugar and dotted with soggy cornflakes. And a dad in Brooklyn was also onto something when he took his kids' sugary cereal milk and soon discovered the magic of adding it to his coffee (via Lifehacker). Indeed, there's a lot you can do in this fantastical, sweetened dairy world.

Fed-up Dad was pleasantly surprised when he used cereal milk in his morning coffee. Then again, in a world filled with latte flavors like lavender and sweet potato, is cereal milk in your java really so wrong? Recipes have surfaced for cereal milk lattes and cold brews. One recipe calls for prospective baristas to stick cereal and milk in the microwave, pour the strained milk into a jar, and shake the sweetened milk to get that lovely, foamy latte effect (via Spoon University). 

Perhaps the versatility is what makes it so fun: Tosi has used Fruity Pebbles, Lucky Charms, and Cap'n Crunch in her creations. Other latte recipes call for Cocoa Puffs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (via Extra Crispy). We know you'll feel super-satisfied experimenting with different flavors — especially when you notice the pricey cereal-flavored latte at your local coffee house. And, with the photogenic and refreshing whipped coffee inspiring our stay-at-home amateur baristas, why not try a combination of both? 

Meanwhile, Tosi's innovations didn't stop there: she incorporated her trademark cereal milk into creamy panna cotta, a staple at David Chang's Momofuku (via Eater). This opens up a world full of possibilities when it comes to cereal milk: the sweet ingredient can be worked into puddings, poke cakes, eclairs, milkshakes... as Tosi writes herself, cereal milk is "a way of life."