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Kellogg’s Say Their New Cereal Never Gets Soggy, So I Tested It At 5, 10, 20, And 30 Minutes

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Recently, Kellogg’s released an all-new brand of cereal ― Oaties, available in plain and chocolate flavours ― which carried a Willy Wonka-unmeltable-ice-cream-level claim.

“Each bowl,” the company asserted, “is filled with crispy, crunchy
pillows of wholegrain oats that have been lovingly crafted to stay crunchy in milk.”

Apparently, food scientists spent months achieving the miraculous bite. The product’s tagline ― “it’s crunch time!” ― doubles down on the sog-free promise.

This, I told myself, was a case for the emptiest journalistic minds of our generation (mine). So, I thought I’d get my hands on a box, cover its contents in milk, and try it at five, 10, 15, 20, and 30-minute intervals.

And, because I take my duty seriously, let me start off with proof I really, really dunked those bad boys:

The writer dunking all the cereal which had floated to the top of the bowl under the milk with a spoon

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

The writer dunking all the cereal which had floated to the top of the bowl under the milk with a spoon

You’re welcome.

1) After five minutes

A bowl of the Oaties cereal after 5 minutes

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

A bowl of the Oaties cereal after 5 minutes

I left the bowl of submerged cereal on the side for five minutes.

I’ll be honest ― approaching the abandoned bowl made me arrogant. “Aha!” I thought. “Those are definitely some softer outsides.”

That was true ― the first half-millimetre of the cereal had expanded and softened after a five-minute lactose jacuzzi.

But that was all. A bite revealed that the real crunchiness of this cereal lies in its centre ― there was almost no give in the rest of the pillows.

I was confused but intrigued.

2) After 10 minutes

The same cereal bowl after ten minutes

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

The same cereal bowl after ten minutes

I was pretty surprised to note that the topmost cereals, despite my previous dunking, had remained mostly dry at this stage.

Not much to report at the ten-minute mark; a note I took in my phone read: “exactly the same as five minutes.”

Anticlimactic, but consistent.

3) After 20 minutes

The same bowl of cereal after 20 minutes

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

The same bowl of cereal after 20 minutes

At this point, I did start to notice (and taste) a difference in texture.

About a fifth of the outside layer of the cereal was soft now, and they looked fuzzier and lumpier in the milk.

But lo and behold ― the middle part was still strong and crunchy (more on that later).

I started to wonder how these shells became so impermeable. An incredulous peek at the ingredients list returned nothing suspicious ― just oat, corn, and wheat flour with sugars and fortifiers.

4) After 30 minutes

The same bowl of cereal after half an hour

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

The same bowl of cereal after half an hour

The most-dunked pillows in the bowl had definitely become softer on their outsides, even including their corners (which had more or less all stayed stiff ’til now).

But if you look at the bowl, you’ll see the outermost layer still remained unsoaked. And even a bite of the “soggiest” centre pices revealed a bone-dry, still-crunchy inside.

The cross-section of an Oatie cereal that had soaked for 30 minutes in milk reveals that while its outer layer is soft, the inside is hard and crunchy

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

The cross-section of an Oatie cereal that had soaked for 30 minutes in milk reveals that while its outer layer is soft, the inside is hard and crunchy

I do not know how it’s done (though I’m on the case).

Nor do I (plot twist) particularly like crunchy cereals ― I love soggy ones.

But if you’re in the firm camp, we were pretty surprised by how well these (literally and figuratively) held up.

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Sky News Presenter Makes Painfully Obvious Point As Tories Slam Labour’s Defence Budget

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Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost called out a Tory MP for criticising the government’s defence spending today.

Keir Starmer is facing additional pressure on national security as Donald Trump is pushing to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The UK has already said it would send peacekeeping troops to protect Ukraine if an agreement was reached – but that declaration has only exacerbated existing concerns over the lack of investment in defence.

Labour has also promised to hike defence spending from its current rate of 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% although it is yet to offer a clear timeline.

But, when shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns slammed the prime minister for not increasing investment in the sector sooner this morning on Sky News, she received a bleak reminder.

The MP began by claiming Starmer’s “priority today should be to talk about defence spending” – something she said should have in place “since July”.

But presenter Frost quickly hit back: “I mean, you’re trying to criticise the state of defence spending, [seven] months into their government when this is a long-term issue after 14 years in power.”

After almost a decade and a half of Conservative government, defence spending in real terms fell to £53.9bn during their last full year in power, 2023-24.

That’s less than the last full year Labour was last in power, 2009-10, when defence spending was at £57.1bn.

But Kearns hit back: “I’ve always been very clear. I was critical of my own government, but the reality is 2.3% of defence is what we’ve been spending, that is a good amount, and we’ve been investing in the right equipment.”

She added: “But what I’m saying is, since July, a decision was made to side with the Treasury to not give the increase in defence spending we need to continue to replenish stocks, replenishing stocks should be the priority.”

She said that was necessary in case the UK needed to provide peacekeepers to Ukraine.

“I will continue to stand with Ukraine, but I will continue to speak out as I have done from the moment I was elected, to make sure we defend our security,” Kearns said.

The Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also criticised Labour’s defence spending today.

Speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference, she said: “Failing to spend more on defence isn’t peace-making, it is weakness, and it only emboldens their threats to democracy and global stability.”

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Here’s Alicia Kearns(Tory MP) complaining that the govt haven’t increased defence spending since July.

Wilfred Frost: You’re trying to criticise the state of defence spending, 6 months into their govt, when this is a long-term issue after 14 years in power? pic.twitter.com/o5FJTXsW4u

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) February 17, 2025

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Wilfred Frost: You’re trying to criticise the state of defence spending, 6 months into their govt, when this is a long-term issue after 14 years in power? pic.twitter.com/o5FJTXsW4u— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) February 17, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":544,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1891407836736851969/pu/img/ZAJrJY1G-hc8517Y.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":864,"title":"Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1891407905406046523","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"67b322fee4b0cd020cc29138","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/sky-presenter-slams-tories-over-criticism-of-defence-budget_uk_67b322fee4b0cd020cc29138","entryTagsList":"conservative-party,defence,alicia-kearns","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":14},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"67b322fee4b0cd020cc29138","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"conservative party","slug":"conservative-party","links":{"relativeLink":"news/conservative-party","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/conservative-party","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/conservative-party"},"relegenceId":3696340,"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Conservative Party","slug":"conservative-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/conservative-party/"},{"name":"defence","slug":"defence","links":{"relativeLink":"news/defence","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/defence","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/defence"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/defence/"},{"name":"Alicia Kearns","slug":"alicia-kearns","links":{"relativeLink":"news/alicia-kearns","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/alicia-kearns","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/alicia-kearns"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/alicia-kearns/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

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Here’s Alicia Kearns(Tory MP) complaining that the govt haven’t increased defence spending since July.

Wilfred Frost: You’re trying to criticise the state of defence spending, 6 months into their govt, when this is a long-term issue after 14 years in power? pic.twitter.com/o5FJTXsW4u

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) February 17, 2025

Kearns also said we “all have to worry” Trump will let Ukraine down.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said: “I think we all have to worry because the world has let down Ukraine consistently throughout its history. I mean, whether it was Yalta, whether it’s the last of years, whether it’s when Georgia was invaded.

“I was in Ukraine ten days before the renewed illegal invasion almost three years ago. And I sat there as German and French ambassadors told me that our intelligence assessments were absolutely wrong and that Putin wasn’t going to invade.

“We always seem to take Putin at his word and we always underestimate Ukrainians. I don’t understand how we keep repeating the same mistakes.”

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