From Wikipedia........Historically, oatmeal was a peasant food traditionally known as porridge. Oatmeal has a long history in Scottish culinary traditions because oats are better suited than wheat to the short, wet growing season. Therefore, it became the staple grain of that country. Ancient Scottish Universities had a holiday called Meal Monday, to permit students to return to their farms and collect more oats for food.In his dictionary definition for oats, Samuel Johnson wrote : "A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people." (Ouch!) Sir Walter Scott is said to have retorted, "Yes, and where else will you see such horses and such men?"
There has been increasing interest in oatmeal in recent years due to its beneficial health effects. Daily consumption of a bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol, due to its soluble fiber content. The popularity of oatmeal and other oat products increased after the January 1997 decision by the American Food and Drug Administration that food with a lot of oat bran or rolled oats can carry a label claiming it may reduce the risk of heart disease, when combined with a low-fat diet. This is because of the beta-glucan in the oats. Rolled oats have also long been a staple of many athletes' diets given oatmeal's high content of complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fiber which encourages slow digestion and stabilises blood-glucose levels. Oatmeal porridge also contains more B vitamins and calories than other kinds of porridge. Cooked oatmeal has a lower GI value (glycemic index) than has uncooked, because cooking releases water-soluble fiber from the grain. These fibers release glucose very slowly. It is important to remember that many types of instant, flavored oatmeal have many artificial additives and quite a bit of sugar.
My recommendation is to buy an old-fashioned bag of oats and follow the directions for porridge on the package; the instructions may differ somewhat based on the type of oats you buy.
Ingredients:
- oats
- salt
- water
- honey or brown sugar
- yogurt or cream or milk
It is difficult to make porridge look appetizing but I gave the bowl that you see in the photo above to my Dad for breakfast and it seemed to appeal to him.
3 comments:
Chef Michael Smith made oatmeal 'apple crisp' deluxe when he added about one half finely chopped apple, a spoon of brown sugar, tsp butter, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and dash of vanilla to his wife's oatmeal as it cooked...I made it last year and it was delicious.
Does anyone else think this oatmeal looks like a mutating single-celled organism?
As I said, porridge is hard to photograph. If you want to see a really scary mutating organism, try Hui's onion bread recipe.(Posted before Christmas).
Post a Comment