Oatmeal is a product made by processing oats.

In North America, oatmeal means any crushed oats, rolled oats, or cut oats used in recipes such as oatmeal cookies. The porridge made from this is also called oatmeal or oatmeal cereal. However in other parts of the English-speaking world, oatmeal means coarsely ground oats (cf cornmeal, wheatmeal, peasemeal, etc.).

Breakfast cereal

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Quaker Oats is the United States' leading maker of oatmeal.

There has been increasing interest in oatmeal in recent years due to its beneficial health effects. Studies have shown that daily consumption of a bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol. After reports found that oats can help lower cholesterol, an "oat bran craze" swept the U.S. in the late 1980s, peaking in 1989. The food fad was short-lived and faded by the early 1990s. The popularity of oatmeal and other oat products again increased after the January 1997 decision by the 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, especially weight trainers', given Oatmeal's high content of complex carbohydrates and fiber which encourage slow digestion and stable blood-glucose levels.

Some of the items added to oatmeal porridge to enhance its flavour include salt, sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, flax, butter or margarine, milk or cream, diced apples, raisins, dates, nuts, peanut butter, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches and cinnamon.

Oatmeal in Scotland

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In Scotland, oatmeal is created by grinding oats into a coarse powder. Various grades are available depending on the thoroughness of the grinding, including Coarse, Pin(head) and Fine oatmeal. The main uses are:

• as an ingredient in baking
• in the manufacture of bannocks or oatcakes
• as a stuffing for poultry
• as a coating for Caboc cheese
• as the main ingredient of the Scottish dish, skirlie, or its chip-shop counterpart, the nutrient-dense deep-fried thickly-battered mealy pudding
• mixed with sheep's blood, salt, and pepper to make Highland black pudding
• mixed with fat, water, onions and seasoning, and boiled in a sheep's intestine to make "marag geal"' Outer Hebridean white pudding, served sliced with fried eggs at breakfast.
• Traditional porridge (or "porage")
• Brose: a thick mixture made with uncooked oatmeal and butter or cream; eaten like porridge but much more filling.

Rolled oats, crushed oats, and other "instant" variations are often used for this purpose nowadays, since they are quicker to prepare; however, these preparations are much inferior in flavour and texture to the traditional dish, which requires but a little patience to prepare: For each person, put 1/2 pint of cold water in a suitable sized pot over a medium heat. Add salt, to taste, at any stage. Begin stirring clockwise with a wooden spoon or stirring stick (a "spurtle"). At the same time, drizzle in one to two handfuls of good medium oatmeal (not rolled) per person. Continue stirring until mixture has thickened, then leave to cook on lowest heat for 10 minutes. Serve in smallish bowls, with cups of cold milk on the side (i.e. Outer Hebridean style). Eat by taking a half-spoonful of hot porridge, then dipping up the cold milk. There exists a Scottish Mainland tradition that porridge should be supped standing up, which would make the milk-dipping method mentioned above harder to manage.

• Gruel

Gruel is made by mixing oatmeal with cold water which is then strained and heated for the benefit of babes and invalids.

Oatmeal has a long history in Scottish society because oats are better suited to the short, wet growing season in Scotland than wheat. Hence it became the staple grain of that country, and is widely agreed to be superior to wheat in healthfulness and nutrition.

Samuel Johnson referred, disparagingly, to this in his dictionary definition for oats:

A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.

To which his biographer, James Boswell, is said to have retorted

Which is why England is known for its horses and Scotland for its men.

Miscellaneous

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Oatmeal is used in some alcoholic drinks, cosmetics, soaps, and external medical treatments. It is also used as a thickener in some brands of canned chili con carne.

Oatmeal, Texas, a small community 40 miles northwest of Austin, honors the breakfast staple in an annual festival.

External links

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• World Porridge Making Championships including recipes for porridge and other oatmeal dishes
• The Cook's Thesaurus (with pictures of variety of oatmeals)

Breakfast cereals

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