Porridge

Porridge is a semi-solid food created by soaking, poaching, or boiling ground, crushed, or chopped starchy plants—most often grain—in milk or water. It serves as a traditional staple in many countries. Alternative spellings include porage (now obsolete in the United Kingdom), parritch (used in Scotland and Northern England), and parrige (found in Scotland and the Caribbean).

Porridge is frequently cooked or served with added flavorings like salt, sugar, honey, fruit, jam, or syrup. It can also be mixed with spices, fish, meat, or vegetables to create a savory dish. Depending on its thickness, it is usually served hot in a bowl or pot.

Many varieties have their own names. Oat porridge is called oatmeal in North America and is one of the most common types. Others include polenta (made from maize), poi (from taro), gruel (a thinner oat porridge), congee (an Asian savory rice porridge), and brose and crowdie (Scottish uncooked porridges made from oats and water).

In British English—used in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand—the term "porridge" specifically refers to oat porridge, made from rolled oats or oatmeal cooked in water and/or milk. It is traditionally eaten for breakfast with salt, sugar, honey, jam, whisky, plant milks, milk, cream, and/or butter. Popular 21st-century toppings include syrup, seeds, nuts, and chocolate.

Other grains used for porridge include rice, maize, wheat (as in frumenty), barley, corn, triticale, and buckwheat. Porridge can be eaten at any meal of the day and is common as a snack or as breakfast, lunch, or dinner across many cultures.

Unenriched porridge (as oatmeal), cooked by boiling or microwave, is 84% water, with 12% carbohydrates (including 2% dietary fiber) and 2% each of protein and fat. In a 100-gram reference amount, cooked porridge provides 71 calories and 26% of the Daily Value for manganese, with no other micronutrients in significant amounts.

A 2014 review found that daily intake of at least 3 grams of oat beta-glucan lowers total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by 5–10% in people with normal or elevated blood cholesterol. Beta-glucan works by inhibiting cholesterol production, though the reduction is greater in those with higher total and LDL cholesterol. In 2015, the U.S.