Oatmeal
A versatile oat preparation used in porridge, baking, and more.
Oatmeal is made from oat grains that have had their husks removed, then steamed and flattened, or from hulled oat groats ground into a coarse flour. The ground version is sometimes called white oats. Steel-cut oats go by names like coarse oatmeal, Irish oatmeal, or pinhead oats. Rolled oats were originally the thick, old-fashioned kind, but they can be made thinner or smaller; depending on the oat size and how much precooking they’ve had, they may be labeled quick oatmeal or instant oatmeal, which affects cooking time.
In industrial processing, oat grains are dehusked by impact, then heated and cooled to stabilize the groats inside. These groats can be milled into fine, medium, or coarse oatmeal. For rolled oats, the groats are steamed, passed through a flaking roller, and dried. Old-fashioned rolled oats come from whole groats and tend to be thick, needing longer cooking. Quick-cooking rolled oats start from steel-cut oats and are rolled thinner. Instant oatmeal uses even more finely cut oats, rolled thinner still, and often includes sweeteners and flavorings.
All types of rolled oats can be eaten raw, as in muesli, or cooked with water or milk to make porridge. In some places, they’re eaten raw or toasted with milk and sugar, sometimes with raisins. The word “oatmeal” can also refer to porridge made from the bran or fibrous husk, not just the kernel. Rolled oats are a key ingredient in granola, where they’re toasted with sugar, nuts, and raisins, and in granola bars. They also appear in oatmeal cookies, oatcakes, British flapjack bars, and baked desserts like apple Brown Betty and apple crisp. Oats can be used as a topping on oat bran breads or as a coating for Caboc cheese. In savory dishes, oatmeal thickens Arabic or Egyptian meat-and-vegetable soups, and it’s sometimes added to meatloaf for fiber and nutrition.
Cooked oatmeal (boiled or microwaved, unenriched) is 84% water, with 12% carbohydrates (including 2% dietary fiber), and 2% each of protein and fat. A 100-gram serving provides 71 calories and 29% of the daily value for manganese, plus moderate amounts of phosphorus and zinc (11% DV each), with no other significant micronutrients.
In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled that eating oat bran or whole rolled oats can lower heart disease risk when part of a low-fat diet, due to beta-glucan reducing blood cholesterol. The European Fo
- type
- Food preparation
- main_ingredient
- Oats (groats)
- varieties
- Rolled oats, steel-cut oats, ground oatmeal, instant oatmeal
- common_uses
- Porridge, muesli, granola, oatcakes, thickening agent
- notable_regions
- Ireland, Scotland, Staffordshire, Netherlands, Nordic countries, United States, Nigeria
Quick Facts
- Main Ingredient
- Oat groats
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Oatmeal has a long history in Scottish culinary tradition because oats are better suited than wheat to the country's low temperatures and high humidity. As a result, oats became the staple grain of Scotland. The ancient universities of Scotland had a holiday called Meal Monday to permit students to return to their farms and collect more oats for food. 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.' His biographer, James Boswell, noted that Lord Elibank was said by Sir Walter Scott to have retorted, 'Yes, and where else will you see such horses and such men?'
Reader's Guide
Oatmeal's significance lies in its role as a staple food across multiple cultures, particularly in regions where oats thrive over other grains. In Ireland, stirabout—a thin oatmeal soup—was a cheap, easily prepared food served in institutions like prisons and workhouses. In Scotland, oatmeal is used in traditional dishes such as porridge, brose, bannocks, oatcakes, haggis, and black pudding. The industrial preparation of oatmeal involves dehusking, steaming, and flattening or milling oats into various forms—rolled, steel-cut, or ground—which determine cooking time and texture. Nutritionally, cooked oatmeal is 84% water and provides 71 Calories per 100 grams, with notable manganese content. Health effects include a 1997 FDA ruling that consuming oat bran or whole rolled oats can lower heart disease risk when combined with a low-fat diet, and a 2023 review found oat consumption can significantly lower blood pressure. Regional variations include Staffordshire oatcakes, Dutch havermoutpap, and Nigerian zimbuleh.
Did You Know?
- Steel-cut oats are also known as coarse oatmeal, Irish oatmeal, or pinhead oats.
- In 1863, children in Irish workhouses received stirabout made of half oats and half cornmeal for breakfast.
- Samuel Johnson's dictionary defined oats as 'a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.'
- A 2023 review found that oat consumption can significantly lower blood pressure.
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