Steel Cut Oats

I love oatmeal.  I can eat it like a normal person these days, but when I was young, the only way I wanted it was each-spoonful-on-a-bite-of-toast.  If the toast was crispy enough, it could serve as the 'spoon'.  When I ran out of toast, I ran out of breakfast - no matter how much delicious (added milk, butter, little bit of sugar) oatmeal was still in the bowl.

(I had a similar eating style with eggs and bacon:  toast with butter and jelly, scrambled eggs spread over the surface, and bacon strips topping that.  Tall and a little messy, but it was so good that it was an event. . . .)

Now I can eat oatmeal ALL BY ITSELF, if I have to.  And now I have even gone so far as to try steel-cut oats.  (Organic, of course).  I had no idea what the difference was, but on the VERY DAY I was giving the oats a try, there was an article in our newspaper describing the differences.

The gist of it is:  rolled oats (Quaker Oats brand style)  are flattened flakes, and the ground (Scottish style) or steel-cut (Irish-style) oats look like grains or pellets.  Because the Irish / Scottish style oats  have not been steamed or heated and rolled, they retain more flavor and texture than the rolled oats.

I tried Archer Farms Organic 100% whole grain Steel Cut Oats.  They were very tasty and filling, but I will most likely be reaching for the 'regular' oats on a 'regular' basis. . . I wasn't SO impressed that I am willing to wait the 30 minutes it took to cook these.  They do offer directions to prepare ahead by soaking overnight; but you basically do half of the cooking the night before, and the second half the morning of.   Besides, my Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats have more fiber and protein, and it's the look and taste I'm used to.

That's all.

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