Porridge Facts

Nearly every American recognizes this man, the Quaker man used as the logo of the oatmeal company. Even outside the USA, this friendly face beckons people to stock up on oatmeal.

What is oatmeal? Why is it important to us? How do they make it so we can simply add hot water? When is Oatmeal Month? What else can we do with oatmeal besides use it for breakfast cereal?

Oatmeal month is January of each year. That is the cold month in the northern hemisphere, the month for having hot cereal for the beginning of the day.

It seems inconceivable that 80% of American families have oatmeal in their kitchen cabinets. No, it is NOT an old-people's food.

Quaker Oatmeal was the first breakfast cereal in the USA to have a registered trademark. It was also the first to offer trial-size packages. The trademark logo of the Quaker man has been updated only three times since 1877 when it first hit the market.

How do they make it? After the hull has been removed from the oat grain, it is called a groat. The old-fashioned oatmeal has had the groat steamed and rolled but not cut. On a stovetop, the old-fashioned oats that I grew up on takes five minutes to cook in boiling water. The quick groats that are ready to eat in a minute or less are groats that have been cut into three pieces (more or less) and steamed and rolled. This is the kind that I have nearly every morning nowadays.

Most people add milk to the cooked porridge (oatmeal). I usually make mine with hot water, milk powder and sugar. I use the instant variety.

What else can be done with oatmeal? Of course, oatmeal cookies are made with it. Some people also use it to make a bread. It makes a nice filler for meatloaf to keep it from being too wet.

Oats was one of the first cereals to be cultivated by humans. In China as far back as 7000 BC, oats was being raised as a food crop. As far as being made into a porridge, which is what oatmeal actually is, the ancient Greeks were the first to do it.

My favorite breakfast is oatmeal, a couple slices of crisp bacon and orange juice or hot tea. Breakfast has become my favorite meal of the day.