Oatmeal 101

Is oatmeal foreign to you? Are you confused by some of the lingo or instructions I use in my posts? Check these FAQ to learn a little bit about all the quirks I've developed in the kitchen!

What's the difference between steel cut and...?
Oats come in many forms. Here's a rundown of all the oats I use on this blog:

• Rolled/Old-Fashioned: These are the "standard" that most people use to make oatmeal, at least in the United States. They take approximately 5-8 minutes to cook, and they create a pleasant texture that's more flakey than instant oats but less chewy than steel-cut.

• Quick: Quick oats have been ground more than old-fashioned oats, so they cook in about 1-2 minutes. They differ slightly from "instant" oats, which comes in packets and is practically a powder. However, sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. I like using quick oats to make oat bran for my oatcakes and my oat muffins.
• Steel-Cut: These differ drastically from quick and rolled oats because they don't appear as flakes. They look like little pinheads and take approximately 20 minutes to prepare. Despite their chunky appearance, after simmering for nearly half an hour, they take on a surprisingly creamy--yet chewy--texture.

• Quick Cook Steel-Cut: These are a new favorite of mine! They look similar to steel-cut but have been ground down a little more, just enough so that it has a similar "chew" to steel-cut oats, but it cooks in only 5 minutes. I worship this cut of oats because it makes some incredibly creamy porridge!

Flax and Chia?
I always mark this as optional in my recipes, and I imagine most people take me up on the offer to forego it. Flax has a wonderful nutty taste that is especially wonderful in porridge with cinnamon and other earthy flavors (e.g. Apple Cinnamon). I use milled flax, flax seeds, or a mixture of the two! Chia seeds are insanely nutritious and help oatmeal gel together, so it's really great for overnight oatmeal or recipes that aren't naturally creamy. Sometimes, I use chia seeds instead of flax. However, flax is about 10,000 times cheaper than chia, so I generally stick to flax. :)

Half Almond Milk, Half Water?
I once saw a European comment on a food blog once about how strange Americans are for cooking their oats in water. She viewed this as evidence of our self-hatred. This made me laugh (and think), but here's the thing: almond milk is expensive! By mixing it with half water, I can essentially double my supply. Plus, almond milk (and most nondairy milks) is pretty thick, so watering it down isn't a problem. Feel free to just use more milk whenever I list water in the recipe.

1/2 an Apple/Banana/Whatever?
Whenever I write to use half a fruit, I always imagine people reading it and thinking, "WTF?! What do I do with the other half??" Well, if you haven't learned by now, I'm really cheap. Because I've committed to more expensive higher quality food, I've had to save money in other ways--watering down my almond milk, buying overripe bananas in bulk, and only using half a fruit at a time. For bananas, I slice up the remainder and add it to a bag in the freezer, which I use later to make banana soft serve. For apples and grapefruit, I store the other half in a Glad container in the fridge. The next morning, I have another half an apple waiting for me! You might be thinking, "But apples brown when you cut them!!" Relax. They work great for oatmeal. You're just cooking them again, anyway! And they don't actually brown that much, in my experience.

Not convinced? Go ahead and use the full fruit. :)

"Add Another Splash of Milk?"
Splashing some milk over your finished oatmeal serves three purposes: it cools it down so you can eat it without burning yourself, adds one more source of creaminess and milky flavor, and moistens it up again, especially if you accidentally overcooked your oats. From an aesthetic perspective, it also makes your breakfast look more appealing. :) So don't skip the splash!

No sugar?
Sugar is for ninnies. I "quit" instant flavored oatmeal because of the sugar content (and artificial flavors), so white, refined sugar is one thing I never add to my porridge. Occasionally, I'll add maple syrup, but that's more for its flavor than its sweetness. If you're not hardcore like me, feel free to add some sugar, but please, for the love of Michael Buble, do not use Splenda on any of my recipes--nothing would offend me more!

How do I make more than a single serving?
For most stove-top recipes, this simply requires you to double/triple/quadruple/etc. everything. Baked recipes are a little more complicated. Start with an 8x8 pan, multiply everything by 4, but don't add all the liquid at once. Add it little by little until it reaches the right consistency. Increase the baking time to 25-30 minutes.

Your bakeware?
I have two white ramekins and one red one. The white ones are both single-serving, but one is 8 oz. and the other is 6 oz. My red ramekin is the Le Creuset brand, and I highly recommend it simply because it's FREAKIN' GORGEOUS. It's called a "Petite Casserole" dish and it's wonderful. :)

When baking multiple servings of oatmeal, I use an embarrassingly cheap and standard 8x8 brownie pan. I bought it from ShopRite the day after I moved to New Jersey so I would have something to bake my Peanut Butter and Banana Baked Oatmeal. It hasn't done me wrong yet!

Any other bakeware you've seen are typically dishes I borrowed from other people. For example, many of my mom's ramekins have featured in photos I've taken at her house.