Oatmeal

Oatmeal

Rolled oats, a type of oatmeal
Alternative names	White oats
Type	Porridge
Main ingredients	Oat groats

Oatmeal is made of hulled oat grains – groats – that have either been ground, steel-cut, or rolled. Ground oats are also called "white oats". Steel-cut oats are known as "coarse oatmeal" or "Irish oatmeal" or "pinhead oats". Rolled oats can be either thick or thin, and may be "old-fashioned" or "quick" or "instant". The term "oatmeal" is also used in the U.S., Australia, and parts of Canada as another word for an oat porridge made from either the ground, steel-cut, or rolled oats.

The oat grains are dehusked by impact, then heated and cooled to stabilize the oat groats – the seed inside the husk. The process of heating produces a nutty flavour in the oats. These oat groats may be milled to produce fine, medium or coarse oatmeal. Steel-cut oats may be small and contain broken groats from the dehusking process (these bits may be steamed and flattened to produce smaller rolled oats).

Rolled oats are steamed and flattened whole oat groats. Old-fashioned oats can be thick and take a while to boil to make porridge. Quick-cooking rolled oats (quick oats) are cut into small pieces before being steamed and rolled. Instant oatmeal is precooked and dried, often with a sweetener, such as sugar, and flavourings added.

Both types of rolled oats may be eaten uncooked, as in muesli, or may be cooked with water to make porridge. In some countries, rolled oats are eaten raw with milk and sugar, sometimes with raisins added, like a basic muesli. Porridge is served in many ways. In some Western countries, porridge is served with milk or cream and a sweetener, such as brown sugar. The term "oatmeal" sometimes refers to porridge made from the bran or fibrous husk as well as the oat kernel or groat. Rolled oats are often used as a key ingredient in granola breakfast cereals (in which toasted oats are blended with sugar and/or nuts and raisins) and granola bars.

Rolled oats are also used as an ingredient in oatmeal cookies, oatcakes, British flapjack bars and baked oatmeal dessert dishes such as Apple Brown Betty and Apple Crisp. Oats may also be added to foods as an accent, as in the topping on many oat bran breads and as the coating on Caboc cheese. Oatmeal is also used as a thickening agent in thick, savoury Arabic or Egyptian meat-and-vegetable soups, and sometimes as a way of adding relatively low-cost fibre and nutritional content to meatloaf.