page_title: Porridge
section_title: Types of oats
hierarchical_section_title: Porridge / Varieties / Oat / Types of oats
caption_attribution_description: Porridge. Signed 'W Hemsley', titled on reverse. Oil on panel. 16.5 x 13 cm
context_page_description: Porridge is a food commonly eaten as a breakfast cereal dish, made by boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants—typically grain—in water or milk. It is often cooked or served with added flavorings such as sugar, honey, fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge.
context_section_description: Oats for porridge may be whole (groats), cut into two or three pieces (called "pinhead", "steel-cut" or "coarse" oatmeal), ground into medium or fine oatmeal or steamed and rolled into flakes of varying sizes and thicknesses (called "rolled oats", the largest size being "jumbo"). The larger the pieces of oat used, the more textured the resulting porridge. It is said that, because of their size and shape, the body breaks steel-cut oats down more slowly than rolled oats, reducing spikes in blood sugar and making the eater feel full longer. The US Consumer Reports Web site found that the more cooking required, the stronger the oat flavor and the less mushy the texture.
  Oats are a good source of dietary fibre; health benefits are claimed for oat bran in particular, which is part of the grain.
caption: Porridge by William Hemsley (1893)
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