porridge

london 9.02pm 15.2C (18Chigh) monday 2015

just saw ‘food unwrapped’ on Channel 4 tv. talking about oats. asking if there is any difference between quick cook oats and the long cooked ones. they are all oats, quick cook oats are thinner and steamed 30% longer. the oat grains are flattened by rollers.

i dont know whether the basic oats that i buy from tesco (costing 75p/kg) are slow cooked or what. the non basic oats cost  twice as much, and the program do not say why some oats are more expensive than the basic ones. i dont see any difference but then i have not really read the ingredients in those expensive oats.

now that i mention it, i have not looked at ingredients of the basic oats too.so let me see… it is rolled oats, and it got fats, 8g/100g, and sugers1.5g/100g. protein too, 11g/100g. (1 teaspoonful = 4g)

the instructions , first time i am reading it, says 2mins microwave, stir and another 2mins. 800w. well i only do a 2min one and that is it. its good enough for me. so it looks like the basic oats is the quick cook oats. usually they cost a lot more if they are branded.

also did u know oats are in muesli too? so they can be eaten uncooked. just add milk. and u can make your own muesli it is very easy to do and so much cheaper. i bet very few know that and end up buying and paying over the odds for the packs in the store. 

i microwave it for 2mins. so maybe they are quick cook. though simon goes through the trouble of cookng them over the stove and he takes a long time over it. i dont think there is any difference except that the stove method is slow and you have to continuously stir it so it does not stick to the pan, and there is more washing up to do. the porridge tastes better if u use whole milk, but i dont,i  just use water, and some powdered skimmed milk, (too little to make a difference in the taste really, ) because i am too lazy to buy milk, haha. simon buys long life whole milk, and they are as nice as fresh whole milk, and they can keep for a long time so you can buy a lot and keep them. unlike fresh milk which goes bad very quickly.

but i dont bother to use his milk. if i use his milk i have to buy them so that he does not run out. and i got out of the habit of buying milk. i eat the porridge with a handful of  sultanas. and they provide all the suger i need. so i dont add any spoonfuls of suger to it.