Oatmeal is a quintessential winter food, but it sometimes gets a bad reputation. If you describe something as “the consistency of oatmeal”, it’s not usually a compliment. Oatmeal is mushy, often bland, and when it’s not bland, it’s because it’s over-sweetened. There’s one traditional way to prepare it, which is with raisins and brown sugar. How creative, right? The phenomenon of instant oatmeal hasn’t helped: the little microwave-friendly packets are mushier and sweeter than anything that came before them.
There are two ways to make oatmeal delicious: creativity, and good oats. I’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal this winter. It’s my weekday morning standby, and I’ll often make a more elaborate version on the weekends when I’m not cooking up pancakes or waffles. Good ingredients and variety and both key in keeping it tasty.
First, the oats. There are lots of kinds of oats out there, starting with instant, followed by quick-cooking, regular (or “old-fashioned”, as if regular oats were no longer cool enough), and finally steel-cut. There are also various fancy or multi-grain varieties. Instant oats cook the fastest – instantly, like magic. Steel cut oats take the longest to cook, about 45 minutes on the stovetop (and they don’t do well in the microwave).
As a general rule, the longer your oats take to cook, the healthier they are for you. This is because quick-cooking varieties are made by stripping out the slow-but-nutritious parts of whole oats. The more you strip out, the less nutrition remains. The longer cooking kinds also have more flavor and character, for the same reason. Considering that the “long” cooking time for “old-fashioned” oats is 3 or 4 minutes in the microwave, there’s no real reason not to use them. You don’t have to do anything – just wait 3 minutes longer while you go about your morning.
Steel-cut oats are another thing altogether, and they take both time and attention (in the form of occasional stirring). But they have as much resemblance to instant oats as bears do to teddy bears. They have texture. Character. A nutty flavor. They’re worth the extra effort for that alone, when you have the time.
But oats alone aren’t good eating, no matter how good the oats are. There are a thousand ways to spice up your oatmeal, and almost all of them are more interesting than raisins. My favorite source of inspiration for oatmeal is Trader Joe’s, where they have a huge selection of dried and frozen fruits, almost any of which could be a good addition. I like to use these better than fresh fruits, because they’re easy to keep on hand, less expensive, and once they’re cooked up, the difference isn’t that noticeable. If you’re using dried fruit, just add a little more water; if you’re using frozen, use slightly less water. Don’t limit yourself to fruit, either, though it’s my most frequent choice.
You’ve got choices of sweeteners, too. Brown sugar is most traditional, and has a nice flavor, but any sugar substitute will do well. The sweetener can add as much character as the main ingredient: I like to use maple syrup, with certain kinds of fruit. Honey can also be a nice touch (though, personally, it’s not usually my thing.)
Here are a number of oatmeal variations that I really like. (No pictures this time – my kitchen is still out of commission.)
- Dried blueberries and brown sugar (my current favorite)
- Raspberries and maple syrup (perhaps flavored with Earl Grey)
- Dried cranberries and brown sugar and ginger
- Cheddar cheese, a pat of butter, and fresh ground pepper (kind of like grits)
- Pumpkin pie: a large spoonful of canned pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pecans, and sugar
- Mashed banana, honey, and walnuts
- Tea of any kind, like chai, Earl Grey, or fruit teas
There are also a number of things I’ve seen, but haven’t tried yet:
- Nutella and peanut butter (saw this on a menu over the weekend, but didn’t order it, and now it’s haunting me. I will be making this when I have my kitchen back.)
- Dried cherries and vanilla extract
- Jam of your choice
- Chopped peaches (with honey, and optionally with cream)
I especially like the idea of savory oatmeal, which Mark Bittman first made me thing about, but it’s far outside my usual idea (and most people’s idea) of what oatmeal is. (Here’s an idea from Bittman for oatmeal with olive oil and tapenade, which would either be awesome or gross, and I can’t decide which.) I haven’t explored this idea much, but it seems like it has potential – though it doesn’t lend itself to a quick breakfast.
Do you like oatmeal, or do you think it’s weird? If you like it, how do you like to dress it up? I know I’ve hit on only a tiny fraction of the tasty possibilities that are out there.
5 Comments
These are spectacular ideas! I kind of stole from a few of them and did cinnamon, raw orange blossom honey, vanilla extract and chopped pecans. My family has always cooked out oatmeal more to the consistancy of really chewy granola cause we don’t like mushy texture. I boiled half a cup of water, added slightly more oatmeal than water (to give it that chewy feeling) then once cooked, I added the cinnamon and honey. I added the chopped pecans and milk with vanilla in last. Its really good! Perfectly sweet
thanks for all the ideas!!
I actually do the peanut-butter one occasionally, although I mix in a tiny bit of brown sugar instead of nutella. It’s really good, and it gives you a shot of protein and fat which I need at least a little bit of in the morning or I get *really super grumpy-hungry* by 10:45. Just a sprinkle of brown sugar and a hearty spoonful of peanut butter (not as much as a sandwhich, even) is plenty. Hot sauce is also a possible addition to this (think peanut-noodles) but then, I’m showing my predeliction for a savory breakfast. I actually tend to make Grits far more often, because Real Grits (as opposed to the instant kind) is as different as instant as Real Oats are from instant, and they’re super easy to customize too, but more likely to go in savory directions.
If you ever want Grits recipies…
I’d love grits recipes! I think they’re delicious, but they’re not on my mental breakfast list, so I don’t make them often. I think the stuff I get from the bulk section of our co-op, which I use to make polenta, is actually just grits. Grits go better with different types of cheese than oatmeal does, so that’s a big point in their favor.
Oatmeal is the best. My standby in high school was brown sugar, dates, and cinnamon. Also, some things you didn’t mention that I’ve enjoyed in oatmeal are applesauce, cinnamon, and dried dates. But not all together. And when you say you put tea in your oatmeal, do you brew it and then use the tea instead of water?
(Also also, hi Jo! It feels a little creepy to be following, but not talking to, an old RA. I had your job the summer before last, making me one of the only people there at the beginning and the end of SEARCH. Anyways, just wanted to stop by and the oatmeal post gave me an opportunity.)
Hi, Georgia! I’m so glad you’re reading this. I always feel warm and fuzzy when I find out someone is reading my blog, especially someone I haven’t talked to in a while. Thanks for posting!
I’ve never tried applesauce in oatmeal, but I love the idea. I’ll have to give that a shot. You’re exactly right about the tea – I brew it nice and strong, and cook the oats in it. Depending on the tea, it can be really good. I don’t do it often, because the first tea I make in the morning is always designated for drinking, and until I’ve woken up a little, I never think about making extra to cook with. (Now that I ponder it while I’m awake, it should be really easy to brew an extra cup before I start making breakfast, but first-thing-in-the-morning logic doesn’t allow for that, I guess.)