National Oatmeal Day: Steel-Cut Oats

There's a holiday for every food, it seems! There's a whole month devoted to oatmeal (January) but today is actually National Oatmeal Day. (Not to be confused with National Oatmeal Cookie Day, or Oatmeal Muffin Day.) This is one we'll gladly celebrate, especially now that the weather is chillier.

We will also take any opportunity to promote steel-cut oats, which we love to distraction. Steel-cut oats are not the flat flakes of instant and rolled oats. They are the chopped groats themselves, with a nutty flavor and chewy texture.

Steel-cut oats take about half an hour to cook, which makes them less convenient than 2-minute microwave oatmeal. (You can also leave it in a slow cooker all night.) But we think the nutty taste and more robust texture are worth it.

Sometimes we are traditionalists about our oatmeal: a little butter, a little brown sugar, milk and cinnamon. Other times we spice it up with a tiny pinch of saffron, jaggery, white raisins, ginger and cashews for a special treat.

You can buy steel-cut oats in the bulk bins at Whole Foods or a health food store. You can also buy directly from these suppliers:

• McCann's Irish Oats
• Bob's Red Mill
• Anson Mills

How do you like your oatmeal?

Comments (4)

I think the best solution to the time-consuming aspect of steel-cut oats is to make them in a thermos of boiling water before you go to bed -- by the time you wake up, they're just about perfect, and it's a lot less mess than dealing with goop in a pot.

stewed...in milk and honey with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon.

I used to make them in the slow cooker overnight with soy milk, cinnamon, and a can of pumpkin. They are tasty, but tend to stick a little to the sides of the cooker. Now I use the recipe in Heidi Swanson's cook book, and leave them in hot water over night. I can make enough for a week and just add whatever I want to them in the morning. My favorite right now is a little maple sugar, can't live without that stuff.

In Scotland we dip fresh herring fillets in oats and then fry in a little butter (not for breakfast).