Porridge: Scottish ‘tarten-purry’ to puffed amaranth

by Kellie, Ripe Albert Park.

Porridge is the dish made from cooking oats (rolled or steel-cut) in water to a thickish consistency that is usually eaten for breakfast.  Oats have a high unsaturated fat content, high protein, high fibre (which can aid cardiovascular health), low gluten and low GI (slower burning fuel for the body), and by cooking oats into porridge, the oats impart an increased thermal nature, warming you for longer and deeper in the body.  Thus making porridge an important start to a winters day (experiment yourself; alternate muesli with raw fruit one morning with porridge and see for yourself the difference in your energy up till lunch).

Scotland is considered the home of porridge (oats traveled there from northern central Asia).  The Scottish have 52 words for oat porridge, including ‘foorach’, a mixture of buttermilk, whipped cream and oatmeal and ‘wangrace’, a thin gruel of oatmeal sweetened with butter and honey and unique words for the special paddles used to stir the pots.  Especially interesting is a dish called ‘tarten-purry’ which is a thin porridge cooked in whisky in which kale had been cooked!  Culture and superstition developed around the cooking of porridge, such as referring to porridge as ‘they’ and only stirring the pot in a clockwise motion. 

Traditionally porridge was made from steel-cut oats (also known as course-cut oats, Scottish oats or Irish oats).  Today, porridge is made from time-friendly rolled oats.  The range of rolled oats extends from ‘quick’ oats to ‘stabilised’ and everything in between.  Both steel-cut and rolled oats start out as the groat.  Groats are whole oats that have had the outer ‘grassy’ husk removed.  They cook the same time as brown rice. Steel-cut oats are not so popular in Australia (as they are in America), they are un-processed ‘slices’ of the oat grain (groat) that retain more flavour and a more natural form than rolled oats. Steel-cut oats are possible due to groats being a soft grain, but do take longer to cook compared to rolled oats. Rolled oats under go a processing that involves hot rollers, steaming, baking and pressure cooking.  Rolled oats usually have lost their bran, (not always), but the rolling process makes them softer and easier to assimilate into our diets. 

The basic styles of Rolled Oats:
Stabilised – are whole groats that are steamed for a short time, and then rolled.  Stabilised rolled oats are chewier and good for baking.
Original/traditional – are whole groats usually rolled and steamed for a softer oat than stabilised.  Original/traditional oats make very good porridge.
Tender – are whole groats that are rolled flatter than stabilised and steamed for softness.  Tender oats have a quicker cooking time and are less chewy.
Quick – are groats that are more fragmented before rolling and steaming.  These have less goodness but are parent friendly.

Cooking
Oats usually take as long to cook as it takes to organise your cup of tea (or coffee) and set up the table, especially if the previous night they were soaked with all their extra bits (fruits, nuts and spices).  Some oats do take longer than others, but this usually means that they are less processed. 
The best incentive to eat porridge more mornings of the week is to prepare the night before.  So, all you have to do in the morning is wake up and turn on the stove and stir.  Oats can soak up a lot of water, so do cook properly. 

For perfect quantities, approximately a soup ladle for each person.  Water amount varies.  Some people like their porridge quite runny, where as there are people that like it to be quite thick.  Quick oats require less water than stabilised.  Best to follow instructions (if available), or just cover the oats with water initially and keep adding water while it cooks until it reaches a desired consistency.

Cranberries, Walnuts and Other Ways to Change your Porridge
Porridge today is a very different story from the days of ‘foorach’ and ‘wangrace’.  Not only do we have the choice of different styles of oats, but the choice of using different grains, fruits, nuts, spices and milks.  Many organic food companies supply a fantastic range that can stretch the imagination, making it possible to experiment different blends according to taste or body constitution.  However, rolled oats do make a very good base and I would not advise omitting the oats as they have been perfected over the centuries for porridge.

The Oats:
There are plenty of rolled oats for sale.  Usually they are the same oats but with a different label.  Here are the oats we recommend:
‘Real Good Foods’ – have 1kg bags of their signature oats.  They are stabilised.
‘Four Leaf Milling’ – have a good range that covers different stages of oat rolling.  Available in 1kg bags. 
Kialla – Kialla oats are stabilised, available in 500g and 1kg bags or in our bulk tubs.
Weiterga – are our biodynamic oats that are sold in our bulk tubs from a grower in Western Australia.  Good basic rolled oat.

Grains:
‘Lotus’ – have a range of rolled flakes from such grains as barley, spelt, rye, wheat and quinoa.
‘Good Morning’ – are a great company that supply ‘puffs’ which are done from whole grains.  Range includes rice, wheat, millet, oat, spelt, buckwheat and barley
Olive Green – a new range of rolled grains including amaranth and quinoa.
The addition of whole grains such as quinoa, buckwheat and millet

Milk:
Either cook with milk or add at the end.  Porridge can be creamy enough without milk, so is not essential for delicious porridge.
Sweet tooths could consider naturally sweeter milks like rice milk (‘Pureharvest’ or ‘Probios’ recommended) and ‘Ecomil’ almond or hazelnut milk
Unhomogenised milk, such as ‘Elgaar Farm’ jersey milk, is creamier and less processed than homogenised milk

Fruit:
Either dried fruits or fresh fruits are cook.  It is recommended to soak you dried fruits but it depends on the individual.  What fruit you add is totally personal and there is no right.  There is a wonderful range of organic dried fruit.  Following is just a few ideas.
Dried cranberries from America – these are absolutely delicious! Quite a few carbon foot prints but they are vitamin C packed goodies that are sweetened with apple juice rather than sugar.  A few go a long way.
Dried prunes – increase the fibre content with prunes.  If soaked, they double in size and become juicy and soft.
Fresh fruit such as chopped pear, grated apple, banana, blueberries (from frozen local produce) and stewed rhubarb
Nunn’s sultanas – these sultanas are from a local grower, they are a variety of grape that are soft and sweet with a fragrance that is quite unique

Nuts:
Like dried fruits, the range of organic nuts is good and fairly consistent.  There are no wrongs with nuts and seeds, all are good and comes down to personal taste.  Here are some ideas:
Brazil nuts – these are imported but are an incredible source of zinc and due to their ability to grow into a massive tree, imbue an incredible energy.  Because they are imported, can be out of stock at short notice.
Walnuts – walnuts are in season in winter and when they are fresh, they seem irreplaceable (if you can be bothered with shelling them).
Almonds – classic choice
Linseeds – freshly ground is better than whole (or use flaxseed oil)

Other bits and pieces to add to porridge:
‘Real Good Foods’ – are a wonderful Melbourne company that emphasises whole foods and a good start to the day.  They supply their own range of muesli and porridges (including a rice, oat and gluten free porridge), and 2 wonderful products that can be added to your own porridge.  Toasted Cereal Topping (not 100% organic) and High Protein Mix (recommended, it is a ‘chunky’ L.S.A)
L.S.A is a ground meal of linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds
Spices that work especially well in porridge are cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg.
For those that like their porridge sweet there are a range of sweet alternatives, including maple syrup, rice malt, molasses and apple juice concentrate
Flaxseed oil – is the oil of linseeds and is good for a daily dose of for a precursor to Omega 3.  ‘Stony Creek’ and ‘Waihi Bush’ brands are recommended.
Bran can be added.  Kialla supply a range of organic bran including oat, wheat, and barley.  (Organic germ is not available).

Gluten Free Porridge
Porridge can even be gluten free. Rolled oats do contain gluten, so for people that are coeliacs, oat porridge is not an option.  Although rolled oats make a good base for porridge, it is not the only available grain to make porridge.
Here are some gluten free ideas for a porridge base:

Quinoa (especially recommended.  Left overs or cook the night before, quinoa forms are porridge consistency easily. We stock several brands including a red quinoa) read our recipe: apple quinoa porridge.
‘Olive Green Organics’ whole amaranth or quinoa, now also available as flakes, very easy for porridge.
‘Four Leaf Milling’ rice flakes (especially recommended)
Millet
Buckwheat

Here are some gluten free ideas for additional products:
‘Lotus’ rolled quinoa (whole quinoa makes a better base, use the rolled quinoa as an addition)
‘Lotus’ millet flakes
‘Olive Green Organics’ puffed or rolled quinoa
‘Olive Green Organics’ puffed or rolled amaranth
‘Good Morning’ puffed buckwheat
‘Good Morning’ puffed millet
‘Good Morning’ puffed rice