From delicate rolled oats to coarse oats or oat bran, this regional grain comes in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. It is often not that easy to keep track of them all. To ensure that nothing stands in the way of a delicious breakfast, this article will tell you everything you need to know about the different types of oats and how to choose the right oat product for your porridge.
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What types of oats are there?
It's a long way from an oat grain to a breakfast porridge, with the regional grain passing through various production steps before it ends up in our kitchen as oats, rolled oats and the like.
Depending on your taste preferences, some oat products are better suited for the perfect porridge than others. To help you find the right flakes for your needs, we have summarised the most important properties of each variety:
Oat flakes – the classic for porridge
We all know and love them. However, not all oat flakes are the same, because there are actually two types: wholegrain and delicate. During the production of oat flakes, the oat grain is rolled out, which gives it its flat shape. While the grain remains whole for wholegrain flakes, also known as large-leaf oat flakes, it is first cut into small pieces for tender oat flakes. Since no nutrients are lost during cutting, the two variants differ only in their shape and structure.
Due to their large size, large-flake oats are often used in muesli and muesli bars, baked goods and bread. By contrast, fine oats are particularly suitable for porridge, casseroles, baby food and warm desserts. Find out more about how to prepare oats.
Nutty and aromatic oat groats
Unlike rolled oats, the grain is not pressed flat to make oat groats; instead, it is only coarsely ground in a mill. The end product is much harder than the rolled flakes, which means that oat groats have to be soaked for longer. However, connoisseurs claim that it is worth the wait. This is because the ground oats have a particularly distinctive nutty flavour.
Fibre high-flyer: oat bran
Oat bran consists almost entirely of the outer layers and the germ of the oat grain. This makes it an even more valuable food than classic oat flakes, since the nutrient concentration is highest in the outer layers. Oat bran, for example, is exceptionally rich in fibre. That's why it's particularly good for your porridge if you want to eat something that's particularly rich in nutrients.
Extra creamy with quick-cooking flakes
If you grind oat grains into fine flour and then press them into flake form, the result is so-called quick-cooking flakes. They are characterised by the fact that they dissolve immediately when mixed with liquid. This property also makes them drinkable, which is why they are ideal for shakes or baby food. If you use instant oats for your porridge, they will make a particularly fine porridge.
Are rolled oats gluten-free?
If you are familiar with the different oat products, you will sooner or later ask yourself whether oat flakes are gluten-free. This is especially important for people who suffer from coeliac disease or gluten intolerance.
By nature, oats are low in gluten. However, the regional grain often grows in fields with other types of grain and also comes into contact with them during further processing. Therefore, oat flakes are not automatically gluten-free. They are only gluten-free if strict care is taken during cultivation and processing to avoid contamination with gluten-containing cereals. Thus, oat products are only considered gluten-free if it is explicitly stated on the packaging.
Which oat flakes are suitable for porridge?
Now that you know so much about the different oat products, the most important question remains: which oats should you use for your porridge?
Well, there is no clear answer to this question. Which product is best for you depends primarily on your taste preferences. If you prefer a porridge with texture, wholegrain oats or rolled oats are particularly suitable for you. If you prefer a creamy porridge, it is best to choose delicate oats or even quick-cooking oats. To increase the nutritional content of your breakfast, add fibre-rich oat bran to your porridge.
You still can't quite decide which oats are right for you or you want to try your way through the different porridge variations? Then the delicious porridges from VERIVAL are just right for you.
Porridge variety from VERIVAL – try it now!
Because tastes and needs are so different, variety is particularly important to us in our VERIVAL organic breakfast range. So oats fans get just as much as oat bran or rolled oats enthusiasts. And even if you follow a strict gluten-free diet, you'll find what you're looking for with us, because there are a whole range of gluten-free porridges to discover in the VERIVAL breakfast range.
