What is Porridge?

The delicious oatmeal is a real power breakfast. Anyone who has ever tasted porridge will certainly appreciate the full-bodied taste and the long feeling of satiety.

Correctly prepared, porridge has a creamy consistency, delicate sweetness, and makes you wonderfully full. Incidentally, porridge is healthy. The main ingredient oatmeal lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels and also contains only small amounts of gluten.

What is actually contained in porridge?

The original porridge consists of oatmeal or oats, water and a pinch of salt. As an alternative to flakes or meal, flour from oats is sometimes used. The ingredients are boiled in water or milk and then simmered for 3-5 minutes.

The porridge is stirred every now and then to prevent burning. To refine the porridge basic recipe, milk or yogurt can be added.

In line with the trend of healthy eating, ingredients such as berries , nuts, spices (such as cinnamon), apples, pears, and also vegetables such as carrots or artichokes round off the porridge. With the different toppings and ingredients, the calories of your porridge will also differ.

Where does the porridge come from?

The porridge emigrated to the far north with the Romans over 2,000 years ago. This is how the porridge reached the Highlands. Scotland is considered the country with the greatest preference for porridge . In addition to oatmeal, barley is also processed into porridge or soup.

Apparently, the Scots still value their porridge above all else to this day. A Porridge World Championship has been held in Carrbridge, a small town in the Highlands, for 30 years.

The contested trophy bears the name "Golden Spurtle" and is a wooden kitchen utensil for stirring the delicious oatmeal. In the style of their ancestors, this World Cup uses oatmeal instead of oats or oatmeal.

In Scotland and England, the term "oatmeal" refers to both oatmeal and porridge. Due to its delicate color, oatmeal is also known as a light beige shade.

Above all, the high degree of satiety used to make the porridge a morning meal for the little people . If the household budget was too tight, warm oatmeal was also eaten at noon or as an evening meal.

Since oats were also considered animal feed, it always had an affordable price. The inexpensive morning porridge established itself as an original porridge breakfast and has also become an integral part of the multi-course English breakfast.

When is porridge eaten?

Traditionally, porridge is a breakfast dish. However, it also adorns every brunch. There is no objection to enjoyment at noon or in the evening. If you love your oat soup, you can eat it around the clock and not just for breakfast.

Depending on your taste, the porridge tastes with a little more water or milk as a hearty oat soup as well as a warm oatmeal with fruits, nuts, and honey.

Many savory varieties are increasingly conquering the local kitchens and the kitchens of restaurants. Instead of sweet ingredients, for example, salami and herbs are now added to the porridge.

Especially lovers of time-saving cuisine appreciate the filling porridge. Quickly prepared, it steams on the plate in no time. Porridge is also well suited for preparation in the microwave . The oats can swell in the liquid the day before and are ready to eat for breakfast the following morning in 3-5 minutes.

If the consistency is too firm, it becomes supple again by adding liquid. A dash of cold milk or water is enough. Porridge can also be prepared in advance and frozen in portions.

What nutrients are in porridge?

The original preparation only provides for the three ingredients oats, water, and salt . So the nutritional power is in the oats themselves. For example, 100 grams of oatmeal contain around 360 calories (360 kcal).

In detail, these include:

Traces of magnesium and iron are in the oatmeal, as well as various B vitamins and vitamin K. Oats stimulate the formation of serotonin in the body and are considered a gentle mood brightener .

Despite its energy density, oats are suitable for dieting. The oatmeal will keep you full for a long time. Especially if you prepare your oatmeal with water, it is low in calories. If you don't overdo it with the many topping ingredients, you can also save calories here.

In the porridge diet, 250 g of oatmeal is consumed per day divided over three meals with fruit and vegetables . Based on 875 kcal in the oats, 425 kcal is estimated for fresh fruits and vegetables.

With regard to the values of 100 g of apple (45 kcal), banana (23 kcal), carrot (26 kcal), or pepper (20 kcal), the daily maximum of 1,300 kcal can be varied.

At least two liters of water or unsweetened tea are consumed as a daily amount in this diet.

Which oats are used for porridge?

Oats are not a classic cereal. It is assigned to the category of sweet grasses. There are a total of 30 types of oats in nature. For porridge, seed oats are used, which are known as real oats.

There are differences in terms of the degree of grinding . Oatmeal is coarse because it is not processed with a grain crusher. Oatmeal, on the other hand, is usually rolled and heat-treated. Melted oat flakes are pressed oatmeal.

Thus, the range of oat products ranges from original meal to flakes and semolina to the finest oat flour. Healthy and tasty is the green oat tea, which is harvested and dried during the oat blossom.

Another product of the versatile sweet grass is oat-based whisky, which is produced in Tyrol and Scotland. But it's probably nothing for breakfast.