Oats are good for your health - full of anti cholesterol fiber

Oats have an ancient history being one of the first cereals cultivated by man. The Chinese grew them 9,000 years ago. The Greeks are believed to be the first to use oat flakes or oatmeal to make porridge. Romans, however, seem to have been the ones to spread them to other countries in Western Europe. With modern cooking techniques, oat meal and oat flakes feature in cookies both sweet and savory.

Growing

Oats are derived from a cultivation of wild grass from Asia, Avena Fatua. The original 'wild oats'.

Agricultural areas featuring moderate climates and high rainfall are associated with Oats, no wonder there is a richness of Scottish and Irish recipes for them! They are sown in the winter or early spring, so a moderate climate helps them to get started. They grow through the summer and are harvested in the Fall when the ears are ripe. They are distinguished from wheat and rye as the grains appear in clusters rather than along the stem. The stems of oats are tall (around 3 feet) and graceful, bending in the wind. Each stem has seven or eaight ‘panicles’ each with about three oat grains.

Harvesting and treatment

Once dry the oat grains, with their outer protective husk, are separated from the stem and panicles by threshing and winnowing. They can then be stored for long periods until ready for treatment.

The oats are then graded by size and separated from their husk and all dust and muck is removed. The grains are then dried in a kiln, which enhances their flavour. At this stage they are called groats. Groats can be used in cooking, but are very hard and required much soaking and long cooking, so they are rarely found.

If groats are cut into smaller pieces, then you have 'pinhead' oatmeal. This retains much of the chewieness of groats, but cook more easily. Sometimes these are used with rolled oats just to give an 'oaty crunch' to a recipe. Pinhead oatmeal is not very absorbent so not suitable on its own for cookie baking; believe me, I've tried.

Alternatively, either groats or pinhead oatmeal can be steam cooked and then rolled flat into oatflakes and dried. This gives a much quicker cooking oat suitable for baking recipes. These are known as 'rolled oats'.

'Quick' oats are rolled oats that have been further treated to allow them to cook even more quickly. Good for cookie baking as they can absorb oils and fats.

'Instant' oats are still further treated and flattened very thin so that they only require mixing with water to be 'cooked'. Frequently they have flavorings and salt already added. But these tend to give a texture that is too mushy for cookies.

Know your oats

Groats	Pinhead oatmeal	Rolled Oats	Quick Oats	Instant Oats
Oat groats	Steel cut oats	Oatmeal	Quick oatmeal	Instant oatmeal
Whole oats	Irish oats	Rolled oatmeal	Easy oats
Whole oat groats	Scotch oats	Flaked oats	Quick cooking oats
	Coarse cut oats	Oatflakes
	Porridge oatmeal	Old-fashioned oats

Oats as a pest

With the increase in arable control and the hardiness of the variety, Avena Fatua is becoming increasingly difficult to control. See.... here.

Go to the top of this page to read about oats and oatmeal.