Oatmeal is a cereal product that is made from oat grains. It has found its place on our tables as a source of fiber. The steps on how to cook oatmeal in the old fashioned way is very simple. Although commonly used as porridge, oatmeal is actually used in a lot of other recipes as well.
You’ll find cookies that is made out of it or has it as part of the ingredients. It is also used in making bread and meatloaves. One particular use is that of thickening stews and soups. Let’s go over the simple steps on how to cook oatmeal and we’ll give you a few tips to make it a really tasty part of any dish.
Needed Items
You can easily find all of the needed ingredients on how to cook oatmeal right in any kitchen. You basically will need oats, which can be fast/quick cooking oats or even rolled oats. You will also need half a teaspoon of salt, milk, and brown sugar. You can add other things to your batch of oatmeal like raisins for instance. These add taste to the flavor of your oatmeal.
Cooking Oatmeal
Here is the easy and traditional way to cook oatmeal. First off would be to pour water into a pot. For every cup of oatmeal that you will be cooking you should put in three cups of water in your pot. You then add salt to taste and then bring your water to a good boil. When the water has reached its boiling point you may begin to stir in your oats.
Your mixture will usually stop boiling as soon as the oatmeal is added. Keep stirring it while everything starts to boil all over again. Once everything thickens you then reduce the heat to a medium and simmer. If you are using quick cooking oats then you can expect your cooking time to last only about ten minutes. Regular ones will cook for about 15 to 20.
During this whole time occasionally stir the pot just to prevent your oatmeal from sticking. Once the oats are cooked you can serve them hot. The whole process on how to cook oatmeal is that simple. You can add raisins, brown sugar, and milk to add flavor to your meal.
Tips
Here are our tips on how to cook oatmeal. If you toast your oats first in a pan before boiling in water it will usually produce a kind of nutty taste to it. However, if you soak oats overnight you should expect a little added flavor and texture to them.
Another interesting tip on how to cook oatmeal would be adding more variety to your oats. Instead of using the regular sugar and raisins you can go for other fruits and nuts. Maple syrup or honey can be great substitutes for sugar.