Oats are whole grain that’s easy to prepare, affordable and readily available mostly in all supermarket and convenience store. Aside from that, oats are nutrient-rich , fiber rich that can be taken anytime of the day. Oats can either be cooked, rolled, crushed and or cut. Today we going to talk about everything you need to know about oats and the different types of oats and how to cook each type for breakfast or just about anytime of the day
Health Benefits we can get from eating oats
As mentioned, whole grain oats contains essential nutrients as health benefits. Essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fibers (soluble, insoluble and prebiotic), vitamins, minerals and plant-based protein. These essential nutrients can boost our immune system while at the same time enjoying the nutritious meal or snack.
Fiber are important nutrients that helps lower down cholesterol levels in your body, lowered cholesterol level improves overall health of your heart. Other than that, it also helps with glucose levels and also promotes a healthy and improved digestion.
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What are the different types of oats
There are 8 types of oats available:
- Whole Oat Groats
- Scottish Oats
- Old-Fashioned Oats
- Quick Oats
- Instant Oats
- Oat Bran
- Oat Flour
- Irish Oats
The type of oats depends on one’s preference. Below are the different types of oats that you can choose from.
Whole Oat Groats
Oat Groats also referred to as “Oat Berries”. It is still in its intact form which means that the bran, endosperm and germ are still there even if the oats have been hulled and cleaned. Ans since a large amount of fiber content is mostly found in the bran, and the bran are still intact with Oat groats, this means that the nutritional value with this type of oat is very high.
Whole Oat groats takes the longest to cook as compared to other forms of oats, with a cooking time of about 50-60 minutes. You can either cook it on a stove top, an instant pot or slow cooker whichever works best for you. You can also taste a nutty flavor the oat groats making it a great addition to your soup, grain bowl salad. Tip: for that maximum flavorful taste, you can add groats first before adding on liquid or water.
How to cook Oat Groats:
- Bring to a boil 2 quarts of water (8cups of water)
- Add 1 cup of Oat Groats, bring to boil.
- Lower heat to medium high
- Cook for another 30 minutes. Make sure it is uncovered.
- Once Oats are already soft, drain excess water then serve hot.
Scottish Oats
Scottish oats is a type of oats that turns into porridge after it is cooked creating a creamy texture. Cooking time usually lasts for about 10 minutes on a stovetop when making porridge and about more or less 3 minutes when using the microwave.
It takes about 10 minutes to cook hot porridge on the stove stop, or about 3 minutes in the microwave.
How to cook Scottish Oats:
- Bring to a boil 3 cups of water
- Add 1 cup oats
- Decrease heat to low
- Cook for 10 minutes (uncovered). Make sure to occasionally stir Scottish oats.
- Remove from low heat then cover to allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Then serve.
Old-Fashioned Oats (Rolled Oats)
Considered to be one of the most popular type of oats available in the market. It is flexible wherein it can be used in other forms of dishes such as an oatmeal, oat milk, granola, snack bars, cookies, pancake and a whole lot more. Oats are steamed then rolled using steel rollers, and then flattened to make it into flakes and then dried afterwards.
Oatmeal using rolled oats is the most common and cooking time is about 5 to 20 minutes when using the stove stop and about 2-5 minutes when using the microwave.
How to cook rolled oats:
- Bring to a boil 2 cups of water
- Add 1 cup rolled oats
- Decrease heat to low
- Cook for 10 minutes (uncovered). Make sure to occasionally stir rolled oats.
- Remove from low heat then cover to allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Then serve.
Steel cut Oats (Irish Oats)
Steel cut oats is also known as Irish Oats that uses a steel blade. Groats are cut smaller since the bigger the cut the longer it will take for Steel cut oats to be completely cook.
Cooking time for steel cut oats takes about 25 to 30 minutes however there are quick cooking steel cut oats also available in the market that is prepared and can already be eaten for just 5-7 minutes. Why is that so? simply because Quick cooking steel cut oats uses a granulator mill. You can use a stove top, a slow cooker, pressure cooker and a microwave (recommended) when you cook steel cut oats. For a more nutty flavor for your oats, make sure to add oats unto the pan first before adding liquid or water.
How to cook Steel cut oats oats:
- Bring to a boil 3 cups of water
- Add 1 cup Steel cut oats
- Decrease heat to low
- Cook for 15-20 minutes (uncovered).
- Remove from low heat then cover to allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Then serve.
Quick Oats
This one is perhaps the most famous and commonly used oats nowadays. It is likely the same as old fashioned oats (Rolled) oats however rolling it into thinner flakes. Also, the steaming process takes longer than usual thereby allowing water to be absorbed quickly therefore oats are cooked quickly than most of the oats. Quick oats cooking time usually takes about 1 to 3 minutes.
Considered to be the perfect for a quick meal for breakfast when you are in a hurry. Since Quick oats is similar to rolled oats, it can also be used in different dishes varieties such as smoothies, granola, energy bits and pancakes as well.
How to cook Quick Oats:
- Bring to a boil 2 cups of water
- Add 1 cup quick oats
- Decrease heat to low
- Cook for 3 minutes (uncovered). Make sure to occasionally stir quick oats.
- Remove from low heat then cover to allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Then serve.
Instant Oats
Similar to Rolled oats but is considered to be the processed version of it. Instant oats are easy to cook and quickest to. You only need to soak it in water and it will be ready to eat in about 1 -3 minutes.
And since Instant oats is a processed version, there are times when additives and sugar is added with the packing of instant oats. Therefore make sure to check and keep that in mind when planning to but Instant oats. You may want to check the label at the back of the packaging for its contents regarding the nutritional value the oats inside.
How to cook Instant Oats:
- Place 1/3 cup instant oats into a bowl
- Add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir.
- Allow to sit for about 1 to 3 minutes or when oats are soft before serving.
Oat Bran
As mentioned, bran has the highest fiber content in oats. Oat Bran are bran are separated from the oats to create a richer and creamier cream. Cooking process involves boiling over a stovetop, cooked using a microwave. Cooking time usually takes about 5 minutes. If you use a slower cooker, cooking time usually takes about an hour.
And since bran contains high fiber content for a healthy nutrition, it can be a great addition to pancakes, cookies, smoothies and bread.
Oat Flour
Oat Flour is similar to grain groats wherein the bran, germ and endosperm remains intact after groats have been hulled and cleaned. With its nutty flavor, Oat Flour can be a great substitute of Wheat flour (about 20%) when making cakes, cookies and bread. It can also be used for gravy and soup, and even when making sauce to make it more thick with its tough texture. Other than that, it is less expensive and more affordable than starch and wheat flour.