HAPPY national oatmeal month!
“Do you want any mush, Lauri?” I don’t know why Dad asked me this every morning before school, my answer was always, a resounding, “No thanks.” Maybe he was holding out hope that just once I would say yes to his morning routine of oatmeal, or “mush” as we called it. Dad was a man of routine and predictability. He always made oatmeal in the morning. I can see him now, bent over the steaming pot, boiling a handful of raisins first, adding a dash of salt, stirring in the rolled oats until thick, then adding a little milk and brown sugar. It’s funny how certain foods can transport you right back to your childhood, even oatmeal.
Oatmeal, one of the world’s healthiest grains, has been served up for breakfast for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of humans eating oats dates back 30,000 years. Oats were cultivated as far back as 7,000 BC in China. The Romans considered oats animal fodder, but they are credited with bringing them to Europe.
The first to eat oatmeal as porridge were the Greeks. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates thought oats were only good for the treatment of skin problems. In fact, for centuries oatmeal has been used to treat acne, eczema, insect bites, poison oak and psoriasis.
Oatmeal is called “stirabout” in Ireland and because oats were so cheap, it was a staple in places like workhouses, prisons, nunneries, and boarding schools. Can’t you just hear Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist as he holds his bowl of porridge and begs, “Please Sir, I want some more…?”
In Scotland, oats are the staple grain. Samuel Johnson, the author of the 1755 English dictionary, defined oats as “a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.” Scandinavians cultivated oats in the 1500’s to feed to their livestock. Having recently spent some time in Germany and Norway, I got accustomed to eating raw oat muesli with milk for breakfast and overnight oats soaked in milk and cinnamon like a dessert served cold with berries, nuts, seeds, and raisins.
Scottish immigrants are credited for introducing oats to America as early as 1602. The first oat company was the American Cereal Company, later renamed Quaker Oats Company in 1901.The Titanic actually served Quaker Oats in the first-class dining room. Today, Russia is the highest consumer of oats worldwide and we come in second, consuming a whopping 2.3 million tons in 2020. The oatmeal raisin cookie is said to be the fourth most popular cookie in the United States. We can also thank the Scottish for that as the Scottish oatcakes were most likely the predecessor. Oatcakes were a round flatbread that soldiers often carried into battle to provide a quick boost of energy.
So, this month, why not try some porridge, stirabout, or overnight oats for breakfast? I bet you have some Quaker Oats in the pantry, 80 percent of American households do. They are rich in iron, zinc, and their antioxidants can fight inflammation. They contain melatonin and magnesium, which help you sleep. When consumed regularly, they lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. And on a cold January morning, porridge is warm, comforting, and a great way to fill your tummy before heading off to work or school. I wish I could go back to my kitchen in the 1970’s, I’d say, “Yes Dad, I will have some mush!” Happy National Oatmeal Month, everyone!
*October 10th World Porridge Day and January is National Oatmeal Month.
