What could be clearer and simpler than oatmeal? It is this cereal that ordinary people, aristocrats and those who want to be strong, healthy, live long and in their minds prefer breakfast. But for some reason, oatmeal is not always tasty. Porridge often does not work, comes out slippery or bitter. What does the queen of croup conceal in themselves?
Saving or taste? They are inseparable!
On the water, you can cook buckwheat, pasta, barley, but not oatmeal. This croup will turn out boring, scanty, it will definitely not please with taste. Her Majesty Porridge requires milk, at least a small part. You can dilute it in half or a third with water. If there is no whole milk at home, then try to look for a replacement.
What can be used:
- Powdered milk, cream. Diluted according to the instructions or a little more, add when cooking porridge.
- Fresh cream. We use it as usual milk, but we dilute it with three or four parts of water, it all depends on the fat content.
- Condensed milk. It is worse suited for cereal, because it contains a lot of sugar, more than two spoons per serving is not added. Can be used when cooking or for filling the finished porridge on the water.
It should be borne in mind that porridge in milk is prepared only when lactose is tolerable. Otherwise, you have to look for an alternative. Although, now it is not a problem, you can find vegetable types of milk for sale to any taste. It should only read the information on the packaging. Not all vegetable milk can be heated and used for cooking porridge.
Salt - the main ingredient of porridge
You can cook porridge from the highest quality cereals premium, add the best butter, add sugar or fill with honey, but the taste will not be anyway. Just one pinch of salt will fix it. Yes, it is this ingredient that is important not to forget. Salt is a natural flavor enhancer. In this embodiment, it works better than glutamate and other chemicals. It fills porridge with sweetness, aroma. Any dish with it will be tastier, but you should not abuse it. Around the need measure, a large amount of salt ruin everything.
Another common mistake: go and do not bother
Oatmeal does not like to rest. The flakes fall to the bottom of the pan, slowly swell, they may even stick together. There is nothing worse than lumps of porridge in oatmeal. Therefore, when cooking mass must be stirred. This is especially important when boiling and the first two minutes. Then you can turn down the fire, go about your business, only occasionally glancing for porridge.
If porridge is prepared not from flakes, but crushed oats are involved in the process, then it can also be burnt. It is important to regularly lift the precipitating grain, preventing it from sticking. For this reason, it is recommended to use a pot with a thick bottom.
Do not boil, and razvari
If time allows, you can pour boiling milk over porridge, cover, leave for a couple of hours. But such porridge is still tough (albeit useful), so more often we cook porridge, and it is not always possible to just wait. In this case, you need to bring the cereal to full readiness. Otherwise, coarse particles will appear in the porridge, it will not turn out delicate, soft, it will not absorb a sufficient amount of liquid.
Usually the cooking time is indicated on the package. Hercules on average need to boil for 15 minutes. If you use oatmeal fast boiling (not the most useful form), then it is prepared for 3-5 minutes. The longest cooked porridge made from crushed oats. It is recommended to soak for an hour or another, and then boil for 30-40 minutes. The process is not fast, but there is much more benefit in such a dish.
Bath or shower?
Washing oatmeal may seem like nonsense. But it is not. When cooking cheap weighted flakes, a gray foam appears on the porridge, the dish has an unpleasant, earthy flavor, often giving off bitterness. If you are destined to cook porridge from such oatmeal, then be kind enough to wash. Also come with crushed grain.
How to do it:
- Oatmeal bath. Fill the flakes with water in a saucepan or in a large bowl, stir, leave for a few seconds, let them soak. Then we merge in a sieve, dirt will flow together with small particles.
- Shower for oatmeal. Fall asleep flakes in a sieve or in a colander with small holes. Pour water on top of the shower. Give drops of water to drain.
By the way, oatmeal is sometimes washed to improve the quality of porridge. Small particles - flour and starch, which give a slimy texture, stickiness, the dish looks like jelly.
Oatmeal can also be bitter if old flakes are used or molds have appeared in them. In this case, washing does not help, it is easier to replace the main ingredient.
Interesting facts about oatmeal
- Until the 19th century, only cattle were fed with oats. In the diet of people, this product appeared relatively recently (in comparison with other cereals) after the invention of flakes. But at the same time, oats rose in price.
- Oatmeal is not only useful for the digestive tract. This simple dish improves skin condition, is useful for acne, normalizes the sebaceous glands and is considered a beauty product.
- It turns out that oatmeal can be consumed by no means to all people. The main contraindication is gluten intolerance.
- Flakes without cooking will do more harm than good. Especially people who are overweight or diabetic.
- Contrary to nutritionists, oatmeal does not give everyone a feeling of fullness. Many people, on the contrary, after eating this cereal for breakfast, after an hour or two, begin to experience severe hunger, without a snack they cannot tolerate dinner. Which category do you belong to?
Maybe not just cook porridge?
As you can see, oatmeal is really the queen among the porridges (or the king, if we talk about Hercules). But even such an honorable person sooner or later get bored on the table. Then she comes to the rescue - savvy.
What else useful to cook:
- Granola. We mix dry oatmeal with a small amount of honey, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, grind, bake on a sheet of parchment. This semi-finished product can be poured with yogurt, juices, regular boiling water or consumed in dry form.
- Oat pancake. It will replace buns, bread, cakes, it is much more useful and just cooked. It is enough to mix 30 g of chopped oatmeal with an egg, three spoons of kefir, add spices and fry in a pan.
- Oatmeal Cookies. There are many recipes, but it is better to choose options with a small amount of fat and sugar. Let them present honey, dried fruits, seeds or nuts.
If you still want to use just useful porridge, then you can experiment with it. For example, boil with baked milk or fill with syrup, roasted nuts, add fresh berries or a ball of ice cream to taste.
