Oats

Though the Scots and the Irish have made an entire cuisine from oats, they are still mostly thought of in this country as a bland breakfast food. It is seldom found as a whole grain, usually being sold processed in one form or another. Much like barley, oats are a difficult grain to separate from their hulls. Besides their longtime role as a breakfast food, where they can be made very flavorful with a little creative thought, oats make an excellent thickener of soups and stews and a filler in meat loafs and casseroles. Probably the second most common use for oats in this country is in cookies and granolas.

Listed below in order of desirability for storage are the forms of oats most often found in this country. Rolled and cut oats retain both their bran and their germ.

Oat groats

These are whole oats with the hulls removed. They are not often found in this form, but can sometimes be had from natural food stores and some storage food dealers. Oats are not the easiest thing to get a consistent grind from so producing your own oat flour takes a bit of experience.

Steel cut oats

These are oat groats which have been cut into chunks with steel blades. They're not rolled and look like coarse bits of grain. This form can be found in both natural food stores and many supermarkets.

Rolled oats

These are also commonly called "old fashioned" or "thick cut" oats. To produce them, oat groats are steamed and then rolled to flatten. They can generally be found wherever oats are sold. They take longer to cook to suit than do the quick cooking oats, but they retain more flavor and nutrition. This is what most people will call to mind when they think of oatmeal.

Quick cooking rolled oats

These are just steamed oat groats rolled thinner than the regular or old fashioned kind so that they will cook faster. They can usually be found right next to the thicker rolled oats.

Instant rolled oats

These are the "just add hot water" or microwave type of oat cereals and are not at all suited for a long term food storage program. They do, however, have uses in "bug out" and 72 hour food kits for short term crises.

Whole oats

This is with the hulls still on. They are sold in seed stores and sometimes straight from the farmer who grew them. Unless you have some means of getting the hulls off, I don't recommend buying oats in this form. If you do buy from a seed supplier, make certain that they have not been treated with any chemicals that are toxic to humans.

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