Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been dehusked and steamed, before being rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers and stabilized by being lightly toasted.

Rolled oats that are sold as porridge oats usually have had the tough bran removed. They have often, but not always, been lightly baked or pressure-cooked or "processed" in some fashion. Thick-rolled oats are large whole flakes, and thin-rolled oats are smaller, fragmented flakes. Oat flakes that are simply rolled whole oats without further processing can be cooked and eaten as "old-fashioned" porridge oats, but more highly fragmented and processed rolled oats absorb water much more easily and therefore cook faster, so they are sometimes called "quick" or "instant" porridge oats. Rolled oats are most often the main ingredient in granola and muesli.

Rolled oats can be further processed into coarse powder, which, when cooked, becomes a thick broth. Finer oatmeal powder is often used as baby food.

Process

The oat, like other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten. After the outer husk (or chaff) has been removed from the still bran-covered oat grains, the remainder is called oat groats. Since the bran layer, though nutritious, makes the grains tough to chew and contains an enzyme that can cause the oats to go rancid, raw oat groats are often further steam-treated to soften them for a quicker cooking time (modern "quick oats") and to denature the enzymes for a longer shelf life.^[1] Oat groats are a whole grain that can be used as a breakfast cereal, just like the various forms of oatmeal, rolled oats and pinhead oats can be cooked to make porridge.^[2] Steel-cut or pinhead oats are oat groats that have been chopped into smaller pieces before any steaming and thus retain bits of the bran layer.

A tablespoon of rolled oats

A close-up image of rolled oats

Nutrients

Whole oats are an excellent source of thiamine, iron, and dietary fiber. Whole oats are also the only source of antioxidant compounds known as avenanthramides; these are believed to have properties which help to protect the circulatory system from arteriosclerosis. Oat products also contain beta-glucan, which may help people with Type 2 diabetes control their blood glucose level, and might also help stimulate the immune system to fight off bacterial infections.

See also

• Muesli
• Oat milk
• Oat bran
• Oatcake
• Oatmeal
• Porridge

References