In these recipes from 1800s cookbooks, I was surprised to read oats had to cook from two to four hours! The recipes caution against cooking oats too quickly. They also don’t say to soak the oats overnight, which I found surprising.

Groats take the longest to cook. Rolled Oats are groats that have been steamed and flattened. There are also steel-cut oats, ground oats (old-fashioned, quick-cooking oats, and instant oats), each one being processed more.  

This article on the Food Revolution Network, provides more information on types of modern oats and their preparation.

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

THE OAT
Oats grow very much like wheat, but it will not make raised bread. When it must serve the purpose of bread, it is made into flat cakes and baked. Its greatest use for food is in the form of oatmeal and rolled oats.

To prepare oats for food, the husk, which is wholly indigestible in character, must be thoroughly removed. To accomplish this, the grain is first kiln-dried to loosen the husk, and afterward submitted to a process of milling. Denuded of its integument, the nutritive part of the grain is termed groats. Broken into finer particles, it constitutes what is known as oatmeal.

In the preparation of oatmeal, the oat grains are crushed or cut into very small pieces. Oatmeal varies with some kinds being ground much finer than others. The more finely-ground products are sometimes adulterated with barley meal, which is cheaper than oatmeal and less nutritious. The black specks which are sometimes found in oatmeal are particles of black oats which have been ground in connection with the other.

Rolled oats, or avena, is prepared by a process which crushes the kernels flat between large rollers.

PREPARATION AND COOKING
Oatmeal requires much cooking in order to break its starch cells, and the coarser the meal, the longer it should be allowed to cook. A common fault in the use of oatmeal is that it is served in an underdone state, which makes a coarse, indigestible dish of what, with more lengthy preparation, would be an agreeable and nutritious food. Like most of the grains, it is best put into boiling soft water, and allowed to cook continuously and slowly.

It is greatly injured by stirring, and it is therefore preferably cooked in a double boiler or closed steamer. If it is necessary to use an ordinary kettle, place it on some part of the range where the contents will only simmer; or a hot brick may be placed under it to keep it from cooking too fast. It may be cooked the day previous, and warmed for use the same as other grains.

OATMEAL MUSH
Heat a quart of water to boiling in the inner dish of a double boiler. Sift into it one cup of coarse oatmeal and boil rapidly, stirring continuously until it sets. Then place in the outer boiler, the water in which should be boiling, and cook three hours or longer. Just before serving, remove the cover and stir lightly with a fork to allow the steam to escape. This makes the mush more dry. Serve with cream. Oatmeal is richer in nitrogen than any other grain, and therefore very nutritious. But to be wholesome it must be well cooked, and not served in a pasty, undone mass.

OATMEAL FRUIT MUSH
Prepare the oatmeal as directed above, and stir in lightly, when dishing for the table, some sliced mellow and juicy raw sweet apples. Strawberry apples and other slightly tart apples are likewise excellent for the purpose. Well-ripened peaches and bananas may also be used, if care is taken to preserve the slices whole, so as to present an appetizing appearance. Both this and the plain oatmeal mush are best eaten with toasted whole-wheat wafers or some other hard food.

MIXED MUSH
A cup and a half of rolled wheat, mixed with one-half cup of coarse oatmeal and cooked the same as oatmeal, forms a mush preferred by some to oatmeal alone.

ROLLED OATS
This preparation of oats should be cooked the same as oatmeal, but requires only three parts water to one of rolled oats, when cooked in a double boiler. Stir one cup rolled oats into three cups boiling water to which one teaspoon salt has been added. Boil two minutes, stirring them occasionally to keep them from sticking. Then cook them in a double boiler for two to four hours, keeping the water boiling. During this time, stir the oats as little as possible so as to prevent them from becoming mushy. Serve hot.

ROLLED OATS JELLY WITH PRUNES
If an appetizing dish for warm weather is desired, rolled oats may be cooked to form a jelly and then have stewed prunes added to it. When served with cream, this combination is high in food value and consequently may be made the important dish in the meal for which it is used.

Cook one cup rolled oats in three cups water, then force them through a fine sieve. Remove the seeds from twelve prunes that have been stewed very slowly until they are soft. Drain off all the juice and place two prunes in the bottom of each of six cups or molds that have been moistened with cold water. Fill each with the rolled-oats jelly and set them aside to chill. When ready to serve, turn the food out of each mold into a cereal dish and serve with cream and sugar.

OATMEAL BLANCMANGE
Take a pint of well-cooked oatmeal, add to it a pint of milk; part cream if obtainable. Beat well together, and strain through a fine wire sieve. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and boil for a few moments until it is thick enough to drop from the point of a spoon. Then pour into cups previously wet in cold water, and mold. Serve with a dressing of fruit juice or whipped cream slightly sweetened and flavored with lemon.

LEFT-OVER ROLLED OATS
A way of utilizing this cereal when it is warm is to pour it into a pan or a dish, press it down until it is about one inch thick and then after it is cold, cut it into pieces of any desirable size or shape. Brown these pieces in butter and then serve them with syrup.

ROLLED OATS CROQUETTES
Mix one-half cup grated cheese with one-half cup bread crumbs. Add one-half teaspoon salt and one-fourth teaspoon paprika into one cup of cold rolled oats. Then add one egg, which should be slightly beaten. If more moisture seems to be necessary, add a little milk. Form the ingredients into small croquettes, roll them in more crumbs, and sauté them in butter. Garnish with parsley and serve.

OATMEAL MACAROONS
Cream one cup sugar with one tablespoon melted shortening.* Add two egg yolks, three-fourths teaspoon salt, and two and one-half cups rolled oats. Add two teaspoons baking powder, two beaten egg whites and one teaspoon vanilla extract and mix thoroughly. Drop on greased tins about one-half teaspoon to each macaroon, allowing space for spreading. Bake about ten minutes in a moderate oven.*

*shortening – a general term for butter or other fat used to make pastry or bread.

*moderate oven – about 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit

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Image from Deposit Photos

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This article on the Food Revolution Network, provides more information on types of modern oats and their preparation. 

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Do You Eat Oats or Another Warm Cereal for Breakfast? Please Leave a Comment Below.

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