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Oatmeal Gruel

A simple gruel made from oatmeal, water, and boiling water, seasoned with salt and optionally milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Oatmeal Gruel

Oatmeal Gruel

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine oatmeal and water to make a smooth paste.

  2. Stir the paste into boiling water.

  3. Boil for 30 minutes, stirring well.

  4. Add salt and strain through muslin.

  5. If too thick, thin with a little milk.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Oatmeal
Thickens the water into a gruel as its starch swells and sets during boiling.
Milk
Adds moisture and softens the texture when the gruel is too thick.

The step that matters

Stir the paste into boiling water. Oatmeal starch clumps easily if it meets hot water unevenly. Making a smooth paste first with cold water lets the starch disperse, so the gruel thickens evenly without lumps.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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