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Breakfast

The Oatmeal Test-breakfast of Boas

A simple oatmeal porridge made by boiling water, adding oatmeal and salt, simmering until reduced, and serving warm.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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The Oatmeal Test-breakfast of Boas

Ingredients

Directions

Cook

  1. Boil 1 liter of water.

  2. Add 1 teaspoon of oatmeal and a pinch of salt.

  3. Simmer until the mixture reduces to a broth.

Serve

  1. Serve warm.

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Water
Provides the liquid base that the oatmeal cooks in and gradually reduces.
Oatmeal
Its starch swells in the hot liquid, thickening the mixture as it cooks.

The step that matters

Simmer until the mixture reduces to a broth. As water evaporates, the liquid concentrates and thickens. Reducing too far can leave the porridge dry or scorched, so the cook should watch the texture and stop when it reaches the desired consistency.

“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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