Gruel
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the groats or oatmeal with a little cold water until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a pot with boiling water or milk.
Boil for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
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
- Groats or fine oatmeal
- Thickens the liquid as its starch swells and gelatinizes during boiling, giving the gruel body.
- Milk
- Adds moisture, richness and mild sweetness to the gruel, if used in place of water.
The step that matters
Mixing the groats smooth in cold water first. Starch granules clump when dropped straight into hot liquid. Dispersing them in cold water first lets each grain hydrate evenly, so the gruel thickens smoothly rather than lumpy.
“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.
More gruel recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.