Water Gruel
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the water in a pot.
Add the cornmeal or oatmeal and stir well.
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Strain the mixture to remove any solids.
Add salt and sugar to taste.
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
- Cornmeal or oatmeal
- Thickens the water into a gruel as its starch swells and gelatinizes during cooking.
The step that matters
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stirring keeps the meal from settling and scorching on the bottom of the pot. Cooking long enough lets the starch swell fully, so the gruel thickens evenly and loses its raw grainy taste.
“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.
You might also like
The 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.

Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipes