Oatmeal Gruel
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the porridge
Bring 1½ pints of water to a boil and add salt to taste.
Stir in 3 tablespoons of oatmeal and boil hard for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour the mixture into a double boiler and let it cook slowly for 2 hours.
Serve
To serve, mix ½ cup of the gruel with ½ cup of cream.
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
- Its starch swells in the hot water and thickens the liquid into a porridge.
- Cream
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich mouthfeel and a milder, sweeter flavour.
The step that matters
Stirring the oatmeal into the boiling water. Oat starch can clump and scorch on the bottom of the pan if left alone. Constant stirring disperses the grains so they hydrate and thicken evenly.
“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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