Plain Oatmeal
Ingredients
Directions
In a custard kettle or covered tin pail, combine oatmeal, cold water, and salt.
Set the kettle or pail in a pan of boiling water.
Cook for 2 to 3 hours.
When it begins to swell, stir it once, then do not stir again until done.
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
- Oatmeal
- Provides the starch and fibre that thicken the water into a porridge as it cooks.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the oats slowly so they swell and soften evenly during the long cook.
The step that matters
Stirring only once. As the oats swell they release starch that can scorch on the pan base or clump if stirred repeatedly. One stir when it starts to swell, then leaving it alone, keeps the texture smooth and prevents sticking.
“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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