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Oatmeal Gruel

A thin oatmeal gruel made by mixing oatmeal with cold water, then adding boiling water, simmering, and sweetening.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Oatmeal Gruel

Oatmeal Gruel

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Mix the oatmeal with a little cold water until smooth.

  2. Pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and stir well.

  3. Let it stand for a few minutes to settle.

Cook and serve

  1. Gently pour it back into the saucepan, leaving the sediment behind.

  2. Simmer while stirring occasionally and skimming carefully.

  3. Sweeten and flavor as desired, or add a little salt.

  4. Serve with dry toast or biscuits.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Oatmeal
Thickens the liquid as its starch swells and gelatinizes, giving the gruel body.

The step that matters

Letting it stand before pouring off. Standing lets the oatmeal particles settle to the bottom, so pouring gently into the saucepan leaves the sediment behind and keeps the gruel smooth rather than gritty.

“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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