Oatpieal Gruel
Ingredients
Directions
Mix 2 tablespoons of oatmeal with a little cold water in a bowl.
Pour 1 quart of boiling water over the oatmeal and stir well.
Let it settle for a few minutes.
Pour off the water into a saucepan.
Boil the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir and skim off any scum that rises.
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 that thickens the water into a light, smooth gruel.
- Boiling water
- Hydrates the oat starch and carries its flavour, forming the liquid base of the gruel.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes. Boiling gelatinises the oat starch so the liquid thickens and loses its raw, floury taste. Stopping early leaves the gruel thin and starchy-tasting.
“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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