What do "real" oatmeal flakes look like?

[pengyou]

Recently, while shopping, I decided to buy the kind of oatmeal that has to be cooked vs. the instant kind. When I got home I opened the package and found that the flakes were larger than usual and also have a bit of a greenish black color on parts of them. It made me wonder - what do oatmeal flakes look like naturally? Does oatmeal have a hull? The oatmeal came from a reputable shop and was vacuum packed.

 

[bakechef]

I have noticed an occasional hull in my old fashioned oatmeal, but it's fairly rare. I don't believe that I've seen a greenish/black color on any of my oatmeal though. They are usually off white/tan with a light brown line down the middle.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I believe the hull on oatmeal is called bran. To make oatmeal, the whole oat kernal is steamed until softened, then rolled between powerful rollers to flatten it into oatmeal. You can also get rolled barley that looks and tastes just like oatmeal, but has more fiber.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[jennyema]

 

[menumaker]

Knowing porridge oats fairly well ( being Scottish ) I am a little concerned with your discription of the colours you describe. Personally, if I saw greenish/black I would think that they are a bit mouldy.They won't kill you but won't taste nice so what is the point? It's possible that they have been in an environment where condensation has caused a bit of dampness. The size sounds spot on and I think that you have been a bit unlucky as the taste is far superior to the instant variety. I would take them back to the store and ask for an exchange myself or cut my losses and give my chicken a treat. They are not as particular as me! Please don't give up on the traditional kind though I beg of you. Quacker are a good brand and would not usually see you wrong

 

[Kayelle]

They sound moldy to me too. Personally, I don't care for rolled oats because of the slimy texture after it's cooked. Steel cut oats is a whole nuther story, and so worth the extra time it takes to cook them. Delish!...

 

[Janet H]

I agree that greenish looking oats are highly suspect. Rolled oats and Steel cut oats should be linen or straw colored with a faint brownish line down the center of the rolled variety.

They sound moldy to me too. Personally, I don't care for rolled oats because of the slimy texture after it's cooked. .

If your rolled oats are slimy you might want to revisit the cooking method and amount of liquid. We cook em quickly and they sort of flake apart. There are no slimy glue-ish globs.

 

[menumaker]

Soak the night before and drain, then cook them in fresh water not milk and they shouldn't be slimey. Add milk or cream when serving and on Christmas or New Years morning...... a drop of Scotch Whisky !! Oh Yes.

 

[GLC]

You know, oats do spoil more quickly after harvest than most grains, which was one of points against them before they became popular. Because oats are almost always processed in some way before being cut, milled or rolled, they rarely spoil later, and most of us have kept even an open package around for a very long time. I suspect early spoilage, perhaps a pocket of damp grains, that wasn't caught and that probably shows up as color, any odor having been suppressed in processing. Probably happens more than we know, but rolled oats present an opportunity to see the whole grain in one piece reach the table.

It has been claimed that in industrial farming, drying of oats often gets delayed, resulting in a darker rolled oat product, color changes taking place from early spoilage on account of moisture and oil, and that oats should properly be more nearly white.

My own favorite oats have become what Bob's Red Mill claims is original "Scottish oats," stone milled roasted whole oats. More gruel-like than oat bran or rolled oats. Quicker cooking than steel cut.

 

[Mad Cook]

Recently, while shopping, I decided to buy the kind of oatmeal that has to be cooked vs. the instant kind. When I got home I opened the package and found that the flakes were larger than usual and also have a bit of a greenish black color on parts of them. It made me wonder - what do oatmeal flakes look like naturally? Does oatmeal have a hull? The oatmeal came from a reputable shop and was vacuum packed.

I buy a lot of oats as I make porridge, parkin and biscuits with them all the time - both jumbo (whole) oats and rolled oats - and I've never seen them with the greenish black bits that you describe.