Oats: I need flavouring!

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anticuchos

Assistant Cook
Joined
Sep 22, 2005
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48
I am tire of the same old pinch of salt. Is there a dry and shelfable condiment I can add to it? Other than raisens or anything that is sweet.
 
There's always ground cinnamon, fennel or nutmeg.

You may also wish to use something like kefir, yogurt or soy milk instead of regular milk. All of which give great flavor to a healthy meal.
 
Ishbel, I know your bloody porridge thread detector is going off, but we have a person that wants to move away from the pinch of salt :-p.

How about some spices? Ground cinnamon and nutmeg work very well. You could try some allspice (made from the allspice berry) or some traditional mixed spiced. Ground star aniseed could also work if you wanted a slight aniseed/licorice flavour. A nice proper vanilla extract would also go extremely well.

Sorry for the repeat of Aurora's advice, posted while I was typing up mine.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I think I'll give the cinnamon a try since so many suggested it.
 
My friend's husband prepares her oats for her each morning-; it's the only thing he cooks. She told him she liked raisins, cinnamon, banana chips (or sliced bananas) and milk.

One day she thought the oatmeal tasted a bit different to her and asked her husband about it - he told her he did it exactly as she asked and exactly as he always prepared it. When she went to the spice cupboard she noticed the pepper was in the cinnamon's usual spot!

She said she really liked it! You might want to try that.

2
 
My friend's husband prepares her oats for her each morning-; it's the only thing he cooks. She told him she liked raisins, cinnamon, banana chips (or sliced bananas) and milk.

One day she thought the oatmeal tasted a bit different to her and asked her husband about it - he told her he did it exactly as she asked and exactly as he always prepared it. When she went to the spice cupboard she noticed the pepper was in the cinnamon's usual spot!

She said she really liked it! You might want to try that.

Intriguing.

While we are on the topic, baked custard made with honey goes well with a little cracked black pepper on top. Apparently it is how the Romans used to make it.
 
My grandmother would make us oats as kids and she called it Bear Food. She would make the oats with cinnamon and brown sugar and stir in walnuts, dates, bananas, chopped figs or whatever she had around the kitchen. It resembled warm granola sometimes but is a fond memory of Grandma.
 
I usually do the Irish style oatmeal overnight in the slow cooker. I start with the prescribed amount of water. Then I usually add dried cranberries, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, a little sugar and some dried milk.

That gives me a batch that lasts about a week. Very good stuff.
 
i've been told i make the best oatmeal in town. i eat 1 cup every morning with 2 boiled eggs for breakfast; so i have lots of experience.

here's my recipe:

1 cup oats (old-fashioned quaker or organic)
1 cup water
1 cup whole milk
note: you can simply use 2 cups lowfat milk instead of the above.
sprinkle each of nutmeg & cinnamon
1/2 tsp mapleine flavoring
1/2 tsp of pure vanilla or 3-4 drops of almond extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons of butter (a good, tasty, creamy butter) or go for a whole tablespoon :devilish:

bring slowly to a boil stirring often, but keep it hot and moving.

in a large bowl, i add craisins (cranberry raisins) & a few almond slivers and add the oatmeal and mix thoroughly.

if it's too "tight," add a little milk... if it's not sweet enough, add a few drops of pure honey.

enjoy.
 
anticuchos said:
I am tire of the same old pinch of salt. Is there a dry and shelfable condiment I can add to it? Other than raisens or anything that is sweet.
Here are some suggestions for savory toppings. They are all Japanese in inspiration.

> a mixture of lightly toasted sesame seeds and salt - (gomashio) - sprinkle on top
to make - 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds + 1-1/2 to 2 tsp *kosher* or *sea* salt - combine seeds and salt in a mortar and grind lightly with a pestle (just enough to lightly crush the seeds and mix in the salt) - store in frig

> gomashio variation - sprinke with gomashio plus drizzle a little toasted sesame oil on top

> toasted sesame seeds plus a drizzle of a *good* soy or tamari or shoyu sauce (plus a small drizzle of toasted sesame oil)
pleeeeze do *not* use a supermarket soy sauce like Kikkoman (awful chemical taste!) - get the soy/tamari/shoyu from an Asian market or health food store

> a sheet of lightly toasted Nori (seaweed sheet) cut into snippits with scissors and sprinkled on top plus either gomashio or soy sauce (for that salty taste)
 
this may be a silly comment because I've never even tried it, but wouldn't porridge work with bacon, a little fried onion and some grated Cheddar cheese?
 
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