Oat

The oat plant is an annual grass reaching about 1 to 1.5 metres, with loose, branching seed heads called panicles that hold the grains. Each grain is enclosed in a husk, which is removed to give the whole oat kernel, or groat. Groats are cut into pieces to make steel-cut oats, steamed and rolled flat to make rolled oats, or ground into flour. Compared with other cereals, oats contain more fat and soluble fibre, which gives porridge its creamy, thick texture. Oats thrive in cool, damp conditions where wheat and corn do less well.

Oats originated as a weed of wheat and barley fields in the Near East and were domesticated later than those crops, probably in Europe around the Bronze Age. The cultivated species Avena sativa is grown across northern regions, with Russia, Canada, Poland, Australia and Finland among the major producers. Because it tolerates acid soils, wet weather and short summers, it became an important crop in Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia and northern Europe, where it was a main food for people and horses.

Oats appear in the archaeological record of Europe from the Bronze Age, but for a long time they were considered a lesser grain. Roman writers described them as a weed or as fodder, and some commented that northern peoples ate them as porridge. In Scotland, Ireland and northern England oats became the staple, made into porridge, oatcakes and bannocks and sometimes fermented into drinks.

As agriculture and food processing changed, oats went from peasant food to a modern breakfast cereal. Industrial rolling mills in the nineteenth century, particularly in North America and Scotland, produced packaged rolled oats, and the product was widely marketed. In the late twentieth century, research on beta-glucan led to approved health statements in several countries about oats and blood cholesterol. More recently, oat milk has joined the market for plant-based drinks.

Oats are cooked as porridge or overnight oats, baked into cookies, flapjacks, bread, muesli and granola, and used as a coating or binder in cooking, for example in haggis and meat loaves. Oatmeal is added to soups and stews, and oat flour appears in pancakes and gluten-free baking when certified. Oat milk is made by blending and straining soaked oats. Oats are also used in skin care, notably colloidal oatmeal for soothing dry skin. Steel-cut oats take about 20 to 30 minutes to cook, while rolled oats take only a few minutes.

Oats contain beta-glucan, a soluble fibre that, at around 3 grams a day as part of a healthy diet, has been shown in clinical studies to modestly lower LDL cholesterol; regulators in several countries recognise this. Oats also provide manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, thiamine and iron, and have more protein than most cereals. They produce a slower rise in blood sugar than refined grains, particularly the less processed forms like steel-cut oats. Adding fruit, nuts and seeds can balance a bowl, while heavily sweetened instant packets reduce the benefits.