Groats, Steel-Cut Oats, Rolled Oats, and Oat Flour

Provident Principles and Practices
© David Edwards, 2008

PRINCIPLE: “When we have stored away our grain we are safe, independent of the world, in case of famine, are we not? . . . There are a great many things that we can save . . . wheat, barley and oats.” (Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, volume 5, p. 20-21)

PRACTICES: Oats are one of many kinds of foods that we can store for a rainy day, whether that rainy day is a time of no work, no money, no opportunity to go shopping, or no food at the store. Oats need to be stored in a cool, dark, dry, oxygen-free setting to store as long as possible. .....................

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Raw oats, when harvested, have an inedible outer layer or hull. During commercial processing, raw oats are cleaned, dehulled, steamed and roasted, yielding groats. Hulling cannot usually be easily done by the average consumer, and people who want to buy groats typically buy them from dealers at natural-food or emergency-food stores. Special unheated groats can be obtained that can be sprouted. Groats are very nutritious, but they are somewhat difficult for people to grind to flour to a consistent size using a grinder. Some people grind their groats in a blender or food processor. Also, instead of grinding groats into flour, you can roll groats into rolled oats using a grain roller.

Steel cut oats are groats cut or broken in processing. They are available in some grocery or natural-food stores. They take a long time to cook, ~ 15-90 minutes. But because steel cut oats are chunks of oat grain, they are not only chewier but they produce a much lower glycemic load to the body. People in Scotland or Vermont often soak steel cut oats overnight in a solution of water and salt and sometimes sweetener to prepare steel cut oats for cooking and to shorten their cooking time. . . .

Regular rolled oats are made by steaming groats, roasting them, steaming them again and running them through a roller. Rolled oats are readily found at grocery stores. They cook much faster (~ 5 min) than steel cut oats. Rolled oats cooked while water is being brought to a boil tend to be creamy; those added after the water has been brought to a boil tend to be flaky. Rolled oats are often made into cookies or granola, added as fillers to soups or stews, or put into casseroles. Rolled oats can also be eaten without cooking, as in no-bake cookies. Regular rolled oats stored in #10 cans with oxygen-removing packets can store for up to 30 years (McEwan et al., 2006, Effects of long-term storage on sensory and nutritional quality of rolled oats, J. Food Science, v. 70 no. 7, pages s453 - s458; see also http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7798-1-4224-1,00.html).

Quick cooking and instant oatmeal oats, cut and rolled, do not last as long in storage as regular rolled oats. Oat flour can be made and added to bread but it does not store very long. ...

Bran, endosperm, and germ are the nutritious parts of oats. The bran contains fiber, the endosperm contains high-quality protein, and the germ is a rich source of vitamins, healthful oil, and minerals. Pure oats are gluten free. Oats contain soluble fiber, known to help the heart. The FDA allows claims for oats as part of a heart-healthy diet. Eating oats promotes health in other ways as well.

More at www.quakeroatmeal.com/includes/PDFs/FarmtoTable.pdf, www.karenskitchen.com/a/recipe_oat.htm, http://deseretnews.com/cn/view/1,1721,495006685,00.html, and http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/bloatmeal.htm

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Credits: Drawing of oats from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown, 1913, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. v. 1:218; photos of steel-cut oats and regular rolled oats are released into public domain, from Wikipedia; photo of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/images/dessert1-chocchip.gif