Oat Cuisine - Recap

Oats have long been a staple of horse diets. But with his usual approach – a little science and a little technique – Alton plans to make them…Good Eats.

Alton starts (as he often does) with some history. The Romans considered oats a diseased form of wheat. But they were good enough for horses, and as the horse spread across Europe, so did the cultivation of oats. Alton’s guest, nutritional anthropologist Deb Duchon, explains that oats tolerate a wider range of climate than many other grains. And they’re very nutritious, with two to five times the fat of other grains. But they contain a fat dissolving enzyme and that means they go rancid very fast. Processing must take place soon after harvest. They lack the proteins necessary to form gluten, and that means they cannot be used to make leavened bread – a fact that probably contributed to their disfavor among the Greeks, and later, the Romans.

Discussion turns to Scotland (where oats were eaten by people as well as horses) and Alton interrupts with a haggis recipe. While bagpipes play Alton directs his assistant. Haggis starts with a sheep stomach boiled for a couple hours in salty water. When the stomach comes out other bits go into the water: tongue, lung, liver and bladder are boiled for several more hours. They come out and get chopped fine with some suet and some oats. That mix goes back in the stomach, which is then tied closed and boiled for awhilke longer – at least three hours.

Alton moves back to the kitchen to discuss milling. If only the outer hull is removed, whole oats result. Like brown rice, these still have their bran; they’re also known as “groats.” These sorts of oats take a long time to cook and produce porridge with a flavor similar to brown rice and chewy as Gumby. Alton gives them a miss and continues with steel cut oats – whole oats chopped fine. Also called Scottish, Irish, or pinhead oats, these produce a creamier porridge that is nutty and chewy. Steam steel cut oats, roll them, and dry them and the result is rolled oats, or old fashioned oats – the thin flakes in the popular paperboard can familiar to most people. The flat shape means they cook faster – which isn’t always a good thing. Roll them even flatter, parcook them and let them dry, and you have instant oats. Alton regards instant oats as a step too far – he wouldn’t even feed them to his horse.

Alton chooses pinhead oats for his porridge. He starts by sautéing them in a little better; this caramelizes some of the sugars and improves the flavor. When the oats smell nutty, Alton adds boiling water and cuts the heat to a simmer. No salt – adding it here will prevent the formation of a creamy porridge. Alton covers the pot and cooks it for about thirty minutes. When more liquid is needed Alton adds a mixture of milk and buttermilk. He uses a stick to stir the oats; a spoon would tend to chop. The handle of a wooden spoon works well. He finishes by seasoning with a little butter, cinnamon and more buttermilk, but anything that adds flavor works well.

Alton takes a moment to explain the difference between commonly found cinnamon – much of which is really cassia – and “real” cinnamon. Both sorts are the ground bark of a particular tree – cassia from the higher and younger branches, cinnamon from the lower and older branches. True cinnamon is more flavorful but harder to find – Alton recommends a spice vendor or online merchant.

Alton uses a delivery package as an analogy for the oat. He pulls out carbohydrates, minerals, protein and vitamins. The packing represents fiber – the part of the plant we cannot digest. Fiber comes in two forms. The insoluble sort does not dissolve in water and so moves quickly through the digestive tract, hauling along whatever is in its vicinity. This fiber has earned the nickname “nature’s broom” because of this property. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a thick gel that moves slowly through the digestive system. It slows the absorption of glucose, preventing sugar highs. And it prevents the re-absorption of bile, forcing the liver to extract cholesterol from the bloodstream directly, lowering serum cholesterol.

Alton heads to a well known chain in search of a slow cooker. A little help from “W” will put him on the right track. She suggests a cooker with a ceramic interior and a range of low temperature settings with a heavy glass lid to keep in moisture.

Alton puts pinhead oats water, cream and dried fruit into his cooker. He turns it to low and goes to sleep; the next morning he has delicious oatmeal.

In the early 20th century, a Scot named Jackson devised granola. Alton shows how to make it. He tosses brown sugar, slivered almonds, sweetened coconut, cashews, salt and rolled oats together in a large bowl. When that’s mixed, he adds maple syrup and vegetable oil and pours the mix onto a half-sheet pan. That goes into a low oven for a just over an hour (turn it every fifteen minutes or so). After it cools, it can be eaten straight or used as topping.

Inside and out, the oat is good for you. And with the right science, it’s also seriously… good eats.

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