Qu'est-ce que c'est? Steel Cut Oats

By L. Stolpman in Food on Mar 3, 2009 4:30PM

If we have grandkids, we'll tell them about we grew up eating instant oatmeal that resembled lumpy paste. Thank God those days are over. We love our steel-cut oatmeal. Steel-cut oatmeal is widely available now (McCann's and Quaker are very popular choices) and it has everything going for it: taste (traditionally described as nutty), great chewy texture, whole grains, fiber, etc. If you're shunning oatmeal and all you've ever had is rolled oats, it is time to give steel-cut oats a try.

What's the difference between steel-cut oats and rolled oats, anyway? A whole grain oat resembles an almond shaped grain of rice. In the center is the germ, containing iron and B vitamins. Surrounding the germ is the endosperm, which holds the starch. Covering the whole shebang is bran - this is where the fiber comes in. That grain is is cut into a couple of pieces by steel blades and the result is what you see pictured above.

McCann's described rolled at as "flake oats that have been steamed, rolled, re-steamed and toasted. Due to all of this additional processing they have lost some of their natural taste, goodness and texture." What are flake oats? According to this site, they are oats that have been compressed through a pair of rollers.

Steel-cut oats require a longer cooking time but there are short-cuts. (Note that, according to slickdeals, McCann's steel cut oatmeal is on sale at Amazon.) Our personal favorite is picking up frozen (pre-cooked) steel-cut oatmeal from Trader Joes. Two healthy servings cost about $1.60. Heat it up in your microwave and add fresh fruit (we like banana or blueberries). Or, even better...print out this coupon from Jamba Juice and try their steel-cut oatmeal for a buck. We noticed that the coupon says "Offer not available in Hawaii." That's because the Spam topping ruins their margin. heh.

Picture by houseofsims.