Chrystalyn’s Corner: Oat Groats

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image by sweetbeetandgreenbean

This week our grains topic is oats groats. I’m excited because this is the last thing I need to teach you about grains before I can move on to how to use them in so many ways. Next week I’ll share a lot of recipes using what we’ve learned so far. I’m giddy just thinking about all the yummy food. But first, oat groats.

As you know, oats have many excellent nutritional qualities. We hear all the time about oat bran’s ability to help lower our cholesterol. So, what are these oat groats I said we were going to talk about? Oat groats are the untreated, natural, hulled oats with the outermost inedible chaff, or hull, removed. Are these any better for us than rolled oats or quick oats? Yes, they are. To make rolled oats, they start with the oat groat, soak them in water, and press them. Some of the fiber and nutrition is lost in that process. Even more fiber and nutrition are lost in the process of making quick oats and more still with instant oats. The oats also get smaller in the process, which is part of the reason they cook faster.

Okay, we know oat groats are better for us, but how are we supposed to use them? I’m not going to throw oat groats in my oatmeal cookies because that would be pretty crunchy, but we can grind them and make them into a flour. Yum! They’re sweet and add some moisture to your baking. I love this flour in my muffins, pancakes, and quick breads.

What about using these wonderful oat groats on their own for breakfast? I tried out a recipe just for you and am so happy I did. It’s super easy and is very nutritious for you and your family.

Slow Cooked Oat Groats

1 ½ cups whole oat groats

6 ½ cups water

pinch of salt

cinnamon stick

Combine everything in a 3-5 quart crockpot. Cook on low overnight or for about 7-9 hours. You can remove the lid during the last few minutes to thicken it up. Discard the cinnamon stick. Sweeten with brown sugar or raisins if desired. You could also add apples. Serves 6-8.

I hope you enjoy your oatmeal. Let me know how you like it!

(7) Readers Comments

Linda
December 2, 2009 at 1:50 am

I love whole oat groats! I discovered them last year and can't believe how good they taste.

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TheSurvivalMom
December 2, 2009 at 4:41 pm

I'm looking forward to trying Chrystalyn's recipe in this article. I'm interested to see how it compares with traditional oatmeal.

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Sue
February 11, 2010 at 6:07 am

I may never eat rolled oats for breakfast again after trying the groats. They are wonderful!

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- TheSurvivalMom
  February 11, 2010 at 3:54 pm
  
  Chrystalyn will be thrilled to hear that you agree with her recommendation! She is now babysitting a newborn and doesn't have much time for blogging, but I'll pass along your comment.
  
  Reply
cSpace
February 26, 2011 at 3:52 pm

We have been making our morning meals in the crockpot for years now…we use a 7grain oatmeal when we can find it, otherwise "groats"…we add raisins, blueberries (frozen in summer) chopped walnuts, chopped dried apricots, craisins…a little vanilla sometimes, and cinnamon..gosh you can add all KINDS of good things….then cook all night in the crockpot, we would NEVER use an entire cinnamon stick, and then throw it away in the morning…seems wasteful to me…dried cinnamon usually does not mix well without a little "fat" as most cooks know, but adding the walnuts, with their small amount of good oils, then sprinkling the cinnamon on top of them works well !!

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Rick
January 8, 2012 at 11:40 am

These don't sound like a good survival food if they require so much cooking.

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- TheSurvivalMom
  January 8, 2012 at 7:08 pm
  
  It really depends on what you're surviving! If you have plenty of wood for fuel, cooking won't be an issue.
  
  Reply