Grain info and cooking chart 7-1

Yield: 1 info

Measure Ingredient
\N \N Forms of Oats
\N \N The Versatile Grain
\N \N and the
\N \N Elegant Bean
\N \N by Sheryl and Mel London
\N \N ISBN 0-671-76106-4

Whole Oat Groats: The untreated, natural, hulled oats, with only the outermost inedible chaff or hull removed. Can be cooked whole or can be ground. Since they are the entire grain, they take the longest to cook.

Steel-Cut Oats: Natural, unrefined oat groats that have been cut into two or three small pieces for tasty, chewy cereal. They require a fairly long cooking time, but if they're oven-toasted first, the cooking is shortened considerably. Cooked steel-cut oats can also be blended with various flours for baking.

To toast one pound of steel-cut oats: Preheat the oven to 350F. Whirl the oats in the bowl of a food processor for a few seconds just to break down the grain a bit. Spread the oats evenly in a 9x13x2-inch baking dish and toast for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Rolled Oats: Large, separate flakes that have first been steamed and then flattened. Usually used in cereals, cookies, cakes, breads and toppings for fruit crisps. The "quick" or "instant" rolled oats are processed even further and then heat-treated for faster cooking; thus they have less nutritional value.

Oat Flour: Finely ground from whole oat groats, with much of the bran remaining. The flour is almost as nutritious as the groat itself, and it can be blended with other flours in bread baking. It has no gluten, so it will not rise unless it's mixed with a gluten-rich flour such as unbleached white. The addition of oat flour to home-baked products will help them to remain fresher for longer time, since the grain has a strong, natural antioxidant. Oat flour is excellent in baked goods, and can also be used as a thickening agent in sauces, soups and stews. Available at health food stores.

Submitted By DIANE LAZARUS On 03-16-95

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