Anyone who has difficulty identifying the different types of grain in a field is most likely to be poked in the eye by oats (German Hafer, French avoine). Flowers grow on the stalks of the 0.5 to 1.5-metre plants which hang down when ripe, giving it it’s typical, slightly clustered appearance. Oats were proverbially still on everyone’s lips until the end of the 18th century.

For a long time it was the staple food of a large part of the population, primarily as porridge. Only after life got a bit more crispy from falling bread grain prices did it lose this monopoly-like position. The most familiar oat product of our times are oat flakes. For this whole oat groats are sorted by size and dehulled. The result is heated in a kiln, creating the typical nut-like aroma. Finally, they get their flake shape by passing between two smooth metal rolls.

The consumption of oat flakes makes a significant contribution to our well-being. The grain product that already has a permanent place on the menu of the smallest of children contains an exceptional number of amino acids, unsaturated fats and vitamins (e.g. biotin and vitamin K). The tasty flakes are also valuable suppliers of important minerals such as magnesium, iron and zinc.

The inconspicuous existence they endure on the shelves of our storage cupboards comes to an abrupt end once they get into the hands of an imaginative cook: They crown au gratin potatoes with crispy crusts and meatballs, rolled in them before frying, radiate with an especially appetising colour. Oat flakes can be made into vegetarian burgers and turn nut biscuits into a fully-fledged delicacy.

They unfold their full flavour outstandingly in a nut oat bread, as an oat flake casserole with cocoa they help to entice crotchety kids to the table, and as an Appenzeller oat soup they make cheese enthusiasts happy. Porridge is part of the daily diet in England and Scotland. “It keeps you going” is how its beneficial effect is summarized in short on the island.

What tastes considerably better than its name sounds is a carefully prepared gruel soup that, in addition to our flakes, doesn’t have to contain more than water, broth and a few fresh herbs. Last, but not least oat flakes with milk, yoghurt, mashed bananas or fruit juice results in a tasty, lightening-fast breakfast, that lasts a long time.

Incidentally, it has now been scientifically shown that due to their beneficial components vitamin-rich whole foods have positive effects on the mood and energy of those eating them.

That’s where the phrase “feeling his oats” comes from. Nowadays we’d say “he’s probably doing too well”.

Text: Hans Kantereit