The origin and importance of oatmeal

It is not true, as the humor website Cracked satirically suggests, that oatmeal was invented by a research scientist at Britain's Royal Academy of Adhesives and Sealants during an experiment in search of new forms of industrial glue. But if your idea of oatmeal is the pasty variety made in a microwave from a packet, the story can seem plausible.

In Scotland they know better. Their oatmeal, or porridge, is a hallowed dish, celebrated every year at the World Porridge Making Championship in the village of Carrbridge. Participants compete for the coveted golden spurtle, a gilded version of the 15th-century tool designed specifically for stirring oatmeal.

No wonder, then, that Samuel Johnson defined oats as "a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people." Since January is National Oatmeal Month and more oatmeal is consumed this month than any other (owing most likely to the cold weather), perhaps this is a good time to consider why the Scots are so keen on the stuff.

They were hardly the first to cultivate oats, but for reasons of geography and climate they were among the first to appreciate them. Oats have been around for thousands of years, the oldest known grains traceable to Egypt's 12th Dynasty, around 2000 B.C., though the Chinese may have been familiar with them even earlier than that. But unlike wheat and barley, oats were not valued much by the Egyptians and were not actually cultivated by them. In fact, they were regarded as little more than weeds.

The first attempts at cultivation, according to the "Oxford Companion to Food," did not take place for another thousand years. But still people did not find oats particularly appealing. The Greeks and Romans considered them fare for barbarians and nothing more than a substandard form of wheat, a crop best suited for horses. Even today, some 95% of commercially grown oats are produced not for human consumption but for animal fodder.

Thanks to the Romans, oat cultivation found its way to Britain where the climate, especially in Scotland is well suited to growing the grain. Oats can thrive in a moist, cool climate, like that of Scotland, where wheat and barley cannot. Thus, it didn't take long for oats to become a staple crop. And it didn't take long for oatmeal to become something of a national dish, right alongside haggis, which itself contains oatmeal. No wonder, as the Oxford Companion puts it, "There seems to be an affinity between oats and people of Celtic origin."

It's an affinity the rest of us would do well to develop. If like the Scots you take your oatmeal seriously and elevate it to heights above mere mush, you'll gladly embrace another gruel winter.

Oatmeal Brulee with Ginger-Maple Cream

This recipe, adapted from Redbook Magazine, would do any Scot proud. It elevates plain oatmeal to such a level that instead of eating it for breakfast you may be tempted to serve it for dessert.

1 cup cream

4 slices fresh ginger

1 stick cinnamon

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

4 cups water

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup chopped dried cherries

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup raspberries

6 tablespoons superfine sugar

Bring cream, ginger, cinnamon and zest to a simmer over low heat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and stir in maple syrup. Boil water and add oats, apricots, cherries and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the ginger-maple cream. Cover and let stand for 2 minutes. Grease six ramekins (10 ounces) with butter. Divide raspberries among the ramekins and spoon oatmeal over the tops.

Sprinkle each ramekin with 1 tablespoon sugar and broil, 4 to 6 inches from the heat, for 7 to 9 minutes until the sugar caramelizes. Serve with remaining ginger-maple cream.

Tom Harte's book, "Stirring Words," is available at local bookstores. A Harte Appetite airs at 8:49 a.m. Fridays on KRCU, 90.9 FM. Contact Tom at news@semissourian.com or at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO, 63702-0699.