OFF THE SHELF
Steel-cut oats have sophisticated taste, texture

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal is perhaps the most widely available steel-cut oats in Hawai'i. Note the award for "uniformity of granulation" on the can. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Good ol' Quaker Oats are serviceable, reliable, easy to find and inexpensive. Great for cookies, cakes and breads, but as cereal, they can't hold a candle to steel-cut oats.

Steel-cut oats (a.k.a. Scotch oats or Irish oatmeal) are sophisticated in taste and texture, have to be tracked down in health or specialty food stores (or in the health-food sections of some grocery stores), are time-consuming to cook and easily cost twice as much as regular oats. But for an extraordinary breakfast experience — a springy, slightly crunchy texture, a lovely toasted flavor — they're well worth the investment. You'll never want plain "mush" again.

Steel-cut oats are groats (cleaned, toasted and hulled whole oats) that have been cut into small, uniform pieces. (Note the award for "uniformity of granulation" on the can pictured; John McCann's is perhaps the most widely available brand of the oats here.)

In contrast, old-fashioned or rolled oats, the kind Grandma bought in the cylindrical Quaker Oats cardboard container, have been steamed and flattened with huge rollers. "Quick-cooking oats" are rolled even thinner and given some extra cooking time. And "instant oats," the kind you find in the microwave packets, are cut groats that have been extensively precooked before rolling.

The bottom line: The more the oats are processed beyond the groats stage, the farther they are removed from the clean flavor and resilient texture of the grain and the more valuable nutrients are leached away. Oats are full of vitamin B1, B2 and E and are very high in soluble fiber; they are known to help reduce cholesterol and to help maintain a regular digestive system.