I’m sorry to say that you all have missed out on an exciting experiment in this house. I have been trying to figure out which form of oatmeal/oat-related hot cereal that I like best. I have reached a conclusion and I thought you all might appreciate hearing about the findings. Please feel free to correct me if I have any of the nomenclature wrong.

Rolled: These are regular rolled quick oats out of the bulk bin. The oat is rolled and they feel very thin. They take a minute or two to cook in the microwave. Not bad. Certainly better than instant oatmeal (which I don’t like at all) which cooks in about the same time. Has a tendency to get a little pasty and has a more pasty taste. I don’t mind a little paste (but not a lot of paste - hello instant) sometimes, when you want something more soothing.

5-Grain: This is Bob’s Red Mill 5-Grain rolled cereal. Enh. I might like it better mixed with a little more of the regular rolled oats. It just seemed to develop a strange gelatinous goo around it that I found somewhat unpleasant. That might be remedied by a longer cooking time to make a thicker cereal. I have to continue trying this one, but it’s not my favorite.

Oat Bran: Little bits of oat bran. This is from Hodgson’s Mill. I like this, but it’s not as hearty as one might like as compared to the other oatmeals. Still good for a change of pace though. I seem to be incapable of making this without having it explode a little in the microwave, though.

Steel-cut/Irish/pinhead: Available in most bulk bins. I always make it on the stove top, either starting from scratch and taking the 15-20 minutes it takes to cook (although if you toast it in the oven for awhile prior to cooking, it shortens the time), or starting it the night before by boiling the water, dumping in the oatmeal, and then turning it off and letting it sit overnight. Has a good taste and is definitely in the “hearty” category, with its chewy texture and whole grain. The one issue I have with it is that I find it somewhat difficult to chew at times because the grains are small - not difficult in that the grain is tough, but the small bits don’t like to stay between my teeth.

Scottish/porridge: These are Old Wessex Scottish style porridge oats. This is my new favorite. They combine the ease of a rolled oatmeal with the chewiness and flavor of steel-cut. They are much thicker than the regular rolled oatmeal. I have to admit that I need to compare how the bulk bin rolled oats and the Scottish porridge compare to good old Quaker. I think Quaker falls in the middle, thickness-wise, but again, I’ll check on that. These take me just under 4 minutes in the microwave and I do have to watch them for bubbling over, so there are stops and starts, but I think it’s worth it for this:

Ooh! Note the individual pieces, no paste to be seen. I like my oatmeal thick, but those of you who don’t could add some milk at this point to thin things out. This is 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1 cup water, cooked in the microwave, with 2 loose teaspoons of brown sugar (unpacked, not packed, which would be a little too sweet), a tablespoon of ground flaxseed, 1/4 cup of dried cranberries, and 1/3 cup of wild blueberries. This is my current favorite everyday breakfast.