Russia grows one-third of the world’s oats and northern Europe another one-third. The cool moist climate there, including Scotland, is conducive to growing oats.
A century ago, oats were grown mainly to feed horses, but as the horse population declined sharply with the spread of motor vehicles, soybeans became more profitable for animal feed.
Animals still consume three-fourths of the oats. Human consumption is relatively meager, except in Scotland.
MOON Co-op stocks four types of oats: thick rolled, quick rolled, steel-cut groats, and bran. All are organic.
Steel-cut groats, especially popular in Scotland, are the whole grain chopped into small pieces. Their nutty taste and chewy texture make groats my favorite.
To cook groats, bring to a boil one cup of groats with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Reduce to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If you don’t have time to cook in the morning, cook groats the night before and reheat them in the morning in a pot or the microwave.
Rolled oats are groats that are steamed and rolled into flat flakes. Quick-rolled oats are pulverized into smaller flakes.
To cook rolled oats, boil one cup of water, add one-half cup of rolled oats and a pinch of salt, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes (thick rolled) or five minutes (quick).
Scotland embraces oats in January to celebrate the Jan. 25 birthday of its national poet Robert Burns. Burns Night suppers are held throughout Scotland in January.
The centerpiece of Burns supper is haggis, a football-size casing made from a sheep’s stomach filled with a mix of oatmeal and sheep’s liver, lungs, and heart. In addition to kilts, bagpipes, Scotch whisky, and other Scottish traditions, Burns supper always includes a recitation of his poem “Address to a Haggis.”
Goetta, the Cincinnati specialty, is also a mix of oatmeal and ground meat. Vegetarian forms of goetta and haggis can be made by substituting lentils for the meat products and eliminating the casing.
Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary, published in England, defined oats as “eaten by people in Scotland, but fit only for horses in England.” The Scots retorted, “That’s why England has such good horses, and Scotland has such fine people.”
Our always dark winter mornings, and this year’s unusually cold and snowy conditions, are a fit time for the fine people of Oxford to start their day with organic oatmeal.
Several types of organic oatmeal are available at MOON Co-op Grocery, Oxford's consumer-owned full-service grocery featuring natural, local, organic, sustainable, and Earth-friendly products. MOON Co-op, located at 512 S. Locust St. in Oxford, is open to the public every day. For more information, visit www.mooncoop.coop.
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