What's the difference between the different oatmeals?

wordena

I bought old fashioned oats today, because supposedly their better for you than the instant. But could someone tell me the difference between instant, old fashioned, and steel cut. They all look the same on the package and the packaging had nearly the same nutrition content. What about this over night oatmeal? Do you need a specific type?

sarah3333

I think it has to do with the way they are processed. I've been told that instant oatmeal spikes your blood sugar where old fashioned oats does not. I think it has to do with the GI rating.

drmerc

Eat what you enjoy, let your body pancreas worry about your insulin levels

The difference is how much they are processed, steel cut oats are just cut up
Rolled oats are smashed after etc

BelindaDuvessa

Overnight oatmeal is done best with the Steel cut oats. They take much more water and much longer to cook than the other oat types. As far as I can tell, instant and Rolled are no different. They both take around the same amount of time to cook. I think Steel cut might be higher in fiber but I'm not sure. I actually have to kinda chew them. They have a consistency closer to rice than the oatmeal you're probably used to.

DannPM31

The only difference, to my understanding (from my beer brewing background), is the temperature of the rollers that press them flat. The hotter the rollers, the more "processed" they are, and ergo, the reduced need for cook time.