steel cut oats vs. oats

Steel cut = chopped oat kernels
Old fashioned = pressed oat kernels

The difference is how it's processed to get the outer husk off. Chop it into chunks and expel the husk or smush it flat to break off the husk. Rolled oats (the old fashioned kind) take a lot less time to cook since they have such greater surface area.

Thanks! I love when they just lay out the information in black & white! You don't have to read between the lines and interpret the information!

Most oats in North America are rolled but steel cut are chopped. Quick oats are steamed and rolled, oldfashioned are not precooked. Steel cut oats generally take a long time to cook but are the real traditional coarse oatmeal used for porridge in Scotland (though rolled oats - sometimes called porridge oats - are widely used in the UK too ). I have not been able to find the finer grades of oatmeal in the USA but can make them by blending or processing steel cut or old fashioned oats.

Cooking time is greatly reduced if you soak the steel cut oats in water overnight before cooking them in a pan or microwave next morning.

Probably 5 days out of 7, we have hot oat cereal for breakfast. At the moment, I am using oat bran (1/4 cup to 1 cup of water plus lite salt) which is lower in calories and higher in fiber but I still like to add a tablespoon of steel cut oats for the added"chewiness".

I love my old fashioned oatmeal for breakfast. I love the chewy pop they make between your teeth. Never have tried the steel cut and don't enjoy the quick style at all.
My six year old would not touch oatmeal, just a week or two ago, she decided to give it a try and now we enjoy our chewy oatmeal together every morning! YUM!