The best winter breakfast

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Posted at 10:19AM, 16 November 2010 by Carol Wilson - Food writer

I love my morning porridge. On a chilly winter morning when there's an icy nip in the air, you can't beat a bowl of piping hot oats. I've tried instant oat cereals, but I found them to be too smooth and lacking texture. Nothing like the real thing!

The once humble breakfast dish can now be found on the menus of the poshest hotels.

Porridge has been around for hundreds of years, but now it's enjoying a resurgence of popularity as sales are soaring and the once humble breakfast dish can now be found on the menus of the poshest hotels.

It's not hard to see why - a pack of oats is inexpensive and porridge is easy to make in just minutes. And it's one of the healthiest ways to start the day. Oats are a great source of fibre and protein and have been proven to lower cholesterol. Because porridge is digested slowly it releases energy gradually into the bloodstream, so helps to keep you full for longer- and more able to resist sugary mid-morning snacks.

Scotland of course is the ancestral home of porridge and the Scots take their porridge seriously; each year the World Porridge Making Championship awards the world title to the porridge-maker judged to have made the best traditional porridge, using just oatmeal and water. The stirring is done in the time-honoured way with a straight wooden stick called a 'Spurtle' or 'Theevil'.

There's intense debate about how to make authentic porridge. Should the oats be soaked? Is it best to use water, milk or both? Should you add sugar or salt and a knob of butter? How long it should be cooked for is another source of disagreement, ranging from a few minutes or longer, to cooking overnight in the bottom of a very low oven. Personally I stick to the method I've used for years. I use twice the volume of milk and water to oats, a pinch of salt and cook slowly in a pan for 5-6 minutes.

In Scotland hot porridge is traditionally eaten with cold milk and a sprinkling of salt; definitely nothing else! I have a sweet tooth so I'm partial to porridge with a good glug of cream and a liberal sprinkling of brown sugar or a generous drizzle of maple or golden syrup. If I'm feeling in need of something healthier I sweeten it with honey and add a few berries or some dried fruit. A quick poll among friends and family revealed that other added extras include a sprinkling of cinnamon or grated nutmeg, banana, toasted nuts, yoghurt, black treacle, stewed fruit, rosehip syrup and chocolate syrup. My Scottish dad liked to add a dash of whisky to his porridge on frosty mornings 'to keep out the cold'!

How do you like your porridge?

Comments

1-20 of 21 comments

Cassandra Amy Rose

16 November 2010, 12:19PM
Cassandra Amy Rose

I really really really DON'T like porridge! The only breakfast cereal of that nature that I like is ready break, sprinkled with brown sugar! I don't know why it just tastes so different to porridge and so much nicer! Yum:-)

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StormyRaincloud

16 November 2010, 2:05PM
StormyRaincloud

I luuuurve porridge :) I put it on in the slow cooker overnight, on the keep warm setting, and you do need a lot more liquid, but you wake up in the morning to this wonderful aroma all around the house, and just help yourself, with no fumbling around trying to make it while sleepy. It's fab :)

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aimps

16 November 2010, 8:13PM
aimps

True - nothing beats a porridge on a cold day. I like to have mine with raisins, sesame seeds, cinnamon and a bit of honey. I've tried porridge with peanut butter as well but it wasn't as nice.

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flubbles1982

17 November 2010, 9:27AM
flubbles1982

I adore porridge and had some this morning. In my opinion I have to make it with water! I had it with banana, natural yoghurt and maple syrup. I also love it with stewed apple and yoghurt, or a sprinkling of dried fruit, fresh strawberries and a swirl of jam! Oh I want breakfast again now!

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rita

17 November 2010, 10:20AM
rita

Well I like porridge all year round. I`ve tried lots of recipes, but the best one, I tried this morning was simple yet very delicious. Just half cup of apple juice and half cup water, one third cup oats, and a pinch of cinnamon or cloves. Boil for a couple of minutes and top with maple syrup or honey. It tastes like an apple pie filling. Yummy.

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CloClo

17 November 2010, 7:22PM
CloClo

i love porridge too....i make it with milk (occasionally soak the oats in the milk whilst i get dressed), and add lots of golden syrup. Also like it with really dark chocolate, have had that as a quick comforting desert several times!

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Mary

18 November 2010, 6:31PM
Mary

Love it love it!! :0) I like to eat it with two crushed up saccharins and made with water for a low calorie filling start to the day!

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tanya

18 November 2010, 11:41PM
tanya

I love porridge! In our house breakfast is always (about 14 years) porridge with chopped bananas or prunes or grated apple. I do Ready Brek sometimes but it's not the same.

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Tom_Austin

19 November 2010, 10:54AM
Tom_Austin

Porridge is great on a cold winter's morning. I like mine with crushed banana and honey.

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poppysuze

21 November 2010, 5:55AM
poppysuze

I love porridge, make it with milk and add a swirl of honey, delish.

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Sims Recipes

21 November 2010, 8:33PM
Sims Recipes

i love porridge and have it every weekday morning from about October to March with a few sultanas and a generous sprinkling of sugar. Healthly and yummy!!

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DaveSwan

22 November 2010, 9:09AM
DaveSwan

This is such a nice classic breakfast, it's all about the wholegrain heart health foods!

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Av

27 November 2010, 2:59PM
Av

I love porridge all year round. On cold days I make it with water and a little salt and only cook it until it pops like lava. Then I serve it with a chopped apple and a little cold milk. For warm days I soak it in cold milk and add fruit and seeds, and some plain yogurt. Yum!

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Reka

1 December 2010, 2:22PM
Reka

Oats porridge isnt just for breakfast! This afternoon I'd made some spicy apple and lentil soup, and had some thick porridge left over from the morning. I cook mine fairly thick with a touch of salt, half water and half milk. Spooned in a quarter cup of thick porridge into my soup - the tangy slightly sweet appley soup married well with wholesome porridge. ...mmmmm this was comfort food at its best. The next time I have leftover porridge, will know how to use it up; as the lunch I carry to work usually consists of left overs. Have another item to add to my repetoire.

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trisha

1 December 2010, 7:50PM
trisha

i like flapjacks!!! haha i love porrige its the best comfort food ever!!!! like mine with milk and jam YUMMMMMMY!!!!

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Babs

1 December 2010, 11:25PM
Babs

I am the same as poppysuze, mad with milk and honey on top, simple and so comforting. I do like the sound of dark chocolate. Will have to try that.

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Ann

2 December 2010, 11:02AM
Ann

porridge made with milk, blueberries, a dash of cinammon and golden syrup. Strawberries, grated apple, dried cherries all taste good as well.

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ZeTallGerman

5 December 2010, 8:12AM
ZeTallGerman

I love porridge, but not with water and salt... euwch! Growing up, my grandmother always used to make oat porridge with milk, cinnamon and honey (sometimes also some bananas or a few slices of canned pears). But I never knew of the water & salt recipe until I met my Scottish husband. I had a stomach flu one year (when we were first living together) and I asked him whether he could make me porridge. "Sure!" he beamed and ran off to the kitchen. I was in for a horrible surprise when he came back with his version of porridge... yuck! I've since introduced him to our sweet, milky version... but he just doesn't like porridge full-stop.

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anna

6 December 2010, 5:50PM
anna

oooooooooooh this is making me hungry! true, nothing beats a hot bowl of porridge in the morning i like it with apple and blueberry

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Anne

13 December 2010, 9:59PM
Anne

While I have never liked porridge my kids love it. I make it with sugar and add different kinds of fruit, raisons,apricot,stewed apples,bananas. Sometimes I add different flavors of jams. It keeps them full of energy and full until dinner. I am from Scotland, my grannie makes it with salt and my granda makes brose.

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