What's on your porridge?

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What's on your porridge?

  • Sugar

    Votes: 81 35.8%
  • Salt

    Votes: 48 21.2%
  • Honey

    Votes: 87 38.5%
  • Milk

    Votes: 52 23.0%
  • Jam

    Votes: 18 8.0%
  • Nothing

    Votes: 15 6.6%
  • Don't like porridge

    Votes: 13 5.8%

  • Total voters
    226

fred gordon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 8, 2006
2,099
19
78
Aberdeenshire
I've often wondered why some people put sugar on their porridge. I just put some milk on mine and flavour it with salt. So what do you put on your prrridge?
 

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
1
55
SHROPSHIRE UK
Well Fred you will probably hate this......honey with assorted nuts (seasame sunflower etc) and raisins. At the mo I am having maple syrup just on its own mmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnmmnmmmnmnmmmmmmmm
Dave
 

fred gordon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 8, 2006
2,099
19
78
Aberdeenshire
I am into porridge at the mo and I like cinnamon, raisins and a bit of sugar....Can't imagine salt on it....:eek:

Ha Jon, that's why I published the Poll. Most Scots would only put salt on their porridge. You should try it it really brings out the flavour of the oats. Which is another thing traditionally porridge was made from oatmeal and not the porridge oats many folk use these days. Go on try some salt, not too much though.:p
 

Jodie

Native
Aug 25, 2006
1,561
11
54
London
www.google.co.uk
Sometimes I get "porridge to go" from a local porridge emporium and I never feel they
quite understand that, yes, I know the porridge is made with milk but I would like milk
added to it in liquid form. They seem to find it odd.

I should really just stick to making my own - it is what a microwave was invented for :D

Actually I'd never heard of the salt thing before but possibly only because my family
has a sweet tooth ;)

Are we going to have a 'no true Scotsman' argument shortly :)
 

JonnyP

Full Member
Oct 17, 2005
3,833
29
Cornwall...
Ha Jon, that's why I published the Poll. Most Scots would only put salt on their porridge. You should try it it really brings out the flavour of the oats. Which is another thing traditionally porridge was made from oatmeal and not the porridge oats many folk use these days. Go on try some salt, not too much though.:p

Ok Fred, here is my challenge....I will try it with some salt, it does intrigue me even though it sounds awful, but you my friend have to try it with cinnamon and raisins and some sugar.... You up for it....?
 

fred gordon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 8, 2006
2,099
19
78
Aberdeenshire
Ok Fred, here is my challenge....I will try it with some salt, it does intrigue me even though it sounds awful, but you my friend have to try it with cinnamon and raisins and some sugar.... You up for it....?

Way ahead of you Jon!:p I have indeed tried it this way and, to tell the truth, it's quite good. However, the best way, and the more traditional in Scotland, is with milk and salt. In the past the milk, or cream, would have been in one bowl and the porridge in another. Dip the spoon into the porridge and then transfer the loaded spoon into the milk/cream to coat the porridge the eat. I have tried it this way, a bit of a fiddle and more washing up, up boy it is good.:D
 

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
1
55
SHROPSHIRE UK
Love porridge....mum used to cook it in a pan with milk and then put it in a dinner palte like a cow pat, then poured a pool of milk round it and sugar sprinkled on it.
This way the porridge cools quicker and you can scoop up the porridge and add some of the milk to the spoon to cool it. Haven't had it like this for years as mine is done in the micro:eek: try it this way one day it is a good way to eat it....I am a porridge expert... dont like salt on it as I think of it as a pudding and not savory add a bit of cream to the milk to really pimp it up! D
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,107
2,833
66
Pembrokeshire
I love porrige but it has to be made with a deal of salt then eaten with whipped cream and demarrera sugar - sweet, savoury and cream!
Covers all the banned foods in one glorious bowl....
For a sweet treat try it with honey and whisky, with clotted cream
It is better with salt and no sugar than with sugar and no salt!
Milk is not as good as cream!
Cook the oats in water (not milk as some heathens do!) with generous amounts of salt until it is a creamy - not sticky - concistency, pour into bowls. Apply a good dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with a level dessert spoon of dem sugar. Eat by taking a spoonful of por with at tad of cream until you are left with a bitty cream and sugar all on its own.
Heaven!
Seriously addictive and bad for arteries, blood pressure and waistline in excess (which is the only way to have it!)
For the serious porrige addict make an excess pour it into trays and let it set.
Eat it cold with a raw onion and a hunk of mature cheddar - it makes a great lunch.
Add raisins or dried apple to the mix as it cooks, tray it and sprinkle it with demerrara and cool it for a great bun.
Porrige a great meal any time of day or night!
I am now hungry...
 

JonnyP

Full Member
Oct 17, 2005
3,833
29
Cornwall...
Way ahead of you Jon!:p I have indeed tried it this way and, to tell the truth, it's quite good. However, the best way, and the more traditional in Scotland, is with milk and salt. In the past the milk, or cream, would have been in one bowl and the porridge in another. Dip the spoon into the porridge and then transfer the loaded spoon into the milk/cream to coat the porridge the eat. I have tried it this way, a bit of a fiddle and more washing up, up boy it is good.:D

Nice one...Ok, I am gonna try it your way. Do I boil the oats in water or milk and do I add salt as a topping or put it in the pan..?
 

fred gordon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 8, 2006
2,099
19
78
Aberdeenshire
Nice one...Ok, I am gonna try it your way. Do I boil the oats in water or milk and do I add salt as a topping or put it in the pan..?

This is the way I make it but, as you will see from the comments of others, there are many ways.
Put a cup of oatmeal or porridge oats into a pan. Add 2.5 cups of water and stir. If you can let this soak overnight. Add a small teaspoon of salt an put on the heat to boil stirring regularly. As it comes up to the boil it will thicken. Turn down the heat and simmer for 2-3 mins, still stirring regularly. Pour into a bowl, better than a plate, and add some milk. If you like you can add some more salt at this stage. If this not to your liking you can experiment, but thanks for trying anyway. Let me know what you think.

Traditionally porridge is a savoury dish but has obviously been much adapted over the centuries. You can make it with milk instead of water. In fact when I was a kid and had a cold, or whatever, my mother would make it this way as a treat.

There is an alternative to porridge called Brose. Here you just add the boiling water to the oatmeal and stir it in, also having added salt to taste. Put a saucer over the bold and leave for 2-3 mins. Again add milk as in porridge. Brose is a great meal whem you are out camping as it only requires oatmeal salt and hot water. It was probably more common than porridge in past centuries as it was so easy to make. Interestingly oatmeal was carried in the sporran, one of its traditional uses before it was used to hold your wallet and a hankerchef at weddings!:D
 

JonnyP

Full Member
Oct 17, 2005
3,833
29
Cornwall...
This is the way I make it but, as you will see from the comments of others, there are many ways.
Put a cup of oatmeal or porridge oats into a pan. Add 2.5 cups of water and stir. If you can let this soak overnight. Add a small teaspoon of salt an put on the heat to boil stirring regularly. As it comes up to the boil it will thicken. Turn down the heat and simmer for 2-3 mins, still stirring regularly. Pour into a bowl, better than a plate, and add some milk. If you like you can add some more salt at this stage. If this not to your liking you can experiment, but thanks for trying anyway. Let me know what you think.

Traditionally porridge is a savoury dish but has obviously been much adapted over the centuries. You can make it with milk instead of water. In fact when I was a kid and had a cold, or whatever, my mother would make it this way as a treat.

There is an alternative to porridge called Brose. Here you just add the boiling water to the oatmeal and stir it in, also having added salt to taste. Put a saucer over the bold and leave for 2-3 mins. Again add milk as in porridge. Brose is a great meal whem you are out camping as it only requires oatmeal salt and hot water. It was probably more common than porridge in past centuries as it was so easy to make. Interestingly oatmeal was carried in the sporran, one of its traditional uses before it was used to hold your wallet and a hankerchef at weddings!:D

Cheers Fred, I shall put some oats into soak tonight and cook me up some salty porridge in the morning...I will let you know the outcome...
 
B

bushyboo

Guest
mmmmmmm porridge
I have to say i like it with sugar or salt as a kid my dad used to make it and put sugar on it for us but as i got older i got to like it with salt. i also keep some it a zip lock bag in amongst my rations wouldnt think of going away for the weekend without some :nono:
 

mr dazzler

Native
Aug 28, 2004
1,722
83
uk
I do the same proportion's as you Fred, 1:2 1/2. I geneally do 1 milk, 1 1/2water. I like salt, the wife and kids dont, I sneak it in sometimes. Micro wave porridge? no thanks :eek: Constant stirring is the key, I use the lowest heat on the smallest gas ring, takes longer and needs more care, but the pan is always easier to wash (It almost lifts off just with the water from the tap, if you leave the pan without stirring you get like a thin oatcake burnt onto the botom :D ) I like to add cream, sometimes butter, treacle (the kids like that) they also like sugar. Sometimes I use a mix of oats and oatmeal for a finer creamier mix. Do any of you folks in the "wild and lonely places" north of the border still tip porridge in your kitchen drawer to make flapjack's?
 

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