# Porridge: Oats, farina (Cream of Wheat), or corn (grits) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394 "2012-03-31T16:29:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/1 "2012-03-31T16:29:22Z")
Which porridge do you prefer: Oats, farina, or corn? If none of those, this poll isn’t for you. Oats can be rolled, steel-cut, or whatever. Preparation can be oatmeal or gruel, as you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/2 "2012-03-31T16:35:00Z")
Oatmeal, both sweet and savory. Don’t know as I’ve ever had grits. Haven’t had COW since I was a kid, and wasn’t fond of it then. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/3 "2012-03-31T16:38:59Z")
I like them all. Cream of Wheat was a fave as a kid. I like heartier oatmeals now as well, like the steel cut variety. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/4 "2012-03-31T16:41:48Z")
I had grits once. Once. I normally eat quick-oat gruel. (Easier to drink gruel while driving, than to eat a bowl of porridge.) Steel-cut oats cooked with dried cranberries are healthier, tastier, and second-most often eaten here. But I really prefer the taste and texture of farina (Cream of Wheat, only I’m too cheap to buy the brand-name). This morning I had some with a little milk and strawberry jam. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/5 "2012-03-31T16:52:22Z")
Grits. I like to melt a slice of American cheese in it (horrifying, I know). ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/6 "2012-03-31T16:52:59Z")
I like them all. They’re very different. Steel cut oats with a dab of jam or nutella. It’s a good breakfast on its own. Cream of wheat has this creaminess which is more indulgent than oatmeal and it’s not very nutritious. It’s more comforting than virtuous. I also use it for dumplings as in chicken & dumplings, then I add dill and stiffen with beaten eggs. Grits are a side, not an entire meal and are savory: add lots of butter and pepper and break your sunny-side-up egg yolk in, or add cheese and garlic. Yum. All good. I can’t choose. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/7 "2012-03-31T16:54:45Z")
Steel-cut outs as a main dish, but grits on the side almost always. Surprisingly, some of the best I’ve ever had were from Room Service at Wynn Las Vegas. Somebody in their kitchen is from the South. Proper grits are creamy, golden and hit with as much black pepper, butter, cheese and bacon as the law will allow. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/8 "2012-03-31T17:03:33Z")
I went with corn, although I love oatmeal and farina too. It also depends on what kind of grits are in front of you: the instant or quick-cooking grits will do okay in a pinch (and I agree that they’re best with a runny egg), but real grits are mighty, mighty tasty. A couple of years ago, I had grits at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. I’m probably still working off the calories, but those grits were to Quaker instant grits as Stilton is to Velveeta – nothing wrong with instant grits or Velveeta, but they’re different food types when compared to the real thing. There’s just something awfully comforting about a bowl of porridge (or, as I call it, “a kind of mush”). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/9 "2012-03-31T17:04:28Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Grits. I like to melt a slice of American cheese in it (horrifying, I know). You and the Mittster! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/10 "2012-03-31T17:11:44Z")
I voted oats, but grits are a close second and, really, farina isn’t far behind, either. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/11 "2012-03-31T17:15:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > You and the Mittster! 😃 Yes. It tastes like freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/12 "2012-03-31T17:15:18Z")
I like them all, but I eat oatmeal as a porridge dish, and make farina dumplings for soup. It’s been a long time since I had Co Co Wheats, but those were good. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/13 "2012-03-31T17:35:40Z")
Steel cut oats or even better, oat groats. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/14 "2012-03-31T18:46:58Z")
Grits. I’m from Alabama. Cheese grits rock! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/15 "2012-03-31T18:59:35Z")
My preference is Red River, which is cracked wheat, cracked rye, cracked flax, and whole flax. Basically it is birdseed, so the texture is terrific. Of the three options, I like them all, but prefer oats. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/16 "2012-03-31T20:36:25Z")
I like all equally. I picked Cream O’ Wheat cause’ that’s what I liked as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/17 "2012-03-31T20:43:38Z")
I really like all three equally, but went with grits because that’s what I have most often. That’s what we eat down here, y’all. ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/18 "2012-03-31T20:50:20Z")
If farina is cream of wheat, is this the American word for semolina? Because if it is then semolina is the winner, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/19 "2012-03-31T20:53:21Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > If farina is cream of wheat, is this the American word for semolina? > Because if it is then semolina is the winner, no doubt. From Wiki: ‘When flour comes from softer types of wheats it is white in color. In this case, the correct name is flour, not semolina, which comes only from durum wheat. In the United States, coarser meal coming from softer types of wheats is known also as farina or by the trade name Cream of Wheat.’ Not to be confused with [Allen Hoskins](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Allen_Hoskins_as_Farina_(1923).jpg) of _The Little Rascals_. 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394/20 "2012-03-31T21:09:39Z")
After reading the praises of steel cut oats here on the boards, I tried them but went back to rolled oats. If I want buckwheat kasha I’ll eat buckwheat kasha. I’m back to rolled oats mixed with rolled pearl barley. Steel cut oats never yielded that gluteneous texture I like. Cream of Wheat is always made with milk, not water, and whisked not stirred. (Yellow) grits are mixed with cornmeal for softening, and whole kernel corn. It can be eaten in a bowl, or chilled in a bread pan for slicing and frying later. Molasses for oats, honey for corn, brown sugar for CoW’s, by some reasoning. THE most decadent gourmetized breakfast cereal in my repertoire is rice pudding mixed with minced meat pie filling. The least decadent was Ralston: boiled chaff in a bowl. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge-oats-farina-cream-of-wheat-or-corn-grits/617394.md?page=2)