# Porridge **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556 "2010-09-13T01:50:15Z")\ **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:** [September 13, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/1 "2010-09-13T01:50:15Z")
Steel-cut oats are simmering now, with a dash of salt and some dried cranberries. Another kind of porridge I like is Cream of Wheat (farina). Haven’t had it in ages though, since the steel-cut oats bin is right at the entrance of the supermarket. Hm… I wonder if they have farina in the bulk bins? Or maybe even semolina? And then there’s the good ol’ Southern porridge, grits. In the immortal words of Mr. Horse, [‘No, sir, I don’t like it!’](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Mj1Us13Yk) Of course, I’ve never had it home-cooked. Dad used to like a porridge of leftover white rice with milk and sugar. What kind of porridge do you like? ---
**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:** [September 13, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/2 "2010-09-13T01:51:17Z")
Damn. I meant to post in Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/3 "2010-09-13T02:01:27Z")
Moved MPSIMS --\> Cafe Society. twicks, who was on a major Cream of Wheat kick last winter ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/4 "2010-09-13T02:07:30Z")
I like steel cut or quick cooking oats, can’t abide instant anymore. I like oats sweet or savory but tend to go sweet most of the time. I also like cream of wheat. I more recently acquired a taste for grits and I think the key is never ever eat instant grits. Grits are made much better with the addition of cheese but are still tolerable with just butter and salt. Some people like them sweet, I don’t. I currently have all of the above in my fridge. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/5 "2010-09-13T02:10:50Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I like oats sweet or savory What do you put in the latter? I have instant oatmeal three mornings a week on my commute. Actually, it’s often not porridge. It’s gruel. With gruel, I don’t need a spoon and can just drink it as I drive. That gets imitation, low-cal maple syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/6 "2010-09-13T02:12:24Z")
I want to make some porridge now that I have a spurtle. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/7 "2010-09-13T02:19:56Z")
I am a fan of sweet porridge. I love steel-cut oats, quick cooking oats and I can even eat instant if there’s nothing else. For instant or quick cooking, I prefer them with butter, extra milk and some preserves mixed in. That’s how I was raised. For steel-cut oats, I prefer fruit (either cooked with dried fruit–blueberries, cranberries–or fresh mixed in at the end) and/or some honey. I adore grits with the same accompaniments as instant oats. I have been known to eat savory grits with cheese at times but I prefer them sweet. One of my favorites is leftover short-grain rice, mixed with a bit if milk and either butter and sugar or fresh fruit–usually peaches and/or strawberries. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/8 "2010-09-13T02:21:34Z")
I forgot about Cream of Rice. I lived on that as a kid. I was excited when my daughter was a baby–I had an excuse to stock up on rice cereal! I cannot stand Cream of Wheat. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/9 "2010-09-13T02:23:59Z")
Oh, and Ready Brek was common when I was a child when my relatives would bring it from England when they visited. Now I am hungry. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/10 "2010-09-13T02:25:58Z")
> [@evilbeth](#): > > I cannot stand Cream of Wheat. For a long time I preferred Cream of Wheat to oatmeal. But Cream of Wheat needs milk and sugar. Steel-cut oat porridge only requires a bit of dried fruit cooked in (or jam added after). ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/11 "2010-09-13T02:34:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Steel-cut oat porridge only requires a bit of dried fruit cooked in (or jam added after). Thank you for mentioning jam. Every time I tell someone I like jam or preserves in my oatmeal, they act like I am insane. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/12 "2010-09-13T02:39:53Z")
> [@evilbeth](#): > > Thank you for mentioning jam. Every time I tell someone I like jam or preserves in my oatmeal, they act like I am insane. No worries. Now you have proof that you’re as sane as I am! ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/13 "2010-09-13T03:02:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > No worries. Now you have proof that you’re as sane as I am! I’m not sure if that makes me feel any better! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/14 "2010-09-13T04:46:07Z")
Cream of Wheat (or Farina which is hard to find nowadays; I found it at Wal-Fart) and Malt-O-Meal, both cooked with straight milk instead of water. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/15 "2010-09-13T05:01:36Z")
I like both oatmeal and cream of wheat. At Christmas we have _rommegrot,_ a Norwegian porridge. It’s similar to a very thick, very rich bechamel (white) sauce. Butter, cream, flour cooked and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. If we ate it more often than once a year we’d be chubby folks indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/16 "2010-09-13T05:14:05Z")
Anybody out there remember Wheatena? I haven’t seen it in years. Does this count as “porridge”? It was hefty stuff, but very tasty. Much better than oatmeal, IMHO. And what’s a “spurtle”? ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/17 "2010-09-13T05:17:07Z")
I like Cream of Wheat and its chocolaty sibling, Cocoa Wheat occasionally. I grew up on both, as they are made in the county where I’m originally from. We were actually a test family for new product introduction for Little Crow Milling. I like oatmeal just about any way you fix it. I had oatmeal with dried strawberries for breakfast this morning. I love grits! A breakfast with eggs just isn’t complete without them. Rice and cornmeal mush round out the porrige family for me. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/18 "2010-09-13T05:40:07Z")
So… this isn’t about Ronnie Barker and Fulton Mackay? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/19 "2010-09-13T06:15:27Z")
> [@missred](#): > > I like Cream of Wheat and its chocolaty sibling, Cocoa Wheat occasionally. I grew up on both, as they are made in the county where I’m originally from. We were actually a test family for new product introduction for Little Crow Milling. I haven’t seen CoCo Wheat since I was a kid. I didn’t even know it was still available. > [@](#): > > I like oatmeal just about any way you fix it. I had oatmeal with dried strawberries for breakfast this morning. > > I love grits! A breakfast with eggs just isn’t complete without them. > > Rice and cornmeal mush round out the porrige family for me. Cornmeal mush is great. I like it better sliced and fried, with maple syrup. They used to sell it in blocks, like Velveeta, ready to slice and fry. I miss it. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556/20 "2010-09-13T07:50:47Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > So… this isn’t about Ronnie Barker and Fulton Mackay? This was my first thought too. Love Ronnie. On topic, instant grits are only fit to be used as spackle. Stone-ground whole grits simmered low and slow for at least 30 minutes 'til nice and creamy are the way to go. I prefer savory to sweet myself. Chilled until firm then sliced and fried they are very tasty indeed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porridge/553556.md?page=2)