So Jamba Juice is now selling “Organic Steel Cut Oats Oatmeal”. What’s so special about steel cut oats?
The oat grains are coarsely chopped instead of crushed by rollers. Steel cut oats are much tastier than rolled oats. They also have a chewy texture that is much more satisying to eat than plain oatmeal.
Oats are normally processed by rolling them between two heavy weights which turns them into those little flakes. Steel cut oats, unlike rolled oats, are chopped up by a steel blade, so they retain some of their shape. They take longer to cook this way, but I think they taste way better. Some people say that it’s healthier, too, but the evidence for that is pretty dubious.
They’re much oatier and tastier than those rolled, steamed oats, in my opinion.
Still not as good as oat groats, though.
Actually, the data shows that steel cut oats are more effective in lowering cholesterol than the rolled variety, and a number of cardiac studies hint that they may be better at reducing cardiac event risk than the rolled stuff, too.
Thanks for the info!
What’s the difference between steel-cut oats and oat groats? I bought some bulk oat groats last time, thinking it was just an alternate name for steel-cut. Tasted the same to me. 
They cut the oat groats with steel to make, you guessed it. They’re next to one another on the processing continuum.
I am actually a big fan of rolled oats, but you have to remember that the general supermarket rolled oats are also parcooked. It’s a little like the way Minute Rice is not as good as real rice. The rolling itself is not as much of the problem.
They’re also known as Irish oats, or Scottish oats.
To add to this, they’re both steel-cut, but Irish oats and Scottish oats are slightly different, as Scottish oats are generally ground much finer and yield a more porridge-like product when cooked. I have both in my cupboard, and they are slightly different products.
According to my doctor, the steel-cut variety still have the bran layer and are therefore more nutritious than the rolled variety. (But Wikipedia suggests that some rolled oats retain the bran.)
See this thread: Who likes Oat Groats?
To me, they were groatier. To the max.
Just don’t gag yourself with the spoon.
They certainly take longer to cook, and the ratio of water to oats is, I believe, higher with steel cut. My package says 4 cups water to 1 cup oats, which allows for some to be absorbed and the rest to evaporate during the 20-30 minutes cooking time. It’s sort of the Arborio rice of the oat world.
I thought oat groats were for parakeets.
You made that same joke in the other thread.
Is the Irish oatmeal in the green box the exactly the same as steel cut oats? I ask because the box is about 10 to 20 times the price of the oats in the bulk section of Henry’s or Whole foods.
Same question asked in this thread.
But nobody responded to it in the other thread!
I can’t abide that sort of inattention.