Steel-cut oat

Oat

The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...

s are whole grain groats

Groats

Groats are the hulled grains of various cereals, such as oats, wheat, barley or buckwheat . Groats are whole grains that include the cereal germ and fiber-rich bran portion of the grain as well as the endosperm...

 (the inner portion of the oat kernel

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

) which have been cut into only two or three pieces by steel rather than being rolled

Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers and then steamed and lightly toasted. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten. After the outer husk has been removed from...

.

Overview

Steel-cut oats are golden in color and resemble small rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 pieces. They are also known as coarse-cut oats, pinhead oats, or Irish oats. This form of oats takes longer to prepare than instant or rolled oats due to its minimal processing, typically 15–30 minutes to simmer (much less if pre-soaked). The flavor of the cooked oats is described as being nuttier than other types of oats, and they are also chewier.

Scottish oats or Scottish oatmeal

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is ground oat groats , or a porridge made from oats . Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats....

 are sometimes confused with steel-cut oats. Scottish oats are steamed steel-cut oats that are then ground by stones into an oat meal.

Health benefits

Steel-cut oats have a lower glycemic index

Glycemic index

The glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more...

 than instant oatmeal (42 vs. 66, respectively), causing a lower spike in insulin levels when consumed.

External links

• A recipe for preparing steel-cut oats from Alton Brown
  Alton Brown
  Alton Crawford Brown is an American television personality, author, actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats and the mini-series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and he is the host and main commentator on Iron Chef America...