Porridge - making it tasty.....

niamh4626

What do people put in their porridge to make it a little nicer?

I have been puting milk and some sweetner but I am getting sick of that fast so need something new to put in with it.

I tried banana the other day but didnt find it overly nice tbh..... and i'm not a fan really of honey

Ideas greatly appreciated!!:D

jester77

Cinnamon is great!

rocknchef

jam is great or a little whiskey;)

trishawisha

Roasted nuts, brown sugar, vanilla....jam.... berries, the list is endless, start experimenting!

seanybiker

jester77 wrote: »

Cinnamon is great!

Nom nom nom. I love cinnamon. Would snort lines of cinnamon powder.

lucylu

On TV3 this morning there was a woman promoting the Dungarvan food festival on this weekend and as Flavahans was their local producer and sponsor she had a few recipes with their products
One was porridge oats in a bowl poured over Apple juice and then stirred in Stewed Apple and leave overnight..
then eat cold or reheat in a microwave


I detest porridge .. I gag when I see someone eat it

MonicaBing

Strawberry Jam all the way and my kids are partial to cream in theirs!

Das Kitty

Ah Niamh! I feel your pain. Porridge is a brilliant food but can be ick when not made right.

I would advise making it with milk (I know it's more fattening but it's better to enjoy it rather than be gagging so I'd use semi-skimmed). I also budget in a bit of brown sugar as sweeteners, although grand and all, aren't going to make you enjoy your porridge.

Apart from that, try to vary what you put in.

Fresh berries (or the frozen ones thawed out)
Nutmeg (freshly grated is so yum)
Cinnamon (although I'm not a huge fan a lot of people do like it)
A tablespoon of maple syrup
Grated apple (really nice with nutmeg)
Pumpkin Seeds (these give a nice bite and are full of zinc)
Jam Jam Jam (yummy!)
Lemon Curd (very odd but it does taste mcnyommersons)
A few juicy sultanas cooked in with it so they swell up.
Sliced peaches from a can (haven't tried this but I know someone who raves about it).

The best porridge I ever had was in a health food cafe in Galway, Full milk, Crystalline Sugar and Cream. Chock full of calories but I still think about it.

jelly&icecream

Honey! It makes everything yummy!

Das Kitty

jelly&icecream wrote: »

Honey! It makes everything yummy!

Read her post again, she's not a fan.

Malari

Raisins or sultanas.

I throw a handful of these in when I'm making it the night before and they swell up overnight. By morning they have added a nice sweet taste.

Hennybug

Flahavans have a really tasty one with apple and raisins. I make it with milk, add maple syrup for sweetness and some sunflower seeds and linseeds - yum!

niamh4626

God guys, I thought I was going to come back to the post today and have only 1 reply if even but there are eleven!!!

Thanks a million for all your suggestions guys, I am defo going to try out the stewed apple one and the cinnaman or even both together, I love apple stewed with a cinniman stick, yum!!:D

cozmik

Almond butter is good.

Jamfan

Sound. I love porridge too so thanks for all the ideas.

Some people make it with water instead of milk which I think makes it taste pretty awful.

I find that maple syrup is yummy with porridge. Proper Canadian stuff and none of this "maple flavoured" nonsense.

Norinoco

I love love love porridge, look forward to it every morning when I get out of bed.

Jamfan - I find making it with water, letting it go drier than you normally would and then adding milk to make it wet again, less milk being used and tastes just as good.

Kitty - "Grated apple (really nice with nutmeg)" - I've added fresh nutmeg and apple to the shopping list, sounds yum.

im_invisible

when i was younger we used to sprinkle a handful of cornflakes on top, havnt tried this in years,
but i also used to break a slice of brown soda bread into pieces and mix it in, try it, its the business

cozmik

im_invisible wrote: »

when i was younger we used to sprinkle a handful of cornflakes on top, havnt tried this in years,

+1

hehe I was a big fan of cornflakes on top.

Minder

+1 for a tablespoon of scotch and a big swirl of honey.

Sparks

Soak the oats in milk overnight; nuke or heat on the hob the next morning; add a tablespoon of the darkest brown sugar you can find to the bowl and pour the porridge over it and stir.

blinding

A spoon or two of Nutella lifts the old bowl of porridge for me.

Seaneh

I use quick oats with some nautral yogurt and a banana or some berries, nom nom nom, dont cook the porridge, just mix with the yogurt and fruit.

sillysasauge

Fromage Frais goes really well with it surprisingly enough. I often add chopped wallnuts in as well for the omega 3's

goingpostal

I always use Bunalun Organic Porridge oats. I find them way nicer than Flahavans. More chewy. Yum. They are only 1.66EUR for a kilo bag in Dunnes in the organic section. Half a cup of them and a cup of filtered water and a pinch of sea salt for flavour. Turns out tops every time.

Flahavans Jumbo Oats in soya milk, with cinnamon and fat Black Chilean Raisins added when cooked. Mmmmmmmmmmm......

Silverfish

Marmalade and Green & Blacks Dark chocolate grated onto it.

Makes it edible enough for me, and I hate porridge.

fionnmar

Cut a pear into wee cubes, blast in the microwave for about 20 seconds, place on top of your morning oats. Delicious.

hairyprincess

I like honey, cinnamon, sliced banana and poppy seeds. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Cinnamon is great for anyone with high cholesterol. For anyone breastfeeding porridge is great for increasing supply :cool:

dxhound2005

I dont have time in the mornings so I make enough to last a few days. One pint glass measure of porridge, two pints of water, half a packet of golden raisins, leave to soak for a few hours. Add some milk when cooking and store in the fridge when cold. I microwave a portion every morning and have it with a banana, very tasty. This amount does for about 5 days and keeps perfectly well in the fridge.

I have tried all the brands including the organic but I cant see much difference. The cheap Tesco own brand is fine for me. Golden raisins are very expensive but I like them.

See Ye

Do what it says on the tin

IrishHomer

Jamfan wrote: »

Sound. I love porridge too so thanks for all the ideas.

Some people make it with water instead of milk which I think makes it taste pretty awful.

I find that maple syrup is yummy with porridge. Proper Canadian stuff and none of this "maple flavoured" nonsense.

Just curious is Maple Syrup low in fat? I too am also wondering what to use as i am tying to loase weight and not too keen on honey also?

See Ye

IrishHomer wrote: »

Just curious is Maple Syrup low in fat? I too am also wondering what to use as i am tying to loase weight and not too keen on honey also?

Very high sugar content - very low fat content

rediguana

I think porridge is one of those foods that just isn't exciting.

When I have it, I add milk and honey and I think that's about as good as it gets, and that's not great.

My wife sometimes adds cinnamon, banana, blueberries, natural yogurt.

spurious

Dried apricots, chopped up and soaked with the oats overnight. Nyom.

fionnmar

dxhound2005 wrote: »

I dont have time in the mornings so I make enough to last a few days. One pint glass measure of porridge, two pints of water, half a packet of golden raisins, leave to soak for a few hours. Add some milk when cooking and store in the fridge when cold. I microwave a portion every morning and have it with a banana, very tasty. This amount does for about 5 days and keeps perfectly well in the fridge.

I have tried all the brands including the organic but I cant see much difference. The cheap Tesco own brand is fine for me. Golden raisins are very expensive but I like them.

If you cook it and leave it in the fridge does it not go all thick and form a film on the top?

dxhound2005

Giving it a good stir around when it has cooled down a bit mixes in the "film" into the porridge and then when fully cooled put it into a container for the fridge.

fionnmar

I see.. thanks for the tip.

Mrs.T

I put in cinnamon or dried cranberries or chopped banana. I've also noticed that Scottish porridge oats are a lot softer than the Irish one. I used to soak the oats in milk the night before but don't need to with the Scottish ones.

poindexter

scots porridge oats made with milk and salt, sugar should be nowhere near it

LivingDeadGirl

I had totally forgotten about cinnamon, used to do it but got out of the habit, thanks guys! The reason I stopped putting it in was because I discovered how amazing porridge is with very dark chocolate.

blinding

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

I had totally forgotten about cinnamon, used to do it but got out of the habit, thanks guys! The reason I stopped putting it in was because I discovered how amazing porridge is with very dark chocolate.

The dark chocolate sounds interesting and Dark chocolate is supposed to be healthier as well.

Nutella if you are reading have you tried making your spread with dark chocolate ! ! !

Name Changed

I only tried this recently and it was fantastic.

Cut up a banana in very small pieces and cook it with the porridge as soon as you put it on the hob. The banana melts in and it makes the porridge lovely. I would highly recommend it.

cozmik

Here is a recipe from the current world porridge making champion.

Take one cup of oatmeal and put into a saucepan with four cups of cold water. Stir gently over a medium heat until it reaches simmering point, lower the heat and continue to stir - to avoid any lumps - for five minutes. Add half a teaspoon of salt and two teaspoons of sugar, and half a cup of buttermilk or cream. Give a final good stir and serve in a warm bowl.

http://www.goldenspurtle.com/