BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Scottish Culture Porridge

I am not sure how you spell porridge, BUT the question is:
I have heard all Scots have Salt on their porridge.
I do not. I have both milk and sugar, and I MAKE my porrige with milk.
How do you have yours?

Is porridge the same thing as oatmeal or cream of wheat?

I like mine with yogurt, cinnamon sugar or maple syrup, and sliced almonds...yummy.

I found an interesting recipe for Porridge at www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_porridge.htm


Ingredients (sufficient for two people):
One pint (half litre) water; some people use half water and half milk
2.5 ounces (2.5 rounded tablespoons) medium-ground oats
Pinch of salt

Method:
Bring the water (or water and milk) to a good rolling boil, preferably in a non-stick pan. Slowly pour the oatmeal into the boiling liquid, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon all the time. Keep stirring until it has returned to the boil again, reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer very gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the salt at this point and simmer and stir for a further 5/10 minutes (time depends on the quality of the oats). It should be a thick but pourable consistency. Serve hot in wooden bowls if you have them.

Traditions:
Stirring the porridge should always be clockwise (though going in different directions probably mixes more efficiently).
Porridge used to be served with separate bowls of double cream. A spoonful of porridge (in a horn spoon) was dipped into a communal bowl of cream before eating.
Porridge is eaten standing up. While some people have suggested that this is out of respect for the noble dish, it probably arose from busy farmers doing other things while eating their morning porridge - or as an aid to digestion.
While some people frown at the idea of sugar on porridge others not only approve but suggest a tot of whisky. Each to their own!
Porridge used to be poured into a "porridge drawer" and, once it had cooled, it could be cut up into slices. These were easier to carry than brittle oatcakes.

Michelle, I think so, Porride is just oats, sometimes really fine, like powder sometimes oat bits, cooked with water or milk. I dont like them with water, i love them with milk.Check out link below...

BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

EEEEEW! Phyllis, a drawer of Porrodge sounds yukky!!!

I like mine with milk and honey

I know - porridge in a drawer does not sound very healthy or safe. I wonder how they kept it from spoiling!!!? You would think it would get moldy. But, they probably used it up pretty fast and it did dry out.

The porridge in a drawer reminds me of a corn dish that I haven't made in about 40 years. Was it called corn pone? I can't remember, but the idea was to cook up a thick porridge of corn meal, then turn it into a loaf pan to cool and stiffen up. Then you cut it into thick slices and saute the slices in butter until they have a nice crisp brown crust. That was back in the pre-cholesterol days, of course! Served with maple syrup, they were delicious.
It sounds like the oat porridge slices were just a handy way to carry some out into the field for a snack while working.

I think that is referred to as 'corn pone'. Sounds really good!

My gran vaguely remembers the porridge drawer, and says it wasn't icky. The porridge was very thick and came up easily in slices. She (from the West of Scotland), says she used to have hers as a girl made from fine oatmeal, although others say rolled oats.

On the salt front, my dad makes porridge with half milk, half water, and a good pinch of salt, and my mum tells him off if he stirs it widdershins (anti clockwise)!

I remember when my mother made us eat porridge. She would sprinkle salt on it.

Never stir porridge whiddershins! And - salt helps to bring out the flavor of the oats.

I prefer it without salt. In fact I add very little salt to my food.