Porridge is my favourite breakfast, and I often have it multiple times a week as it is incredibly tasty, but it is really easy to mess up if you do not take five minutes to make it properly. Many people make the mistake of thinking porridge is a foolproof recipe because it only requires three ingredients, but oats contain a lot of starch that can burn easily in the pan.
Milk often makes porridge even easier to ruin as it contains proteins that cook at a faster rate than oats, which often causes them to come out of a pan charred or with a glue-like texture. However, porridge will taste really bland if you cook it in just water, so if you want to make it come out sweet and creamy, then you simply need to cook it with a pinch of salt.
Putting salt in porridge may seem strange, especially if you want it sweeter, but it is the proper Scottish way to make it and will make the oats so much tastier.
Oats are naturally quite sweet and nutty but our taste buds cannot pick up on their subtle flavour so they seem quite dull and boring.
Adding salt heightens our taste sensitivity and will bring out the flavour in porridge to make it a lot creamier without risking it burning by adding lots of unnecessary ingredients.
If you want to add milk, honey, sugar or anything else to porridge, then it is better to add it last thing once the oats have cooled down. This helps the porridge cook properly so the oats come out perfectly soft and thick without being mushy.
You will need:
To begin, place the oats, water and salt into a cold pan and place on the stove. Place it on a low heat and let the oats reach a slow simmer.
Keep stirring the oats so they do not stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Cook for about five minutes until warm.
If the oats seem hard to stir and too thick, then add a little extra water while stirring them. Once the porridge seems done, take off the heat and let them sit for one minute to thicken up.
You can add a splash of milk (around 50ml), honey, sugar or another ingredient at this stage if you wish.
Place the porridge in a bowl and add some fruit just before serving. You will have perfectly creamy porridge that will warm you up on a cold morning.
