SC - Oatmeal and Oats

[snowfire at mail.snet.net]

- -Poster: Elysant <Snowfire>

>> Oatmeal was invented in 1846, by someone who was trying to accomodate the
>> growing need for 'convenience foods'.  Whole oats are steamed, flattened,
>> and dried to create a partially pre-cooked, faster cooking alternative to
>> whole oats. Whole oats were certainly eaten in period.  
>> 	Christianna
 
>I have to differ on this.  The term meal is used to describe ground grain.
>The term oatmeal was originally used to describe oat flour and was expanded
>to include rolled oats.  Oat meal has been produced for millenia.

>Rolled oats are a different matter.  The roller milling process is a 19th
>Century invention.  Roller milling squeezes grain rather than crushing it.
>This produces the large, flattened oat flakes.
>
>The first major processor of rolled oats in the US was German Mills American
>Oatmeal Factory which opened in 1856 at Akron, Ohio.  In 1875, Aymus
>Ehrrichsen, an employee, and Ferdinand Schumacher, the owner, developed the
>process for steel cut oats, which produces the finer, flakier oatmeal that
>is prevelant today.  Another employee, William Heston improved the process
>and patented the machinery he developed.  He granted Schumacher a license,
>but retained the right to license other mills.  In 1877, he licensed the
>newly formed Quaker Mills.
 
I have to comment on this post also.

I think there's a potential for people to misunderstand what you're 
talking about here Christianna.

Americans call Porridge "Oatmeal" and initially that seems to be what 
you're referring to.  Certainly the eating of Porridge is a far older 
custom than 1846!  :-)

What you're actually talking about is that more processed and easier to cook 
oat grains were invented in 1846 and were therefore subsequently available to 
people make porridge/oatmeal/etc. from. Correct?

Elysant
 
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