'''Oatmeal''' is a product of ground [[oat]] [[groats]] (i.e. oat-[[wikt:meal#Etymology 2|meal]], cf. [[cornmeal]], [[peasemeal]], etc.) or a [[porridge]] made from this product (also called '''oatmeal cereal'''). In the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], 'oatmeal' can refer also to other products made from oat groats, such as [[steel-cut oats|cut oats]], crushed oats, and [[rolled oats]]. The groats are coarsely ground to make oatmeal, or cut into small pieces to make steel-cut oats, or steamed and rolled to make rolled oats. The quick-cooking rolled oats ("quick oats") are cut into small pieces before being steamed and rolled. "Instant" oatmeal is pre-cooked and dried, usually with sweetener and flavor additives.<ref>Trowbridge Filippone, F. (2007) [http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/oatmeal.htm "Oatmeal Recipes and Cooking Tips"] ''About.com''</ref> Oatmeal is used to make porridge, as an ingredient as in [[oatmeal cookies]] and [[oat cake]]s, or as an accent as in the topping on many oat bran breads and the coating on [[Caboc]] cheese. It is also used as a thickener in some foods such as canned [[chili con carne]]. Oatmeal is also used in some alcoholic drinks, [[cosmetics]], soaps, external medical treatments, and is sometimes added to animal feed products.

==Breakfast cereal health benefits==

There has been increasing interest in oatmeal in recent years due to its beneficial health effects. Studies have shown that daily consumption of a bowl of oatmeal can lower blood [[cholesterol]] {{Fact|date=September 2008}}. After reports found that oats can help lower cholesterol, an "oat bran craze" swept the U.S. in the late 1980s, peaking in 1989. The food fad was short-lived and faded by the early 1990s. The popularity of oatmeal and other oat products again increased after the January 1997 decision by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] that food with a lot of oat bran or rolled oats can carry a label claiming it may reduce the risk of [[heart disease]], when combined with a low-fat diet. This is because of the [[beta-glucan]] in the oats. Rolled oats have also long been a staple of many athletes' diets, especially weight trainers', given oatmeal's high content of complex [[carbohydrates]] and water-soluble [[dietary fiber|fiber]] which encourages slow digestion and stabilizes blood-glucose levels. Despite these developments, according to the [[New York Times]], Harry Balzar of the NPD Group stated that "the proportion of Americans who eat oatmeal for breakfast has not changed in 20 years;" "one in five Americans eat oatmeal." Oatmeal porridge also contains more [[B vitamin]]s and [[calories]] than other kinds of [[porridge]]s.<ref>New Standard Encyclopedia, 1992 by Standard Educational Corporation, Chicago, Illinois; page O-8.</ref>

Cooked oatmeal has a lower [[GI value]] than has uncooked, because cooking releases water-soluble fibers from the grain.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} These fibers release [[glucose]] very slowly.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}

==References==

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{{wiktionarypar|oatmeal}}

{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Oatmeal}}

*[http://www.goldenspurtle.com/ World Porridge Making Championships including recipes for porridge and other oatmeal dishes]

*[http://www.foodsubs.com/GrainOats.html The Cook's Thesaurus (with pictures of variety of oatmeals)]

*[http://www.homebaking.mobi/bread/oatmeal-bread.htm Oatmeal Bread Recipe]

[[Category:Breakfast foods]]

[[Category:Breakfast cereals]]

[[Category:Porridges]]

[[Category:Vermont cuisine]]

[[Category:Staple foods]]

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