What should the texture of cooked oatmeal be like?

Most people I know like it thick, but not solid. It should be able to glob glob off the spoon when you tip it. Any milk or sugar you add should be after you dip out your serving, not during cooking.

I’ve recently discovered the joys of steel-cut oats. They are incredible! So nutty and tasty, and you retain the nutrients that quick oats lose. The drawback is that they take time to prepare, so usually I’ll put them on the stove, go about my other morning business for half an hour, and return to breakfast. Other people I know soak them overnight, then nuke them in the morning; there are lots of solutions – these oats just require a bit of planning, but are well worth it.

When I make them, I like the texture to be moist but not gooey, so that they have a slightly chewy texture. Some people add milk or other liquid in the last few minutes, to make them creamier. I don’t do that. I wouldn’t describe them as “gelatinous”, but the longer you cook them, the more solid they will turn out. I never end up with a result that I would call “jiggly slop”.

To be more specific, I usually add ½ c. oats to 1.5 c. boiling water, then reduce the heat to 1–2. Then I let it sit, uncovered for about a half hour – I don’t look at the time anymore, just remove it when the texture is right for me. Is this anything like the preparation you tried?

Finally, there may be some variation in quality due to the brand being used. Steel-cut oats can be expensive, so I can see wanting to get a cheaper variety, but if you’re having no joy whatsoever with the brand you’re using, perhaps it’s time to try another one.

The consistency of cooked oatmeal of course is a personal taste. A lot though depends on the brand and type of oats you buy. I consider myself a bit of an oatmeal aficionado and eat it almost every day. The best for me is Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal and to me it is one of the best tasting and texture oats I have tried. The quick cooking oats are barely any better than the packet instant stuff and I would stay away from them. It is worth it to slow cook the oats and I too like my oats thick and “meaty” and you get that with the Old Fashioned oats. Plus when you cook it thick you can always thin it out with milk or water if you are diet conscious.

I bring a cup of oats to work with me with a splash of coconut milk, and dash of cinnamon that adds a nice flavor and when I am ready to eat them I will add a little more water and microwave it for a minute and a half. Microwaving the Old Fashioned oats cooks them quickly but you have to be vigilant as it will boil over if cooked just a couple seconds too long. So what I do is the 90 seconds let it rest for 30 second to a minute and then nuke if for another 30 seconds and take it to my desk and let it cool down for 5 minutes and during that time it is still cooking and will be near stove top in quality and texture. I also will throw fresh fruit in before I cook it for shaking up the oatmeal menu.

I recently tried steel cut oats and it is a markedly different oatmeal…takes 20 minutes to a half hour to cook and it has a nutty texture and great flavor and is even healthier that the rolled oats. It is IMO a bit of an acquired taste. Here is a Link that compares the 2 types and shows which type is healthiest.

I bought the Quaker Old Fashioned. Boil the water, add the oats, reduce the heat. It said to simmer for 5 minutes but I needed a lot more time than that before it started to resemble something other than oats floating in water. That’s why I asked this question; maybe the increased cooking time made it so jelly-like.

It continues to thicken after removing it from the heat.

Smooth but not like cream cheese. Instant oatmeal is good but a little too smooth. Quick oats that cook in 1 minute are just right provided there are no lumps. Add oats to boiling water, reduce heat, allow to thicken, add milk and sugar, then gulp down like an instant breakfast.

I made oatmeal for the first time in a hundred years the other day! I usually use about 2 to 1 ration. Two cups of water for one cup of oats. (It said I could use milk too, so I did. Don’t use milk! Warning! Do NOT use milk!) I don’t let them bubble for any set time. I just let them go until I think they look good.
In my case, they come out of the pot thick enough to cut into squares, but then I dilute them with milk (or half and half!) butter, and brown sugar, then stir it into the consistency I prefer.

I don’t think they can be over-cooked. So it’s just trial and error on your part.

My daughter used to prefer her chocolate Malt-O-Meal lumpy so….if you like lumpy, go for that!

@poofandmook How much water to how much oats did you use?

I cook several days worth of steel-cut oats by setting 4 c. of water to boil in a small saucepan on top of the stove at 8:00 PM or so. Then I add one cup of oats. When the water starts to simmer again, let it bubble for one minute, turn off the flame, cover the pot and leave it alone until the next morning.

Perfectly cooked oatmeal, ready to be reheated or microwaved in any quantity you wish. The amount mentioned above lasts for me alone for five days.

The texture is creamy.

Just ate a bowl of oatmeal!

@Dutchess_III: Whatever was on the package; I want to say 1¾ C. water and 1 C. oats.

If your oats were like “floating in water” after cooking for 5 mins, I would add less water. Try 1½ C water instead. Try a slightly higher heat that will steam off more of the water.

This is making me hungry for oatmeal, which I can’t eat. Darn it.

If you have a crockpot, that’s a good solution for cooking steel cut oats. Put them in in the evening and wake up to perfectly cooked oatmeal.

Alton Brown did a program on oatmeal. You can find it on YouTube

Irish Steel Cut Oats should be chewy, a bit like when pasta is Al Dente. I loathe the mushy Quaker stuff.