The clocks may be going back in the UK this weekend, but the biggest sign winter is coming is a steaming bowl of porridge on a breakfast table.
A staple for centuries, porridge is traditionally made with oats, water and a pinch of salt or sugar. However, the humble dish is now experiencing its own renaissance, with the latest iterations transforming it from drab to decadent. The trend is being driven by a growing fibre-centric movement as well as by nostalgia.
On social media, recipe creators are experimenting with everything from miso versions to sour cherry and pistachio butter toppings. At 26 Grains, a central London restaurant that specialises in porridge, this month’s offering includes a five-grain porridge topped with fig and red grape jam and a dollop of whipped cream. Over at Oatis in west London, toppings range from caramelised banana and tahini to mushrooms and pesto.
Alex Hely-Hutchinson, the founder of 26 Grains, describes porridge as “comfort in a bowl”. Part of its appeal, she says, is that it allows a “moment for pause in a busy world” – plus most people know how to make it.
It is a trend that is affecting home store cupboards. Searches for organic jumbo oats at Ocado are up 98% year on year while sales of White’s jumbo oats are up 56%.
Hedié Rhodes, the founder of the UK’s first dedicated cereals bakery, Husk & Honey in south London, describes the “personalisation aspect” of porridge as an instigator of the trend. Her brand, which began in 2015 specialising in granola, now also sells dedicated porridge blends. Bestsellers include cinnamon bark and cranberry and a spiced apple version.
“Porridge is a great carrier for a lot of nice things,” Rhodes says. “You can make a big pan of it and everyone in the family can still have a different style. Some might want it just with honey, others might want to add really fancy toppings.”
Alex Hayes, a co-founder of the food innovation studio Harris and Hayes, compares porridge to salads and smoothies. “It’s a great canvas for adding specific toppings that suit specific taste and nutritional needs,” she says, pointing to nut butters alongside more functional additions such as psyllium husk.
While protein mania isn’t slowing down, the online nutrition trend of “fibremaxxing” is encouraging more people to up their fibre intake. The NHS recommends adults should eat 30g of fibre a day, but according to the British Dietetic Association the average intake is only 18g. Oats are a source of the soluble fibre that is essential for gut health and can also help reduce cholesterol levels. So rather than eating protein-rich eggs for breakfast, many people are now reverting to a bowl of porridge.
On the menu at Café Cùil on the Isle of Skye you’ll find a “wee porridge” featuring pinhead oats that are soaked in oat milk overnight. Its founder, the chef and writer Clare Coghill, then finishes it with seasonal toppings. At the moment it’s a hazelnut praline brittle and poached pears.
Coghill, who recently tasted 86 bowls of porridge in her role on the judging panel of the world porridge-making championship that takes place in the Scottish Highlands each year, says “porridge purists” prefer to use coarser pinhead oats, also known as steel-cut oats, rather than rolled oats which are softer. “Pinhead were the original oats, so it’s a way of celebrating Scottish heritage,” she says.
Hely-Hutchinson opts for a mixture including jumbo oats and rolled oats for “creaminess”, along with rye, barley and malted wheat for added texture and “a slight fermented note”. Other recipes have ditched the oats altogether for rice, amaranth or quinoa.
To avoid a gloopy porridge, Coghill says stirring is key. “It’s all about slowly warming up the pot and constantly moving the spurtle [stirrer] around, which will create a really nice silky bowl of porridge.”
Hely-Hutchinson prefers hers “just right”, which for her is on the softer side. “Porridge is so nostalgic, I make it how my mum used to for me,” she says. “It all depends on the person. It’s like the same as how much Marmite someone puts on their toast or the amount of milk they put in their tea.”
Next, as porridge pivots from basic to bougie, is a move beyond the breakfast table. “People are increasingly busy and seem to be receptive to a more simple dish,” says Hely-Hutchinson, adding that customers get annoyed if porridge is not available on the menu past 3pm.
Hayes says we can expect to see more savoury options popping up on menus taking influence from Chinese congee, a traditional savoury rice pudding, and Indian kitchari, made with yellow split mung beans.
Rhodes points out that similar to how bakers experiment with wheat, people are now realising how much potential oats have. “It’s really interesting pushing the limits with oats. There are so many avenues to explore,” she says.
There is one downside to this new porridge passion, though: having to wash up the pan.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
