Porridge

From Freepedia

Porridge (also known in American English as hot cereal), is a simple dish made by boiling oats (normally crushed oats, occasionally oatmeal) or another meal in water, milk or both. Oat and semolina porridge are by far the most popular varieties. Some other meals used for porridge include wheat, peasemeal, barley, or cornmeal.

In many cultures it is eaten as a breakfast, often with the addition of sugar or cream. As the traditional breakfast of Scotland, where it is also spelled porage, it is made with salt. Some manufacturers of breakfast cereal sell "ready-made" versions; aficionados question whether these can truly be called porridge. Gruel is a thin porridge made with water.

Contents 1 Traditions and uses regarding porridge 2 Types of porridge 3 See also 4 Sources

Traditions and uses regarding porridge

Porridge is one of the easiest ways to digest grains and is used traditionally in many cultures to nurse the sick back to health. This is especially true of rice congee in traditional Chinese medicine. Mixed with herbs such as cilantro; which has chelation properties, people who have heavy metal poisoning from working in factories or mines are prescribed to eat this dish on a regular basis to maintain health.

It is standard in some cultures to eat a bowl of porridge the day after a night of communal heavy drinking such as New Year.

Types of porridge

• oatmeal porridge -- can be made with steel-cut oats (traditional in Ireland and Scotland) or with rolled oats (traditional in England and the United States). Known simply as porridge in the British Isles and simply as oatmeal in the United States. Also a traditional Finnish breakfast.
• maize porridge
  • grits or ground hominy grits or ground posole -- traditional in the southern United States
  • atole -- Mexico -- water, milk
  • atole de chocolate or champurrado -- Spain -- sugar, milk, chocolate
• barley porridge
  • farina
• wheat porridge
  • cream of wheat or semolina
  • polentina (could also be made from corn) -- Italy -- raisins, milk, sugar
  • Wheatena -- a brand name for a whole wheat porridge
  • uppama or uppma -- a fried semolina (suzi or shuji) porridge traditional in southern India. Flavored with clarified butter (ghi), fried onions, toasted mustard seeds, curry leaves. Often mixed with vegetables and other foods, such as potatoes, fried dried red chilis, fried cauliflower, and toasted peanuts or cashew nuts.
• rice porridge
  • congee (also jook (Cantonese) or xifan (Mandarin)) -- with chicken or duck's eggs and pork, cilantro, fried wonton noodles, with fried bread (yao ja buai (Cant.) or yiu tiao (Mand.)
  • okayu -- Japan -- salt and green onions
  • juk (죽) -- Korea -- with seafood, pine nuts, mushrooms, etc.
  • nasi lemak -- Malaysia -- coconut milk, eggs, chopped peanuts, anchovies
  • kao dom -- Thailand -- cilantro, preserved duck eggs, fish sauce, sliced chili peppers, pickled mustard greens or salt cabbage preserves, red pepper flakes
  • chao bo -- Vietnam -- ground beef or chicken
  • arroz caldo or lugaw -- Philippines -- saffron, fish sauce, ginger
  • champurado -- Philippines -- evaporated milk, chocolate powder, sugar, milk
  • riisipuuro -- Finland -- a Christmas food, eaten with cinnamon and sugar
• peasemeal porridge (also pease porridge or pea porridge)
• buckwheat porridge
  • ground buckwheat grouts and butter in Russian ethnic areas and in the Caucasus region mixed with yoghurt
• quinoa porridge
  • ground quinoa flakes mixed with cocoa or cinnamon from ancient Mayan culture. Quinoa is now revitalized as a "supergrain" in some vegan culture
• millet porridge
  • often seasoned with cumin and honey in the Middle East
  • munchiro sayo -- Ainu, a native people of Japan

See also

• grits
• mush
• Rice congee
• Pease Porridge Hot, a children's nursery rhyme

Sources

Morning comfort - From Irish oatmeal to Chinese congee to Mexican champurrado, every cuisine offers steaming bowls of cereal to stave off winter's chill