Porridge Power
Winter is coming. You’ll need some porridge.
Porridge is, in its simplest form, a starchy grain boiled in milk or water until it’s thickened. It can be sweet or savory, herb laden and flavored with just about anything. It's easy to make, one pot, and easy to shop for. Thin porridge is gruel. No, not that kind of “Please sir, may I have some more,” kind of thing. Gruel is a thin, more liquidy version of porridge; still a grain and liquid base, but you end up adding more liquid and cooking it longer to break down the grains more. Further breakdown of grain can make it easier to eat and digest.
The basic recipe: Two or three parts liquid to one part grain. Different grains will absorb your cooking liquid at different rates. The ratio listed below is for raw, uncooked, unprocessed whole grains, not cut, rolled, or otherwise processed.
Oats: 3.5-4 cups of liquid per cup of uncooked whole oat groats
Barley: 4 cups liquid per 1 cup of whole uncooked grains
Millet: 2 cups liquid per 1 cup of whole uncooked grains
Rye: 4 cups of liquid per 1 cup of whole uncooked grains
Wheat: 4 cups of liquid per 1 cup of whole uncooked grains
Buckwheat: 2 cups of liquid per 1 cup of whole, uncooked grains
When cooking your grain, wash it first to get any extra dust off. Rinse it three times, scrubbing with your hands the first two times and a good rinse the third time. Much like you would for whole, unprocessed rice. If you use too much liquid or cook it for too long, your grain can get mushy. Part of the fun of whole grains is the texture!
Possible cooking liquids:
Water
Milk
Whey
Stock
Beer
Wine
Mead
One thing to watch with your cooking liquids; the thicker your cooking liquid, the more you have to watch what’s happening during the cooking. Slow and steady does the trick! You want the grain to be your desired texture, not underdone and not super mushy. Fluffy! All of these grains can be fluffy when you watch your cooking. Check your grain occasionally and give it a gentle stir or fluff. If you get really vigorous, you can mash up the grains and you’ll end up with a more gruel-like consistency instead of a nice, toothsome texture.
While you don’t have to babysit cooking grains, you do have to check them. A nice low temperature in a heavy bottom pot or a crock pot or a rice cooker is fine. This is a one pot deal! Porridge isn’t a fancy thing, but it is filling and comforting!
Vegetarian Viking
Did you know? Iron Age Scandinavians were predominantly vegetarian. It’s not because of any health reasons, but financial reasons. It costs a lot to raise animals for meat and then to preserve the meat. You want to stretch that out for as long as you can because you plan your food around an agricultural calendar; planting to harvest. Your best months for the greatest variety and amount of food is late summer into harvest season. That’s about a three month window. Most of the rest of the year you are eating from your larder.
Food doesn't magically arrive in spring. That’s the leanest time. You can harvest some of the early greens and start fishing as soon as the ice is out, but you are still utterly dependent on your winter stores.
Sweet vs. Savory
The next step is to figure out what direction you want to go with your flavors and textures. The only sweetener Iron Age Scandinavians had was honey or certain fruits.
Nuts? Don’t mind if I do! The most common and easily available nut is Hazelnuts followed by pine nuts. Walnuts are a distant third as they aren’t suited to growing zones that get below -30F in winter (World planting zones). That means very southern Sweden, Denmark and coastal areas up the Baltic. Research suggests Romans brought walnuts with them as they came through Europe. There is also evidence of walnuts coming through Belarus.
Dairy? Yes please! Dairy can include any kind of milk product from goats, sheep, and cows. Whole milk, buttermilk, butter, whey, cheeses both new (soft) and aged (it gets harder as it gets older as the moisture is leaving).
Seasoning is the act of adding salt and herbs to food to enhance the flavor of the porridge. Remember, porridge is all about the grain. That is your major ingredient. The next ingredient will be some salt. From that point, it’s really about anything you’d like to add, literally from Hazelnuts to walnuts and everything in between. Herbs like sage, thyme, and mint go very well together when balanced with a little Berry Vinegar, honey and dried fruit.
A bit dull? No worries! A bit of acid will sparkle it right up! A splash of cider or Berry Vinegar or even sour beer will change the flavor slightly! And don’t forget the butter!
Meat? Absolutely! Chop up cooked meat fine and toss it in for some excellent flavor!
Porridge FAQ
Yes, I hear your question in the back! Peas porridge! Yes! You can cook peas in this same way, but start with dried white, yellow, or green peas. A lentil is not a pea! The ratio is usually 3 cups of liquid to 1 cup of dried peas. The peas can be whole or split. If you want the pea to remain whole, cook for only about 20 minutes. If you want a puree, 40 minutes. Watch the liquid absorption. You can go from fluffy to burnt on the bottom quickly.
What about toasted grains? Absolutely! Toast grains in a dry, hot, heavy bottom pan. Keep those grains moving! They will start to toast and will burn quickly, so keep them moving and keep watching them. They will pop, but not big fluffy poofs like popcorn. Toasting them will cook them partially. If you are going to make porridge, have your cooking liquid handy so once 90% of your grain is popped, you can add in the liquid. I don’t recommend milk at this stage as milk can scald or split easily in a hot, dry pan.. Start with just water and then add milk as the pan cools. Allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes at a low simmer. Check it frequently and stir it gently.
Can I boil whole, uncooked grains in fat? Absolutely! Remember, the only fats available on a casual basis were rendered animal fat and butter. There isn’t a lot of evidence for nut or seed oils used in food production. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but that there isn’t a lot of evidence of this activity. Here at MUVC, we are evidence and research based. I haven’t cooked these grains in fat, so I don’t really know how long to cook them for. I’d boil them in fat for a few minutes until they have absorbed the fat and started to pop a bit, then add a non-dairy cooking liquid very slowly down the side of the pot so the fat doesn’t splutter everywhere.
Bibliography
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14614103.2022.2137648
