What’s the best way to make porridge?
Jane, Derby
Porridge, as Goldilocks can attest, is a deeply personal thing, so it can take a few goes to get it “just right”. For Jeremy Lee, chef-patron of Quo Vadis in London and author of Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many, the perfect bowl is a “soft, yielding, meltingly soothing brew” with a “soft, dropping consistency”, which he achieves with his mum’s recipe. Soak one cup of pinhead oats (“Not the big flakes: I don’t like those”) overnight in water, then gently heat them in three cups of water and simmer “quietly”, stirring all the while with a pinch of salt, until they’re cooked to your desired consistency.
Another fully fledged member of the porridge (and coarse oatmeal) fan club is the Guardian’s perfectionist Felicity Cloake. “I went to the World Porridge Championships, and they won’t use rolled oats, which are the ones you generally find in supermarkets,” she says. “They’re steamed and flattened, so cook more quickly, but they’ve a less interesting flavour and texture.” Cloake toasts her oats first, “to bring out the flavour”, then heats them in half-and-half milk and water, salting midway. Rishi Anand, head of research and development for Dishoom, however, prefers oat milk: “If you want your oats to be creamier, add them after the milk has simmered; and if you want them to keep their shape, add them with the cold milk.”
