Flakes
Rolled Oats, Rolled Wheat, or Rolled Rye 2 cups water 1 cup of the cereal 3/4 teaspoon salt Have the two parts of the double boiler together, with water in the outer part, and the two cups of water and the salt in the inner part. Let the double boiler sit over the fire until the water in the outer part has been boiling five minutes, to heat the water in the inner part. Carefully stir the flakes into the water. Put the cover on the kettle, and allow the cereal to cook three hours. Add boiling water to the outer kettle as may be necessary during the cooking. Serve with cream.
A basic double-boiler porridge from the era when rolled grains were cooked for hours rather than minutes. The method still works, but the timing belongs to a different milling standard.
- The three hoursRolled oats sold today are steamed and pressed thin enough to soften in 5 to 10 minutes over direct heat, or about 30 minutes in a double boiler. Three hours will produce a smooth, almost gluey porridge rather than a ruined one, but it is not necessary unless you are using thick old-fashioned or steel-cut grain.
- Rolled wheat and rolled ryeBoth are still sold, usually as flakes in health-food or bulk sections. They are coarser and slower than oats and take a longer double-boiler cook. Rolled rye has a more pronounced flavour than oats.
- The double boilerThe point is that the grain cannot scorch or catch, so the pot needs no stirring and no attention beyond topping up the outer water. A heatproof bowl set over a saucepan works if you have no fitted double boiler; keep the bowl clear of the water below.
- Preheating the inner waterFive minutes of boiling in the outer pan before the grain goes in means the flakes hit hot salted water rather than cold. A hot start is generally said to keep more of the flake intact, a cold start to give a more broken-down, creamier porridge; the recipe itself gives no reason for the order.
- SaltThree quarters of a teaspoon for one cup of dry cereal is a firm hand by current habit but correct for grain, which tastes flat without it. Salt goes in the water at the start, not at table.
- YieldOne cup of dry flakes gives roughly two to three servings. "Serve with cream" means unsweetened heavy or light cream poured over; the recipe mentions no sugar or fruit.