Oatmeal

Oat Meal, the ground grain of the common oats, Avena sativa. The grain of oats was formerly largely consumed in the north of England, Wales and Scotland, but is now giving way largely to wheat. The oat is peculiarly adapted for human food and is said to conduce to healthy and vigorous constitution. The husk of the oat is peculiarly hard and is indigestible and must be broken or the gastric juice cannot act upon the kernel. It is also furnished with long, sharp spike, which are apt to accumulate and irritate the intestines. Hence it is desirable that the husk should be removed entire, when it is used as an article of food for man. Only the best quality of oats should be used to form meal. The meal is generally ground in two forms in somewhat large grains as in Scotch oat meal and in fine powder. There is also a meal intermediate between these and it is known as medium. Oat meal is generally used as a porridge although it may be made into cakes. It requires much boiling to break its starch cells, the coarse kinds requiring the most boiling. Oat meal, from being the main food of the lower classes in England and Scotland, has now become a luxury on account of its increase of price. Although a very nutritious food, its use in the United States is * comparatively limited, but is undoubtedly destined to increase. Groats are the whole kernel of the oat when freed from its husk; it is boiled in milk or water for the preparation of gruel, and requires a long time to thoroughly cook it.
Source: What the Grocer Sells Us ©1880