A question about oatmeal

glynndah

good little witch.
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I know all about the difference between steel-cut oats and rolled oats, but my question is this: why are they called "steel" cut? Did they used to be cut with something else and steel was superior? Is there any other kind of cut? Thanks.
 
McCann's Irish Oatmeal (Steel Cut Oats)

Old fashioned steel-cut oats in the distinctive old-style tin. The oat groat is cut to enhance the flavour of the Irish Oat. The distinctive hearty, chewy texture of steel cuts makes them a favorite.

Steel-Cut Oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into only two or three pieces. They are golden in colour and resemble mini rice particles.

How are they different from Rolled Oats? Rolled oats are flake oats that have been steamed, rolled, re-steamed and toasted. Due to all of this additional processing they have lost some of their natural taste, goodness and texture.

What makes Steel-cut Oats so special? Grains are essential to a healthy lifestyle and form the foundation of the food pyramid. Steel-cut oats are inherently full of nutritional value and are high in B-Vitamins, calcium, protein and fiber while low in salt and unsaturated fat. One cup of steel-cut oatmeal contains more fiber than a bran muffin and twice as much fibre as Cream of Wheat. The quality of Irish Oats and the distinctive crunchy texture make McCann's Steel-Cuts a gourmet delight.
 
Yes, but why steel? Were there iron cut oats or wood cut oats and then something better came along?
 
They used iron blades before steel, but the steel blades made a cleaner cut, left less metal in the product, and was generally a better thing. This has to do with the annealing process when turning iron into steel to harden it, which also makes the blades able to hold their edge for much longer and made them easier to sharpen.

Don't ask metal questions around somebody learning smithing. You might get an answer. ;)
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew if I asked here, one of you smart people would know the answer! :rose:
 
Hate to disgree with Maeve; but my understanding is that "steel-cut" was originally meant as opposed to "stone-cut" or, more usually, "stone ground."

The current usage is, as Neon said, as opposed to "(steel-)rolled" oats.


(Um, Maeve, my apologies in advance if it sounds like I'm jumping all over you here...)

I'm not sure what sort of iron was ever used for cutting blades: cast iron and wrought iron are both too brittle to hone in any practical way, and any other iron I know of (unless it has the at least 0.3% carbon content that makes it steel) is too soft to hold a cutting edge - as are, if I'm not mistaken, cast & wrought iron.

Before the techniques needed to make steel blades were known, all the cultures that I can think of used bronze for their cutting surfaces: it's not nearly as good at taking an edge as steel, but better than iron.

I can't *form* a piece of metal into anything useful to save my life, but I can tell you all about metals and metal-forming until we both fall over from bored exhaustion: it's a side effect of having been a metallurgical engineer for 20 years :)

- Quince, who can't even swing that big hammer worth shit :) :) :)


(PS. Just in case you're wondering, there were no "bronze-cut" oats: oats were stone-cut/ground until advances in steel-making made steel blades cheaper than stone grinding wheels.)
 
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floweringquince said:
Hate to disgree with Maeve; but my understanding is that "steel-cut" was originally meant as opposed to "stone-cut" or, more usually, "stone ground."

The current usage is, as Neon said, as opposed to "(steel-)rolled" oats.


(Um, Maeve, my apologies in advance if it sounds like I'm jumping all over you here...)

I'm not sure what sort of iron was ever used for cutting blades: cast iron and wrought iron are both too brittle to hone in any practical way, and any other iron I know of (unless it has the at least 0.3% carbon content that makes it steel) is too soft to hold a cutting edge - as are, if I'm not mistaken, cast & wrought iron.

Before the techniques needed to make steel blades were known, all the cultures that I can think of used bronze for their cutting surfaces: it's not nearly as good at taking an edge as steel, but better than iron.

I can't *form* a piece of metal into anything useful to save my life, but I can tell you all about metals and metal-forming until we both fall over from bored exhaustion: it's a side effect of having been a metallurgical engineer for 20 years :)

- Quince, who can't even swing that big hammer worth shit :) :) :)


(PS. Just in case you're wondering, there were no "bronze-cut" oats: oats were stone-cut/ground until advances in steel-making made steel blades cheaper than stone grinding wheels.)
No worries, hon. :)

There were attempts made at using iron, however, using wrought iron. Which, as has been said by both of us in very different ways, doesn't hold an edge. Which leaves iron flakes and nasties all over when used to try to split grains. It's not pretty.

That being said, you are also correct in saying that the cut oats replaced the stone ground oats - which often had stone chips and dust in them, and were also less than yummy.
 
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