The clocks may be going back in the UK this weekend, but the biggest sign winter is coming is a steaming bowl of porridge on a breakfast table.
uncertain
winter → go → table
A staple for centuries, porridge is traditionally made with oats, water and a pinch of salt or sugar.
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porridge → make → salt
However, the humble dish is now experiencing its own renaissance, with the latest iterations transforming it from drab to decadent.
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iterations → experience → decadent
The trend is being driven by a growing fibre-centric movement as well as by nostalgia.
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trend → drive → nostalgia
On social media, recipe creators are experimenting with everything from miso versions to sour cherry and pistachio butter toppings.
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creators → experiment → toppings
At 26 Grains, a central London restaurant that specialises in porridge, this month’s offering includes a five-grain porridge topped with fig and red grape jam and a dollop of whipped cream.
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offering → specialise → cream
Over at Oatis in west London, toppings range from caramelised banana and tahini to mushrooms and pesto.
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toppings → range → mushrooms
Alex Hely-Hutchinson, the founder of 26 Grains, describes porridge as “comfort in a bowl”.
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Hutchinson → describe → bowl
Part of its appeal, she says, is that it allows a “moment for pause in a busy world” – plus most people know how to make it.
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people → say → it
It is a trend that is affecting home store cupboards.
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that → affect → cupboards
Hedié Rhodes, the founder of the UK’s first dedicated cereals bakery, Husk & Honey in south London, describes the “personalisation aspect” of porridge as an instigator of the trend.
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Rhodes → describe → trend
Her brand, which began in 2015 specialising in granola, now also sells dedicated porridge blends.
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which → begin → blends
Bestsellers include cinnamon bark and cranberry and a spiced apple version.
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Bestsellers → include → bark
“Porridge is a great carrier for a lot of nice things,” Rhodes says.
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Rhodes → say → things
“You can make a big pan of it and everyone in the family can still have a different style.
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everyone → make → style
Some might want it just with honey, others might want to add really fancy toppings.”
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others → want → toppings
Alex Hayes, a co-founder of the food innovation studio Harris and Hayes, compares porridge to salads and smoothies.
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Hayes → compare → salads
“It’s a great canvas for adding specific toppings that suit specific taste and nutritional needs,” she says, pointing to nut butters alongside more functional additions such as psyllium husk.
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she → ’ → husk
While protein mania isn’t slowing down, the online nutrition trend of “fibremaxxing” is encouraging more people to up their fibre intake.
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trend → slow → intake
The NHS recommends adults should eat 30g of fibre a day, but according to the British Dietetic Association the average intake is only 18g.
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intake → recommend → Association
Oats are a source of the soluble fibre that is essential for gut health and can also help reduce cholesterol levels.
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that → help → levels
So rather than eating protein-rich eggs for breakfast, many people are now reverting to a bowl of porridge.
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people → eat → porridge
On the menu at Café Cùil on the Isle of Skye you’ll find a “wee porridge” featuring pinhead oats that are soaked in oat milk overnight.
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that → find → milk
Its founder, the chef and writer Clare Coghill, then finishes it with seasonal toppings.
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founder → finish → toppings
At the moment it’s a hazelnut praline brittle and poached pears.
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it → ’ → moment
Coghill, who recently tasted 86 bowls of porridge in her role on the judging panel of the world porridge-making championship that takes place in the Scottish Highlands each year, says “porridge purists” prefer to use coarser pinhead oats, also known as steel-cut oats, rather than rolled oats which are softer.
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which → taste → oats
“Pinhead were the original oats, so it’s a way of celebrating Scottish heritage,” she says.
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she → ’ → heritage
Hely-Hutchinson opts for a mixture including jumbo oats and rolled oats for “creaminess”, along with rye, barley and malted wheat for added texture and “a slight fermented note”.
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Hutchinson → opt → texture
Other recipes have ditched the oats altogether for rice, amaranth or quinoa.
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recipes → ditch → rice
To avoid a gloopy porridge, Coghill says stirring is key.
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stirring → avoid → porridge
“It’s all about slowly warming up the pot and constantly moving the spurtle [stirrer] around, which will create a really nice silky bowl of porridge.”
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which → ’ → porridge
Hely-Hutchinson prefers hers “just right”, which for her is on the softer side.
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which → prefer → side
“Porridge is so nostalgic, I make it how my mum used to for me,” she says.
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she → make → me
“It all depends on the person.
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It → depend → person
It’s like the same as how much Marmite someone puts on their toast or the amount of milk they put in their tea.
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they → ’ → tea
Next, as porridge pivots from basic to bougie, is a move beyond the breakfast table.
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move → pivot → table
“People are increasingly busy and seem to be receptive to a more simple dish,” says Hely-Hutchinson, adding that customers get annoyed if porridge is not available on the menu past 3pm.
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porridge → seem → pm
Hayes says we can expect to see more savoury options popping up on menus taking influence from Chinese congee, a traditional savoury rice pudding, and Indian kitchari, made with yellow split mung beans.
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options → say → beans
Rhodes points out that similar to how bakers experiment with wheat, people are now realising how much potential oats have.
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oats → point → potential
“It’s really interesting pushing the limits with oats.
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It → ’ → oats
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
