Quite interestingly, in the not-so-distant past, oats were thought to be nothing than animal feed. Thanks to the evolution of science and technology, we are now aware that oats possess very decent nutritional values for humans, too. Nowadays, oatmeal is very popular, especially for breakfast.

A lot of people often refer to oatmeal as porridge. They are correct, for the most part. Unfortunately, though, some people tend to refer to porridge as oatmeal, too – which is, more often than not, not true. So, what are the differences between porridge and oatmeal?

Porridge

Porridge is a dish that is made by boiling ground, crushed, or chopped grain in water, milk, or both. The core ingredients may use a variety of grains, such as rice, wheat, corn, barley, semolina, and oat. Furthermore, porridge may be served with or without other flavorings, spices, vegetables, and side dishes.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is made of oat groats that have been ground, crushed, steel-cut, or rolled. Oatmeal can be served in various ways. You can make oatmeal cookies and baked oatmeal, for example. Though, in many places, oatmeal is especially popular to be made into oat porridge. In fact, in the US and Canada, the term ‘oatmeal’ is also used to refer to oat porridge.

Porridge vs Oatmeal



Porridge Oatmeal - Can be made from various grains, such as rice, wheat, corn, and oat - Made of ground, crushed, steel-cut, or rolled oat groats - Served by boiling the core ingredients in water, milk, or both - Can be served in many ways, such as baked, in cookies, or as a porridge - Historically was a staple food in Northern Europe and Russia - Was a staple food in Scottish culinary tradition

Conclusion

Porridge is a dish made by boiling processed grain in water, milk, or both. On the other hand, oatmeal is made of processed oat groats that can be served in many ways, including as a porridge.