Toast Your Oats In Butter For An Easy Boost Of Flavor
There are an endless number of ways to make your daily bowl of oatmeal or overnight oats taste better. You can change the cooking or soaking liquid, add crunchy nuts, add your favorite fruit, or even add your favorite morning beverage. You could also try adding seasonings for a chai-spiced overnight oats recipe. And if you want, you can even make them savory and open up a whole new world of possibilities. No matter what you add to them, oats are a great base for a snack, meal, or anything in between.
There are ways you can even change up the texture of that base as well thanks to all of the different varieties of oats. They're all still oats, but the way that they've been processed will change their texture, and cooking time as well. Steel-cut oats are raw, hulled oats that have been cut up into pieces. Rolled oats on the other hand have been steamed and flattened between rollers, and the instant variety has just had a little more steaming or rolling to help you cook it faster.
There's also another great way to change up the flavor of your morning oats that you might have never thought of before. Once you've tried it out you'll know that skipping this step might be one of the biggest mistakes you can make with oatmeal.
The benefits of toasting oats
One of the easiest and quickest ways to completely change the way your morning oatmeal, overnight oats, or oatmeal cookies taste is to toast your oats before you use them in your recipe. Oats make a great base because they are mostly considered neutral in flavor, but toasting oats in butter will enhance the grain's natural flavors to add a sweet, subtle nuttiness to any recipes that might call for them. It will also help the oats from overcooking. This will give them a better bite, and keep the grain intact as well.
The main reason for toasted oats' flavor boost is that a light browning (like in many other foods) sets off a chemical reaction. Just the right amount of heat can caramelize sugars and unlock hidden potentials. It's the same process that takes raw onions from pungent and sharp to rich, sweet, and savory after they've been cooked. When you toast your oats lightly before adding them to your recipe, you'll realize that potential and add tons of flavor to all of your favorite oat recipes.
How to toast oats
Another reason to toast your oats is that it's simply too easy to skip, plus, it will even extend their shelf life. If you like to meal prep for the week you can easily toast a batch in the oven, but it doesn't take long to do in the morning either. You can conveniently toast your oats in the same pot that you'll be cooking them in, saving yourself from adding another dish to the sink.
To toast your oats, add some butter to a pot or pan over medium-high heat and let it melt. Then, just add the grains and toss or stir them gently. You should start to see your oats brown slightly (not too much unless you want granola), and you'll be able to smell that beautiful nutty aroma being released from the oats as well.
If you're prepping these oats for the week ahead, then take them off the stove and store them in an airtight container until they're ready to use. If your oats are in the appropriate vessel though you can simply add your cooking water, and continue cooking your oats as you normally would. There you have it, the easiest way to upgrade your everyday oats into a gourmand's breakfast.