The division of domestic responsibilities when we were children was pretty conventional. The kitchen was Mum’s domain and so Dad rarely cooked. But Mum’s appetite for feeding the family didn’t extend to weekends. Or to hot breakfasts. If Dad wanted homemade porridge, he had to make it himself.
My first memory of eating homemade porridge was in the 1970s. Back in those days, chia seeds, goji berries or anything else fancy didn’t exist. In fact we were lucky if it was made with milk. If the milkman hadn’t been, then it was made with water, and it was always cooked with salt. The only sweetening was a spoonful of soft dark brown sugar on top.
There was also no microwave back then. In fact the only thing resembling a microwave in those days was our television! Porridge was always and only cooked on the hob in a saucepan. The oats were stirred continuously to stop them sticking and we only knew it was ready when it was ‘quaking’ – a term my Dad invented to describe the tell tale ‘plop plop’ noise the porridge made when it thickened and had started to launch big globs of porridge skywards. I can only assume he had earthquakes in mind, and judging by the mess it could make, it was an apt word.
I didn’t eat porridge often, and only ever in the winter, but you always felt it sticking to your bones and it somehow kept you warm for the rest of the morning. I loved how it would set in the bowl. We would pour some cold milk on top, and then eat it from the sides, where it cooled quickest – I remember burning my tongue many a time, trying to get at the middle where the brown sugar always seemed to have been dropped!
In recent times, modern central heating has reduced porridge’s function to that of a healthy breakfast, although with the looming energy crisis, its thermal properties might come in handy once again !
Real Homemade Porridge
Ingredients
- 50 grams rolled Scottish oats
- 140 ml full fat milk
- 140 ml water
- 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
- Soft brown sugar to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a pan and bring to the boil.
- Reduce the pan to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes until the porridge 'quakes' (see above).
- Pour into a bowl and let rest a minute so that the porridge sets a little.
- Add some cool milk on top and a spoonful of brown sugar and tuck in.
