Published July 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.
Judging from the brands and styles cramming supermarket shelves, there's an oat for almost every taste. Are any better for breakfast or for baking?
Interest has swung back lately toward slower-cooking traditional oats, with stores offering Irish-style steel-cut options. In the test kitchen, we prefer steel-cut oats for breakfast. This style of oatmeal offers firm, chewy texture and exceptionally full oat flavor. Surprisingly, the most familiar name in oatmeal and the most expensive one came in last for this type of oat. Our winning brand, however, won praise for its outstanding buttery, nutty oat flavor and “creamy yet toothsome” texture.
