Oats

OK, I know I have asked this before, but where can you find oats here in UK? I seem to only see porridge in the shops, anyway, the fact that the box says "Oats" always confuses me and has lead me to buy the wrong thing. Needless to say, I have a few boxes of porridge going to waste in the cupboards!
What I would ultimately like to do, if anyone has a recipe to share, is to make some healthy oat and raisin bars, like the ones Quaker makes in the states? Sort of like a giant, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie. The problem is that not only can I not find regular oats (steel-cut?) but I don't know what to use in place of applesauce for baking healthier stuff like low-fat bran muffins and things like that. I would basically like some sort of healthy muffin or homemade cereal bar I can make ahead to eat in the mornings.
(Also, homemade oatmeal in the slow cooker might be a nice change on a cold morning!)
Thanks!

I also long for steel-cut oats freely available from the supermarket, but I haven't found them here.  They're called pinhead oats, and you can get them online in bulk at a reasonable price from this site

http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/133173_Goodness_Oatmeal__Pinhead__3kg.html

I find it odd that McCann's "Irish" oats aren't in the UK, but who knows...Steel cut oats are fab in the slow cooker.  I think it's a 1:4 ratio of oats to water on low overnight, but you'll have to check that.  For making oatmeall raisin bars, though, surely you want ordinary rolled oats?  They're sold as porridge oats here, presumably the ones you've bought?

I only ever found sugar free (well no sweeteners either) apple sauce at Whole Foods in London.  None of the shops near me carry it.  I was thinking of making my own.  The jars of apple sauce they do sell are all really small, more for eating with pork as opposed to snacking.

I've used cheap-o oats from Tesco it makes cookies and they turned out ok, but ten I make oatmeal chocolate chip, so chocolate fixes any issues.  

Do you have any health food shops near you or a really big grocery store with a healthy food section?

That being said, you can still use your porridge oats to make muffins and cookies--I've done it.  They probably come out less "chunky" than if you were to use the longer cooking oats or steel cut oats, but still fairly healthy (if you cut back on the sugar and butter content!)

Another way to use up your porridge oats is to mix them with meusli and cook it all together in the microwave or on the stove top.  It's super healthy and filling!

Porridge oats are basically the same as US quick oats, which is what I use for cookies. If you want something more like US old-fashioned oats (rolled flat, but thicker than the quick ones) you need to look for jumbo oats. I doubt you want to use steel-cut for cookies/muffins! They'd be a bit crunchy.

Maybe look for recipes with yogurt instead of applesauce? Myself, I usually just cut down the oil (I find 1/4 cup for a standard 12-muffin recipe works well) and increase the liquid a little bit.

(it seems I'm slow today!)

Homemade applesauce is so unbelievably easy.  You can even make in the microwave.  I can dig out a recipe if you want!  I used to make a big batch and freeze it in bags - not because it's hard but more because I hate peeling apples and would prefer to do one lot of work for many lots of return. 

Homemade applesauce is so unbelievably easy.  You can even make in the microwave.  I can dig out a recipe if you want!  I used to make a big batch and freeze it in bags - not because it's hard but more because I hate peeling apples and would prefer to do one lot of work for many lots of return. 

Please do, that would be so great! I'm sure I'm not the only one who is interested in this! (although, I don't have a microwave, so stove top instructions for me, please!) Thanks, Elliejean!

I doubt you want to use steel-cut for cookies/muffins! They'd be a bit crunchy.

I was wondering about that....

Homemade applesauce is so unbelievably easy.  

Absolutely!  I made applesauce all this past autumn and winter.  Any kind of apples, or a mix of all types, peeled and cored and cut up in the pot.  Add a little water as needed (you won't need much), as the apples cook down they release their own water.  You can add lemon juice to taste which actually makes the applesauce taste *sweeter*.  No sugar at all needed!

OK, I know I have asked this before, but where can you find oats here in UK? I seem to only see porridge in the shops, anyway, the fact that the box says "Oats" always confuses me and has lead me to buy the wrong thing. Needless to say, I have a few boxes of porridge going to waste in the cupboards!

I've only ever used porridge/rolled oats for cooking (i.e. for making flapjack etc.) - I didn't know there was any other kind you could get . Ask me (a Brit) for 'oats' and I'll hand you a box of porridge oats

Actually Andee's got it in a nutshell.  The apples make their own liquid as they cook, so you don't need to add much of anything.  I also like to add cinnamon to mine, but that's to taste.  Once those babies are cooked, you can puree it or mash coarsely to leave chunks (I like chunky applesauce to eat but smooth to cook with).  Applesauce is fantastic in carrot cake.  

Porridge oats are basically the same as US quick oats, which is what I use for cookies. If you want something more like US old-fashioned oats (rolled flat, but thicker than the quick ones) you need to look for jumbo oats. I doubt you want to use steel-cut for cookies/muffins! They'd be a bit crunchy.

Haha! I'm a terrible baker, and I have to admit, I've never really made oatmeal before from scratch, just the instant stuff. But a restaurant I used to go to made awesome oatmeal with cinnamon apples on top, and I would love to try to do something like that. So thanks for pointing out the difference (hence the question mark on steel-cut oats, as I had heard of them, but didn't know if that was what I was looking for or not!)

Thanks for the recipes, Andee and Elliejean... I will try to do that and just freeze individual bags so I can use it as needed.  

I'm loving this thread.  We've been having autumn-like weather for the last couple of days and all this cold weather comfort food sounds soooo good!

For baking cookies and muffins, I would buy the whole rolled oats from Sainsburys or Tesco. They came in a bag and were often organic. I would never think to use steel cut oats for baking.

Jewlz, I wonder if your Tesco or whatever you have there is too small to carry the stock you are looking for? That's the problem with the more rural areas, they only carry the most common items.

For a quick apple sauce fix (for baking), try buying the pure apple sauce for babies. It comes in little jars.

ETA, just saw your last post... I suspect, but could be wrong, that you are looking for the large rolled oats. Steel cut, or pin head take a much longer time to cook.

For baking cookies and muffins, I would buy the whole rolled oats from Sainsburys or Tesco. They came in a bag and were often organic. I would never think to use steel cut oats for baking.

Jewlz, I wonder if your Tesco or whatever you have there is too small to carry the stock you are looking for? That's the problem with the more rural areas, they only carry the most common items.

Probably exactly the issue, unfortunately. There is the big Tesco in Newcastle, but we rarely go so far to do our shopping. Which is why I still haven't found black beans, I suspect.  But maybe I can convince DH to go there soon and I can have a look around. Last time I was there, I found a giant bag of cornmeal in the ethnic foods aisle, so I am sure they should have some oats somewhere.

Probably exactly the issue, unfortunately. There is the big Tesco in Newcastle, but we rarely go so far to do our shopping. Which is why I still haven't found black beans, I suspect.  But maybe I can convince DH to go there soon and I can have a look around. Last time I was there, I found a giant bag of cornmeal in the ethnic foods aisle, so I am sure they should have some oats somewhere.

What about doing an online order and having it delivered if you can't get to a big store easily? Doing a search on the Tesco website, they have 62 results listed under 'oats' (although many are not relevant).

However, they do have:
- Tesco Porridge Oats (rolled oatflakes)
- Quaker Oats (rolled oats)
- Scotts Porage Oats (rolled oats)
- Quaker Jumbo Rolled Oats
- Flahavan's Irish Porridge Oats (wholegrain rolled oats)