Andy writes;

Porridge is More Cool Than You May Think! (Provided It’s Hot)

With many of our members bearing Scottish names and/or growing up in the 50s and 60s with solid Anglo heritage, it is likely that most would not have a love, loathing, or a love and hate of porridge. Yes, oatmeal (or sludge, depending on perspective) cooked in water or milk and served as a hot breakfast cereal.

In a cold version, most would agree, porridge is unpalatable and likely to choke you. Interestingly, a cold glutinous version is sometimes used for glue in childrens’ craft activities,  and porridge can be incredibly hard to remove in all its forms from plates and clothing once a blob has dropped and dried thereon.  In fact, porridge can be made from a variety of grains, but Anglo/ Scottish porridge is traditionally made with oats.

A quick review of porridge in France indicates it is not so popular, with many French preferring French versions of American breakfast cereals, and other light breakfasts including some form of bread, crispbread and jam with an oh-so-essential cup of coffee.  

It seems however, porridge is becoming “in” again, which might explain why Uncle Toby’s charge more than three times the price of the bottom shelf no-name variety. I can’t see the difference, and a taste test is yet to convince me otherwise. Anyway, it seems to be a thing in any self-respecting hipster breakfast hang out in Melbourne but, more relevant to our cross cultural focus, porridge is reportedly taking Denmark “by storm”

New Nordic cuisine has dominated the Danish food landscape in recent years, led by the high-end Copenhagen restaurant, Noma. But now, good ol’ porridge is on the menu in the hipsterfied neighbourhood of Nørrebro.  In fact, one establishment , called Grød (Porridge), specializes in home made porridge made mostly with seasonal and local ingredients. Lucky diners can have oat porridge, spelt porridge, gluten-free quinoa and açaí-chia porridges, with various add-your-self toppings and milk choice. At lunch time porridge is reborn in savoury variations, like risotto, daal and congee. Who knew? But if you love your porridge you might not care, and if you hate your porridge you might not care either.

Actually, Denmark has a long tradition of grød in its culture, and it takes many forms depending on the season, for example: rice porridge with butter and cinnamon sugar (risengrød) at Christmas; a soupy concoction made of rye bread and dark beer (ollebrød) in autumn; and a cold berry compote with whipped cream (rødgrød med fløde) in summer.  None of which sound too unbearable to this writer. The dark beer option sound good for autumn. Now pondering what to use in other seasons…