oatmeal experts! i need your help!

[yum]

if i want to cook a 1/4 cup of oatmeal w/ fat free milk, how much milk do i need to get that thick gooey consistency? the package said 1/4 cup of oatmeal w/ 3/4 cup milk for a minute in the microwave. i didn't use 3/4 cup of milk since it felt way too much and was cooking it for over 4 minutes when the milk boiled over but the oatmeal was still not cooked. WHAT DO I DO??

[AnneM]

I do what eimac does, enough milk to cover. Nuke about a minute and a half and it comes out perfect.

[mimilulu]

I use Mark Bittman's technique from "How to Cook Everything." For each cup of oats, use 2 - 2 1/4 cup of water. Mix oats with cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to boil. Turn down heat, simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Cover, wait 5 minutes, and enjoy gooey satisfying oatmeal. So for 1/4 cup of oatmeal use 1/2 cup or 2/3 cup of milk, but don't heat the milk first. Try that and see how that works.

[yum]

so this is what I did this morning. I cooked it on a stove top, brought the fat free milk to a slight boil and added the oats( from whole foods..bearnaked?) brought heat down to a simmer and cooked for atleast 5 min's..still not even close to being cooked..oh I covered it too. so, cooked for maybe a total of 1t minutes.. and edible but not the thick gooey oatmeal that I want? seriously, what am I doing wrong?

[dukegirl]

I find that oatmeal comes out much creamier if I cook it on the stove rather than the microwave. It really doesn't take that much longer. Of course, there's the issue of the lovely glue-like residue on the pan, but that's life.

[Leslie]

Make sure you use the right size and shape bowl in the microwave.- now too shallow. Preferably use a bowl with tall sides- it concentrates the heat better for the oatmeal. The 1/4 to 3/4 ratio sounds about right.

[relizabeth]

For one, i put 2 handfuls of oats in small pan and cover with milk and generous dash of salt. Over lowest heat, stir until until it boils. Then remove from heat, cover for 3 minutes. Then eat.

[eimac]

When I'm microwaving I use 1/2 c old fashioned oats and pour in enough milk to cover. Stir once and nuke on high for 2.5 minutes.

[Pei]

Turn the heat down lower, and stir constantly. If you notice bubbling starting, stir more quickly and/or take the pot off the heat for a second.

When I don't have the patience to stir, I'll let it boil for a few minutes, turn off the flame and cover it so it sort of steams, go do whatever I'm doing, and come back five or ten minutes later and turn the heat back on.

You definitely need at least twice as much milk as oatmeal. 3/4 cup milk to 1/4 cup oatmeal shouldn't be too much, because oatmeal puffs up quite a lot while it's cooking. By putting in less you might have actually hindered its expansion.

[debbiel]

What type of oatmeal are you using? If you're using "old-fashioned" or rolled oats, I think you would use about 1/2 c milk for 1/4 c. oats. If you're using steel cut oats, I think you would use about 1 to 1.5 c of milk for 1/4 oats.

I don't have a microwave, so can't address that part for you. I do often cook my oats directly in milk, rather than adding milk at the end.

[Elaine Crystal]

try cooking oakmeal first with water , add fat free milk at the very end. let me know the end result.