Steel-Cut Oats: Can I eat?
November 24, 2019 9:43 AM Subscribe
24 hours ago I put some steel cut oats in a pot with some water to make them this morning. I forgot. It’s now roughly the same time as it was last night when I put them in to soak. They have not been cooked. They have been sitting on a kitchen counter in an apartment between 18 and 20 C. I have a low tolerance for risk. Go ahead and cook and eat or not?
No problem at all.
posted by LizardBreath at 9:53 AM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by LizardBreath at 9:53 AM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
If there is no visible mould or fermentation I would definitely go with it.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:05 AM on November 24, 2019
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:05 AM on November 24, 2019
I think they are fine.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:09 AM on November 24, 2019
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:09 AM on November 24, 2019
I know people who do long grain soaks like that on purpose. You're fine.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:13 AM on November 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:13 AM on November 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
I wouldn't have a problem with this at all. The environment you've created is almost certainly a bit less hospitable to pathogens than a bag of fresh breadcrumbs (while having very roughly the same types of risk for the introduction and propagation of pathogens) and I can't imagine anyone ever having a problem with using unrefrigerated breadcrumbs, especially if they were going to cook them.
posted by howfar at 10:17 AM on November 24, 2019
posted by howfar at 10:17 AM on November 24, 2019
Response by poster: Thanks all! I ended up cooking them but after sampling tossed them. Turns out that soaking them for 24 hours was too damn long; there was almost no texture left and it was like trying to eat library paste.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:30 AM on November 24, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 10:30 AM on November 24, 2019 [9 favorites]
it was like trying to eat library paste.
Or as my father would call it, "his morning porridge". He's a good cook but that stuff is just wrong. Anyway I'm glad you advanced the development of your own culinary science!
posted by howfar at 10:35 AM on November 24, 2019 [5 favorites]
Or as my father would call it, "his morning porridge". He's a good cook but that stuff is just wrong. Anyway I'm glad you advanced the development of your own culinary science!
posted by howfar at 10:35 AM on November 24, 2019 [5 favorites]
They'd just be getting good …
The longer you soak them, the less cooking they need. I would've just brought them to the boil and eaten them then. If you ever have to resuscitate overly-soggy oats, a tablespoon of toasted steel-cuts can make all the difference. Or, if this happens again, just bring 'em to the boil, stir them and strain and keep the liquid. You've just made oat milk.
posted by scruss at 11:08 AM on November 24, 2019 [6 favorites]
The longer you soak them, the less cooking they need. I would've just brought them to the boil and eaten them then. If you ever have to resuscitate overly-soggy oats, a tablespoon of toasted steel-cuts can make all the difference. Or, if this happens again, just bring 'em to the boil, stir them and strain and keep the liquid. You've just made oat milk.
posted by scruss at 11:08 AM on November 24, 2019 [6 favorites]
Wouldn't you do the same with dried beans: soak 'em overnight at room temperature?
posted by tmdonahue at 5:29 PM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by tmdonahue at 5:29 PM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Didn’t soak ‘em overnight. Soaked them for 24 hours. :-)
posted by Bella Donna at 4:46 AM on November 25, 2019
posted by Bella Donna at 4:46 AM on November 25, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by danep at 9:52 AM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]