Why doesn’t porridge smell or taste like I remember?….

I make porridge in a double saucepan so I don’t have to keep stirring. I use oat milk and eat it with blueberries and Greek yoghurt and a little drizzle of agave nectar which I prefer to honey.

Sets me up for hours!

I make my porridge with coconut milk in the microwave . Tastes and smells lovely. The coconut milk gives it a lovely texture and doesn't taste of coconut. No need for sugar or honey to sweeten. I sometimes make double the amount and let half go cold and have with fruit for after my dinner. 😋

I'm eating my porridge now! I make it with oaty milk as I don't do dairy. I add fruit and nuts too.
I think some hotles add cream, salt and maybe other things.
Oats are oats and don't have much flavour in themselves. They are mostly texture.
Next time you tast the hotel one why not ask? They are often happy to share tips.
Soaking overnight may also help, as others have said.

Try cooking your oats slowly on a low heat, which allows the flavors to develop more fully. Overnight soaking can also improve the texture and taste.

hamster58. I think hotels would just use full fat milk. That’s probably the difference. People nowadays use all different milks semi, skimmed, soya, oat etc. hotels wouldn’t be messing about with all that. Also that tiny bit of salt ma big difference.

Have you tried oatbran? That’s lovely, a much finer texture and quite a creamy taste. It’s also supposed to be really good for you, as are porridge oats of course.

Hi everyone. Thanks for all those messages. It’s definitely not our tastebuds or noses, or the hotel versions wouldn’t taste so nostalgic. We normally do use the Aldi organic oats for the reason someone said, and it is lovely but just NOT like our memory or the porridge in some hotels. This morning’s was Scott’s but no better taste than the Aldi bag. Will try those other brands mentioned soon too, just in case. Thanks again everyone 😊

I have porridge every morning, made with water, but with a little milk added during cooking.i add fresh fruit on the bottom of the dish, fruit on top, yogurt.i have also discovered a calorie free golden syrup from the skinny food company. Strawberries are also often used! It tastes lovely and fills me up for several hours. The syrup tastes as nice as the brown sugar I no longer use.

My Mum made lovely porridge. I have a feeling she put some Carnation evaporated milk in too. It was certainly lovely and creamy. Always added a wee pinch of salt too.

Unless you know exactly how your mother made porridge you won't get it to taste as you remember, whatever you do.

My mother used half milk and half water, a compromise, as she being Danish always made porridge with milk, and my father being Scottish was accustomed to porridge made with water, so they met half-way on culinary matters.

No-one gets me making porridge with water. and I prefer it with far fewer oats than the standard hotel lumpy solid version!

In other words - I don't think anyone can give you a recipe.
Expermiment until you get it right, or ask the hotel chef how he or she makes the porridge you enjoy when on holiday.

We use Hamlyns oatmeal. However it started getting lumpy in the pan a few years ago - poor harvest ? I experimented and developed a ritual of measuring 3 cups of boiled water in a pan bringing it back up to a roiling boil. I then stream the oatmeal into the bubbling water gradually using a hand whisk. Then switch off for 5 minutes leaving on the hot ring or plate stirring vigorously before serving - sugar, Greek yoghurt and a little milk for me. I enjoy the ritual too. I find the microwaved versions too slimy preferring the texture of the oatmeal....

Lucyanna I too am a fan of the Mornflake range. I can’t see the problem with putting some in a bowl and blitzing in the microwave they are almost instant anyway and totally delicious.

Germanshepherdsmum

I confess to liking ReadyBrek. That’s my reputation down the drain!

I think you can enjoy ready brek and porridge to be honest!
I like oatibix now and then which my husband referred to as glue-bars.

I am afraid, *haamster58, that the problem, may be you!

As we get older our sense of change does fade a bit, that is why older people were once notrious for pouring salt and pepper on all their food. The medications you take, if any can also distort your sense of taste.

Also our memory of how things tasted can, like everything else in life, fade with time. So that the memory we think we have isn't quite what it ought to be.

Think of things you remember from some time ago, a house you lived in 40 years ago, or something like that. When you go back often what you remember isn't quite what was actually there. The bathroom isn't where you remember it, or the bend of the stairs is different.

You could try some kibbled oats or oatmeal porridge?
I think that is the absolute best but confess to using flakes more often as much quicker.

I've only once been given porridge made of pinhead oats when in a hotel though...

Have you tried stirring a knob of butter in at the end, just before serving? That's what I do (whether made with water, milk or half-and-hslf).

I'm another who only uses organic whole oats.

I use Flahavan too Clawdy it’s proper.

Nandalot

Whenever we have porridge in a hotel, it is never as good as the version DH makes. He uses Quaker Oats or Tesco equivalent and semi skimmed milk. The secret, I think, is in the cooking. Six minutes in the microwave but stirred a third and two thirds of the way through. Visitors staying always rave about it.

The length of microwave time depends on the ingredients, so can I ask what weight of oats and how much milk?

My Mum was a big fan of Robertson's Groats but I am unable to find them and they were lovely. I have Quaker's Jumbo Oats at home to make from scratch. I don't like the sachets of instant porridge.

I confess to liking ReadyBrek. That’s my reputation down the drain!

I agree with Hamster so I rarely have porridge at home. Instant porridge! 😬

We eat porridge every other day. We like the Jumbo oats and sometimes we buy a bag of oatbran and do half and half.

Last week I started eating my porridge which husband made and it didn’t taste right. Next day was the same. I told my husband and it turned out the bag was 2 years old!! they were binned and training has taken place on how to store shopping properly. 😝

Try these ones - they’re delicious. And step away from the instant ones!

In many cases our tastebuds change or become rather jaded as we get older. A lot of things don't taste as delicious as they used to. I often find that something tastes nicer when I'm on holiday and I don't have to cook it or wash up.

Unless you're staying at the Dorchester or similar I doubt they are using superior, organic oats and Cornish cream. Most hotels buy huge packs of catering porridge, which is basically a sort of Ready Brek.

I can’t remember the smell of porridge my mum used to make a massive pan of it. I still make it the same way Scott’s in a pan with water I add sugar while it cooks. I top with a sprinkle of sugar and milk leave it to go luke warm then eat it.

I buy Aldi Organic oats, more nutritious, research shows a higher antioxidant concentration, in organic oats, cheap healthy and delicious. Makes lovely overnight oats too.

Flahavens is the best - lovely creamy taste, made in Ireland.