Quick Oats vs Rolled Oats
The difference between quick oats and rolled oats stems from the processing method of each. Oat meal is a meal made of oats, which is another name for the porridge made with oats. What are oats then for the benefit of those who do not know about it? Oat is a wonderful cereal that is great for the health of human beings, and is next only to wheat and corn in terms of grown area and consumption in US. In fact, oat is the fourth most important crop in the world. There are many varieties of oats available in the market such as ground oat, crushed oat, rolled oat, instant oat, and quick oats and so on. In this article, we shall concentrate upon quick oats and rolled oats that are just minor variations of the same entity and have equal health benefits.
Before we discuss differences between quick oats and rolled oats, let us know a little more about oats themselves. There was a time when farmers were fed up with oats as they grew on their own alongside wheat and corn that was sown in the fields and farmers considered them as weeds. It was then that some farmers decided to grow oats as a separate crop as a policy of join’em rather than fight’em. Ever since, oats are being grown as a separate crop and owing to their health benefits that were revealed later on when the cereal was fed to horses and their health improved. In fact, there is a joke that goes like this. Once an Englishman and a Scottish man were discussing about oats when Englishman said that oats were being fed to horses in England and Scottish men ate them. To this Scottish man replied that this is precisely the reason why England has such fine horses and Scotland had such fine men. Jokes apart, oats are a treasure house for the health of human beings having twice the amount of proteins than in wheat or corn. However, more important is the presence of soluble fibers and gamma linoleic acid in oats. Now, let’s move onto our subject.
What is Rolled Oats?
Rolled oats are oat groats that have been steamed and rolled into flakes that make a yummy breakfast. Oat groats are oat grains after removing the outer husk. When the oat groats are steamed and rolled into flakes in this way, the healthy oils in oats get stabilized. As a result, the oats can stay fresh for a longer time. Also, since now the oats are flattened as a result of rolling, you can cook oats faster as they are flat providing a greater surface area.
Rolled oats is on the left
Rolled oats are also known as old-fashioned oats. Both granola and muesli contain these rolled oats.
What is Quick Oats?
Quick oats are oat groats that have been processed to such an extent that they cook much faster. Quick oats are steamed and rolled for a longer period than the rolled oats. Then, they are ground into small pieces. By cutting and rolling the oats, the cooking time is greatly reduced, thus earning the name quick oats. This is why quick oats are a preferred choice of millions of housewives as they take no time to be prepared. Though quick oats are cooked much faster, you must not confuse them with instant oats that have been pre-boiled and just need to be heated to make a great breakfast in 2 minutes.
So, quick oats as well as rolled oats have same ingredients and same health benefits. It is just that having been cut and rolled and grounded to small pieces, quick oats take much less time to prepare that set them apart from all other varieties of oats.
What is the difference between Quick Oats and Rolled Oats?
• Processing Method:
• Rolled oats are oat groats that have been steamed and rolled into flakes.
• Quick oats are steamed and rolled for a longer period than the rolled oats. Then, they are ground into small pieces.
• Cooking Time:
• Rolled Oats cook quickly.
• However, one can cook quick oats even faster than roller oats because of the smallness of the pieces.
• Nutrients:
• Both quick oats1 and rolled oats2 seem to have the same nutrient levels.
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