Recipe: Appealing Apple Grain Cookie Bars with Wooden Spoon Country Applesauce

Hi! I'm Oats!

"Did you know I'm a type of cereal grain, the edible seeds of oat grass?! I make a healthy and filling hot cereal called 'oatmeal' and delicious desserts!"

History

• Oats were one of the earliest cereals cultivated by man. They were known in ancient China as long ago as 7,000 BCE. The ancient Greeks were the first to make oatmeal or porridge from oats.
• Wild oats were cultivated for thousands of years before the plant was domesticated. 
• Canada produces the most oats, followed by Russia. In the United States, oats are grown mainly in the northern Midwest states: North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. 
• Production and acreage of oats have declined steadily since 1945, when a record 1.5 billion bushels were produced utilizing 42 million acres.
• Oatmeal Month is celebrated each January when we buy more oatmeal than any other month. In January, we stock our pantries with about 35 million pounds of oats, enough to make 346 million bowls of oatmeal. Eighty percent of US households have oatmeal in their cupboard.
• Only about five percent of the world's oat crop is consumed as food by humans; most of the crop is fed to animals, like cattle, goats, horses, pigs, and sheep. Some birds will also eat oats, including blackbirds, doves, finches, pigeons, and sparrows.
• The word "oat" comes from the Middle English "ote" (the grain of the oat plant or the plant itself), from the Old English āte, of unknown origin. 

Anatomy

• Oat grasses come from the Poaceae family, which includes other cereal grains, bamboos, and natural grassland. 
• The plant can grow to around 5 feet tall. Its long, narrow, pointed leaves grow upward and can be 3 to 16 inches long. Clusters of spikelets branch off from the top of the plant, which contain flowers that mature into oat seeds or grains. 
• Plant biologists believe oat plants are a secondary crop, meaning they came from a weed that mimicked a primary cereal crop plant, like wheat. 
• Oats like cooler (but not cold) weather and wetter summer weather to grow. Their growth can outpace weeds, and they are not as affected by crop disease as other cereal grains, such as barley and wheat. 
• An oat grain kernel is called a "groat" after removing the hull. It is a whole grain, including the germ, bran, and endosperm. Groats can be eaten but are quite chewy and require soaking before cooking.

How to Buy & Eat

• Oats come in several forms. Most can be made into porridge, and some can be added to baked goods. Cooking times below are for the stovetop method. All types, except whole groats, can be cooked in the microwave; however, rolled, quick, or instant oats would probably be the most successful using this method.
• Whole groats are the whole oat grain. They have the longest cooking time, taking 45 minutes to 2 hours. Soaking them overnight shortens the cooking time and makes them easier to digest.
• Steel-cut or Irish oats are whole groats cut into smaller pieces. Their cooking time, at 20 to 30 minutes, is shorter than whole groats but longer than rolled oats.
• Scottish oats are groats that have been stone-ground into paper-thin pieces. They result in a creamier porridge and take about 10 minutes to cook. 
• Rolled or Old Fashioned oats are groats that have been steamed and rolled into flakes. Their cooking time is 5 minutes.
• Quick or instant oats are rolled oats that have been further steamed and flattened and take 1 to 3 minutes to cook. 
• Oat Bran is the outer part of the whole groat. The groat is ground, and the bran is separated from the flour. Oat bran takes about 1 to 3 minutes to cook.
• The most popular oatmeal topping is milk. Other possible toppings include a sweetener, like sugar, honey, or maple syrup; fruit, like raisins, bananas, or blueberries; and butter or margarine. Eggnog, peanut butter, cottage cheese, and brewer's yeast are more unusual toppings.
• Besides oatmeal, some other foods with oats as an ingredient are bread, cookies, crisps or crumbles, pies, cakes, meatloaf, and milk (oat milk). 
• Non-food uses for oats include refrigerator deodorizer, bath products and lotions for itchy skin, and homemade play dough!

Nutrition

• Oats are high in fiber and protein! They are also a good source of B vitamins and minerals. 
• Oats have some cancer-preventing properties and benefit the digestive system.