On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 898

mueslis,andmanufacturedbreakfastcereals.
Thereareseveralreasonsfortherelatively
minorstatusofoats.Likebarley,oatshaveno
gluten-producingproteins,whichmeansthat
theycan’tbemadeintolightraisedbreads.
Thekernelhasadherenthusksthatmakeit
difficulttoprocess.Oatscontainfromtwoto
fivetimesthefatthatwheatdoes,mainlyin
thebranandendospermratherthanthegerm,
andalsocarrylargeamountsofafat-digesting
enzyme.Thecombinationmeansthatoats
haveatendencytobecomerancid.They
requireaheattreatmentthatinactivatesthe
enzymeinordertopreventrapiddeterioration
duringstorage.
Ontheotherhand,oatsdohaveseveral
virtues.They’rerichinindigestible
carbohydratescalledbeta-glucans,which
absorbandholdwater,givehotoatmealits
smooth,thickconsistency,haveatenderizing,
moisteningeffectinbakedgoods,andhelp
lowerourbloodcholesterollevels.The


glucansarefoundmainlyintheouterlayers
oftheendospermunderthealeuronelayer,
andsoareespeciallyconcentratedinoatbran.
Oatsalsocontainanumberofphenolic
compoundsthathaveantioxidantactivity.
Oat Processing Oats are generally used as
whole grains, also called groats, because

they’re much softer than wheat or corn and
don’tbreakcleanlyintoendosperm,germ,and
bran. The first stage in their processing is a
low-temperature “roasting,” which gives the
grain much of its characteristic flavor and
inactivatesthefat-splittingenzyme.(Thisstep
alsodenaturesthestorageproteinsandmakes
them less soluble, giving the grain greater
integrity during cooking.) The whole groats
are then processed into various shapes, all of
which have the same nutritional value. Steelcutoatsaresimplywholegroatscutintotwo
to four pieces for faster cooking. Rolled oats
are whole kernels that are steamed to make