Is all oatmeal created equal?

I get lots of questions about the various forms of oatmeal, so I thought I'd clear up the confusion so you can make sense out of the different forms of oats.

Oat Groats: Whole grain of the oat, with only the outer hard husks removed, then toasted.

Steel Cut Oats or Scottish Oats or Irish Oats: These are groats which have been cut into two or three pieces. Cooking time is considerably longer than for rolled oats.


Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: These are made by steaming the groats and flattening them with a roller. The Quaker Old Fashioned Rolled Oats are very thinly rolled, as are the store varieties by the same title. If you look hard, however, you can often find rolled oats that are twice as thick as the Quaker variety, and these make a lovely, less creamy version of oatmeal than the Quaker ones do. Quaker sets the industry standard, so theirs is considered REGULAR Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. If they are thicker, they are called THICK Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. The easiest place to find these is in the bulk bins at health food stores.

Quick-cooking rolled oats: These are made by flattening pre-cut groats. They cook in about 5 minutes.

Instant Oats: are usually packaged with salt and sugar. Don't indulge in the empty calories!

Which types have you tried? Which ones do you enjoy and find keep you satisfied, while giving you good energy?