...bland gloop of oats, milk and water.
We call it "oatmeal"...................
Posted on 01/13/2009 11:32:54 AM PST by Red Badger
Gruel -- the miserable dish slopped out to Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens' 19th century novel -- made a comeback Tuesday, bringing the cuisine of Victorian poverty to credit crunch-hit Britain.
The Royal Society of Chemistry consulted the 1838 book "Oliver Twist" and historical sources in order to cook up a version of the dreaded, bland gloop of oats, milk and water.
Passers-by in London were invited to sample the gruel -- with some even conceding that it tasted quite good.
"It's very good, actually. It tastes like porridge but it's very plain," said Irina Orlova, 30, an administration assistant from Moscow, told AFP.
As a special treat, Oliver got raw onion in his gruel twice a week, and those outside the RSC, which publishes a report on sustainable food next week, were not spared either.
"I prefer the version with the onions," added Orlova. "They lift the flavour, it's very bland without. It has a nice, soft texture."
Sharon Weatherlake, from New York, added: "I'm surprised how good it is. I imagined it would be much nastier, tasteless and lumpy."
Anna D'Alessandro, 39, a marketing executive from Italy, was also enthusiastic.
"I could eat gruel, regularly, definitely. It's a good way to start the day. If you need to say goodbye to luxuries and go back to basics, I recommend it. In fact, I want some more!"
French chef Fabian Aid created and served up the gruel.
"It's half milk, half water. It's a bit like porridge. There's no seasoning, like at the time," he explained. "If you didn't have a choice, it was better than nothing. There's nothing wrong with it.
"I normally do fine dining. My influence is French food with a British twist," he added, but did not speculate how well gruel might go down in France.
Dietician Leanne Fishwick said gruel was good for you -- but only as part of a balanced diet. "If you ate only three pints of gruel a day, like Oliver, eventually you'd die," she warned.
"We're looking at iron deficiencies, scurvy, ricketts, the thiamin deficiency beriberi, and there's nowhere near enough calories. Working pretty hard in the workhouse, they would have become more and more malnourished."
RSC chief executive Richard Pike said: "Thankfully in Britain matters have improved tremendously but (malnutrition) remains a daily threat in many parts of the world."
The British professional body for chemical scientists is launching a major report in parliament next week entitled: "The Vital Ingredient: chemical science and engineering for sustainable food."
"It covers all aspects: farming, transportation, retail, storage and waste," said RSC spokesman Brian Emsley.
"People think chemistry is boring but it's vital for food safety."
...bland gloop of oats, milk and water.
We call it "oatmeal"...................
I remember that jerk Jamie Oliver on the food network. He'd get some vegetables, fruit, and meat, put some oil on them, salt and pepper (if he were feeling fancy), expose them to some form of heat, and there you had it. The Naked Chef! Fascinating and informative there, Jamie.
Yet, he somehow managed to screw that up in his directions for a recipe.
Moron.
“Please sir...can I have some more.”
Wow, poor me, I have “gruel” (oatmeal, cold, with a little milk on it) every morning for breakfast.
Dining on gruel all this time! Who knew?
And a banana. ‘cause I’m speshul.
Every morning I have a big bowl of oatmeal with some sort of pumpkin granola crunchy stuff sprinkled in. It tastes great and probably fairly healthy too. (Well - except for those two big spoonfuls of brown sugar I add). And yeah - a $5 box from Costco probably lasts me 6 weeks.
I guess this means he has a problem with overcooking things...
Just don’t put sugar on yo grits by mistake.
Interesting that they would make this now, perhaps they believe mankind will be eating a lot of gruel in the coming years.....
LOL, My first though as well.
Have eaten many a bowl, with cinnamon and sugar, over the years.
Now MUSH, that's something else!
>> “If you ate only three pints of gruel a day, like Oliver, eventually you’d die,” she warned.
srsly now. You’d die eventually? Well knock me over with a feather. Thought I’d live forever.
London = English = People not particularly noted for their culinary skills.
Which is one reason why they and the Germans had to colonize and conquer other countries in search of something fit to eat or someone who knew how to cook it so it was.
love oatmenl if it has a ton of sugar and some butter instead of milk
Boiled snails with no garlic............
No thanks, instead of gruel, I’ll go to Whataburger and get a sausage and egg Breakfast Taquito with lots of salsa. Thank God I’m a Texan!
Food, glorious food.
As another commenter already said, gruel is essentially oatmeal. And oatmeal can be either good or terrible, depending on how it’s cooked and how long it’s been ... stewing.
You’re a Texan with a super high cholesterol count!............
Of course not....honey and Tobasco is the only way to eat grits!
Mush is good if done right..............
3 x per week...yes, it is grueling.
A pinch of salt, sugar, and cinnamon in the water makes it endurable.
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