Flour Faqs : What is the difference between porridge oats, rolled oats, jumbo oats, oatflakes, and oatmeal?
Porridge oats are grains of oats that have been rolled flat until they are about to lose their shape completely and turn into a coarse flour; in other words as fine as possible while still retaining their shape as a flake. This means that they are fairly powdery and will therefore absorb liquid quickly, which is why you only have to cook them for 2 or 3 minutes to get porridge. Jumbo oats are coarser. They are rolled flat but that is all and because they are not broken down so much, they retain their shape. Porridge oats go pastey when they get wet but jumbo oats stay firm. Jumbo oats will break down like porridge oats, but they need cooking for much longer. Jumbos are much better for things like biscuits and flapjack where a crisper or firmer texture is required. Rolled oats and oatflakes are just 2 other words for the same thing and both words can be used for either porridge or jumbos depending on which part of the country you are in. A classic example of a word meaning one thing in
