Oats are a hardy grain that grows well even in poor soil in which many other crops cannot thrive. Scottish settlers brought oats to North America early in the 17th century. Like many other manufactured products on the shelves at the supermarket, it’s not so easy to tell the difference between the various kinds. So here is a short lesson.

One of the reasons that Americans eat so much oatmeal is that it is “good for us.” This information is based on several studies from in the late 1980s, all of which showed that oatmeal, rich in soluble fiber, lowers the levels of small, dense LDL cholesterol. For a short while after that, breakfast cereal and baked goods manufacturers changed the appearances of literally thousands of product packages in order to advertise the addition of oat bran to their ingredient lists.

A second surge in the popularity of oatmeal came in the late 1990’s with an endorsement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allowing companies to promote the benefits of whole grains, including oats, for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Quaker Oats ran with that. And here is what happened:

To meet the demands of consumers looking for instant breakfast options, they created “instant oatmeal.” Already cooked, and with a portion of the fiber stripped out, instant oatmeal is ready to eat simply by adding hot water. Besides regular plain oatmeal, instant oatmeal was brought to market as Raisins and Spice, Maple and Brown Sugar, Cinnamon and Spice, Apples and Cinnamon Peaches and Cream, Cinnamon Roll, Raisin Date & Walnut, Honey Nut, Apple Crisp, Banana Bread, Strawberries and Cream, Blueberries and Cream, Bananas and Cream, and French Toast. A “weight control” version came in  Banana Bread, Maple and Brown Sugar, and Cinnamon flavors. There was also a “lower sugar” (what can I say?) version as well as a “high fiber” version. What they all have in common, no matter how they are otherwise described, is an absurdly excessive amount of sugar.

A few words about “weight control” Quaker Oatmeal: The ingredient list for this product contains a number of items that I do not stock in my kitchen, including acesulfame potassium, whey protein isolate, sucralose, and polydextrose. Sucralose is the chlorine-containing artificial sweetener, Splenda. I do not know if Sucralose is safe to eat. I don’t know if there is some threshold amount, perhaps, below which it is safe to eat. I don’t know if maybe it’s safe for humans to eat beyond a certain age, but not before. But I can tell you that I did not feed it to my kids. I am not a fan artificial sweeteners, and whether or not they increase the risk of diabetes and/or obesity (and the most recent research indicates that in fact they do), I believe they confuse our metabolism and its exquisitely sensitive signaling systems.

Polydextrose, a synthetic fiber found in many manufactured products advertised as high in fiber, is manufactured by Danisco. The FDA categorizes polydextrose not as dietary fiber but instead as “functional fiber,” and it permits manufacturers to add polydextrose to boost fiber counts on nutrition labels. Interestingly, Canada’s equivalent agency, with tighter classification regulations, does not permit polydextrose to be labeled as edible fiber. In addition, although it increases gastrointestinal transit like dietary fiber does, to date there is no evidence demonstrating that polydextrose has equivalent cardiovascular benefits.

After instant oatmeal comes “quick oats.” Quick oatmeal has had less fiber stripped out than instant, so while it does require cooking, it is ready much sooner than if you had chosen to prepare rolled or steel-cut oats.

Then you’ll find “rolled oats,” made from whole oats that have been flaked, steamed, rolled, re-steamed, and toasted. This degree of processing causes them to lose some, but not all, of their original taste and texture. You can make oatmeal and granola with rolled oats, and you can also sprinkle rolled oats raw on yogurt. This is because the processing leaves them soft enough to eat dry, without additional cooking.

The least processed oatmeal product is “steel-cut oats.” A cup of steel-cut oatmeal contains more fiber than a bran muffin, which is a good thing. Steel-cut oats are hulled, but the hulling process does not strip away the bran and germ, so they remain a concentrated source of fiber and nutrients. Because steel-cut oats have the highest proportion of intact carbohydrate in comparison to other forms of oatmeal, they are absorbed much more slowly than all other kinds. The more slowly a food is absorbed, the less insulin is required to take it to the cells. The less insulin you use, the more likely you are to have enough to last a lifetime.

The relative lack of processing makes steel-cut oats a lot more chewy and nutty than instant oats. But it also means that they take longer to cook and soften than instant or rolled oats. Luckily, there is a way around this. Like with many “real” foods, it takes more planning to eat steel-cut oats, but it does not take more time.

Here’s how to make steel-cut oats in two minutes: The night before you plan to eat steel-cut oats for breakfast, measure one-half cup serving of oats per person into a large glass bowl. Then add 1 cup of water for each half cup of oats. [So if you are preparing to serve three people, that means one and one-half cups of oats and 3 cups of water. I like to add a tablespoon of raisins per person, too. Then add either one-quarter teaspoon of vinegar or 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt to the oat/water mixture, and leave it on the kitchen counter overnight at room temperature. If I am making enough for three or four people, I increase the vinegar slightly to one-half teaspoon. Don’t worry — you won’t be able to taste it in all that oatmeal.

In the morning, it will be ready to eat in two minutes, or just the amount of time it takes to heat. You can heat it on the stove or in a microwave, whichever you prefer. Then, once it’s warm, feel free to add butter, milk, nut milk, or nut butter, honey, maple syrup, molasses, brown sugar, fresh fruit, dried fruit, jam, or date syrup if you like. It will be delicious, and extremely filling, too.