Surely each of us has tried classic porridges of different kinds at least once in life: semolina, oatmeal, rice, millet, buckwheat, corn and so on. They differ from one another only in the ingredients and the cooking time. Otherwise they are cooked almost the same way: the grits are added to the boiling liquid, which is then cooked until done over low heat, with or without stirring. The liquid can be plain water or milk, or a mixture of both. If there is a lot of liquid, the porridge comes out thin. If a little — thick. You can affect the thickness by adding water or adding more grits.
The five most commonly used ingredients in classic porridge recipes:
| Product | Calories per 100g | Protein g per 100g | Fats g per 100g | Carbohydrates g per 100g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butter | 734 | 0.5 | 82.5 | 0.8 |
| Milk | 68 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.8 |
| Sugar | 398 | 0 | 0 | 99.7 |
| Round rice | 330 | 7 | 1 | 71.4 |
| Buckwheat | 313 | 12.6 | 3.3 | 62.1 |
The harder and larger the grain, the more time it needs to cook. Classic porridge recipes take about an hour on average. At the same time, semolina can be cooked in 15 minutes and rice in about forty. You can speed up the process with kitchen appliances: slow cookers and pressure cookers. Another advantage of this approach is that you don't have to stand at the stove the whole time to keep the milk from boiling over.
If you like, you can add fresh or dried fruit and berries, nuts, candied peel and ready-made jam to any porridge. Traditionally in Russian cuisine it is served on a plate with a pat of butter. Salt and sugar are added to taste during cooking. Besides cooking on the stove, you can make classic porridge in the oven, in a clay pot. And you can make it viscous or crumbly — your choice.
Classic porridges are often cooked for children in kindergartens. In the past, all children's institutions without exception followed GOST, the state quality standard.
So how do you cook porridge properly so that it turns out super tasty?
First of all, you need to stick to the proportions of dry and wet ingredients. And here it is better to follow the recommendations described in the recipe. Porridge from fine grains should be cooked without leaving the pot. And stir the contents so that no lumps form.
Rice porridge can be "finished" by taking it off the burner and wrapping it up warmly. So it's enough to cook it for 10 minutes and keep it the remaining 20–30 under a warm blanket. The same goes for buckwheat.
The five fastest classic porridge recipes:
| Dish name | Cooking time | Calories per 100g | User rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice porridge on water — a classic recipe | 25 min | 123 | +144 |
| Classic buckwheat porridge on water | 30 min | 167 | +70 |
| Classic rice porridge with milk | 30 min | 171 | +214 |
| Classic rice milk porridge | 45 min | 142 | +135 |
| Classic Artek porridge in a slow cooker | 45 min | 81 | +294 |
The secret to oatmeal is that it's better to let it sit for a while once it's ready. And it's even better to cook it overnight, so that in the morning you can warm it up and eat it — it will be very tender.