Oatmeal is a product of ground oat groats (i.e. oat-meal, cf. cornmeal, peasemeal, etc.) or a porridge made from this product (also called oatmeal cereal or stirabout, in Ireland). The term 'oatmeal' can refer also to other products made from oat groats, such as cut oats, crushed oats, and rolled oats.

Use

The groats are coarsely ground to make oatmeal, or cut into small pieces to make steel-cut oats, or are first steamed, then flattened to make rolled oats. The quick-cooking rolled oats ("quick oats") are cut into small pieces before being steamed and rolled. "Instant" oatmeal is pre-cooked and dried, usually with sweetener and flavor additives. Oatmeal is used to make porridge, as an ingredient in oatmeal cookies and oat cakes, or as an accent, as in the topping on many oat bran breads and the coating on Caboc cheese. Oatmeal is also sometimes used to describe porridge which includes the bran or fibrous husk as well as the oat kernel or groat. It is also used as a thickener in some foods such as canned chili con carne. Oatmeal is also used in some alcoholic drinks, cosmetics, soaps, external medical treatments, and is sometimes added to animal feed products.