Oat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oat |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Oat plants with inflorescences | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Division: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: |
A. sativa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Avena sativa L. (1753)
|
|
Oats (Avena sativa) are a popular type of cereal grain. They are grown all over the world. People eat oats, and they are also used to feed animals like chickens and horses. You might know oats best from oatmeal or porridge. Even the straw from oat plants is useful, often used as bedding for animals.
Porridge is a healthy food made from whole grain oats. It's a great part of a balanced diet for many reasons:
- Oats are rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber. Fiber helps your body digest food.
- Oats give you lots of energy. They have complex carbohydrates, which release energy slowly. This helps you feel full longer and reduces cravings for sugary foods.
- Oats are also a good source of protein, which helps build and repair your body.
- Oats are low in unsaturated fat and have no cholesterol. This is good for your heart.
- Oats are also a good source of vitamin B1, which is important for your body's energy.
Contents
Where Do Oats Come From?
The wild plant that oats came from is called Avena sterilis. Scientists believe this wild oat grew in the Fertile Crescent area of the Near East. This is a region in the Middle East where farming first began.
However, people started growing oats as a crop later on. This happened far from the Near East, in Bronze Age Europe. Oats are a bit like rye. They were probably first seen as a weed growing among other main crops like wheat and barley. As these main crops spread to cooler, wetter places, the oat weed might have grown better there. This led to people realizing how useful oats were, and they started growing them on purpose.
How Are Oats Grown?
Oats are grown in many temperate parts of the world. They don't need as much summer heat as other cereals like wheat or barley. Oats can also handle more rain.
Oats are an annual plant, meaning they complete their life cycle in one year. Farmers can plant them in the autumn for a late summer harvest. Or they can plant them in the spring for an early autumn harvest.
People's feelings about oats have changed over time. The first factory to make oat bread was built in England in 1899. In Scotland, oats have always been very popular. They are a big part of the country's diet. The English writer Samuel Johnson once famously wrote that oats were "a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people." The Scottish people quickly replied, "and England has the best horses, and Scotland the best men!"
What Are Oats Used For?
Oats are used in many different ways for food. Most often, they are rolled or crushed to make oatmeal. They can also be ground into oat flour. Oatmeal is commonly eaten as porridge. But it's also used in baked goods like oat cakes, oatmeal cookies, and oat bread. Oats are also an ingredient in many cold cereals, especially muesli and granola. You can even eat oats without cooking them.
Oats are sometimes used in drinks too. In Britain, oats are used to make some types of beer, like oatmeal stout. In Latin America, a cold, sweet drink made from ground oats and milk is very popular. In the past, a drink called 'Oatmeal caudle' was popular in Britain. It was made from ale, oatmeal, and spices.
In Scotland, there was a dish called Sowans. It was made by soaking the husks from oats in water for a week. The fine, dusty part of the meal would sink to the bottom. This was then strained, boiled, and eaten. Oats are also used in Scotland to thicken soups, much like barley or rice are used in other countries.
Oats are also widely used as feed for horses. They can be given as whole or rolled oats, or as part of mixed food. Cattle also eat oats, either whole or ground into flour.
Oat straw is very useful for farmers. It's used as bedding for cattle and horses because it's soft, almost dust-free, and soaks up liquids well. The straw can also be used to make decorative items called corn dollies. In the past, oat straw was even put in a cotton bag and used in bathwater to make the skin feel softer.
Things taken from oats can also be used to soothe the skin. They are found in many skin lotions and are a main ingredient in the Aveeno line of products.
Oats and Your Health
Oats are generally seen as a "healthy" food. People have become more interested in eating oats because they can help lower cholesterol.
Oat Protein
Oats are special because their main storage protein is called avenalin. This protein is similar to those found in legumes. Most other cereals have different main proteins like gluten. Oats also have a smaller protein called avenin.
The protein in oats is almost as good as the protein found in soy beans. The World Health Organization says that soy bean protein is as good as protein from meat, milk, and eggs. The amount of protein in oats without their husks can be from 12% to 24%. This is the highest amount of protein among all cereals!
Related pages
Images for kids
-
Steamed oat noodles and rolls made from youmian.
-
Noire d'Epinal, an ancient oat variety.
-
Harvesting of oats in Jølster, Norway ca. 1890 (Photo: Axel Lindahl/Norwegian Museum of Cultural History)
-
Oat seeds
-
Porridge oats before cooking
See also
In Spanish: Avena sativa para niños
