The best porridge you’ll ever eat

Why slow really does matter

Porridge thickens because starch leaches out of the oats and swells in the liquid. Do that fast over high heat and the outside of each oat blows apart before the inside has softened, which is how you get porridge that is simultaneously gluey and raw-tasting. Low and slow lets the starch come out gradually, and you end up with something creamy the whole way through without a single bit of cream in it.

The ratio

Three parts liquid to one part oats is what makes this rich rather than sloppy. Using two parts milk to one part water rather than all milk is deliberate - all milk can taste heavy and slightly cloying over a whole bowl, and the water lets the oats taste of themselves.

Do not skip the salt

A big pinch, properly stirred in at the start. Without it porridge tastes flat and faintly cardboardy, and no amount of honey afterwards fixes that - it just makes it sweet and flat. Salt at the beginning is the single biggest difference between good porridge and dull porridge.

Jumbo or rolled oats

Jumbo oats hold more texture and give you distinct oats in a creamy base. Rolled oats break down further and give a smoother, more uniform result. Both are right, depending on what you are after. Steel cut oats will need considerably longer and more liquid.

Storage and reheating

It keeps in the fridge for up to three days and sets very firm when cold. Reheat with a good splash of milk and stir it properly - it loosens back to something close to fresh. Portioning it while warm saves you chiselling it out of one solid block later.

Toppings

It is a blank canvas and it is worth treating it as one. Something sweet, something with texture and something acidic is the formula that rarely fails: honey, toasted nuts and berries, for instance.