Porridge (also spelled porage, parritch, etc., usually known simply as oatmeal in the US) is a dish made by boiling oats (whole-grain, rolled, crushed, or steel cut) or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish. Other grains or legumes may be used, although dishes prepared with other ingredients are often referred to by other names, such as polenta or grits.
Famous quotes containing the word porridge:
“When eating a bowl of porridge or rice, remember that it is not easy to come by.”
—Chinese proverb.
“There was an old woman and she lived in a shoe,
She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
She crumm’d ‘em some porridge without any bread
And she borrowed a beetle, and she knocked ‘em all on the head.
Then out went the old woman to bespeak ‘em a coffin
And when she came back she found’ em all a-loffing.”
—Mother Goose (fl. 17th–18th century. There was an old woman who lived in a shoe (l. 1–6)