Dexam 28cm Wooden Porridge Spirtle/Stirrer

Product Information

Mr Miller revealed: “I am a porridge eater. I wouldn’t say I have it every day, but I am a frequent eater of porridge. A traditional Scottish cooking implement used to stir oats as they cook and slowly soften in the pot. Each of our Myrtle Wood Spurtles is handcrafted in Oregon with its own unique shape. You can use your spurtle to stir porridge made from a variety of whole grain cereals from Bob’s Red Mill. What does the word spurtle mean? With this question we dive right into the physics and chemistry of cooking. Stirring is important for mixing ingredients on the one hand and warming up food on the other hand. Want to make a chocolate version of this that kids will love? Mix a tablespoon of cocoa powder in with the oats and then add some chocolate chip in too. Porridge toppings

She added: “Oats are the flower of our Scottish soil and through that magic cauldron the porridge pot Scottish oatmeal has been transmuted through the centuries into Scottish brains and brawn.” Salt or sugar? Based on form and function, the spurtle also appears in other contexts in Scottish use of language: For example, someone with thin legs is called “spurtle-legged” or one complains about a “spurtle-shot” when one feels side stings. Every cook is familiar with the result of overheating: scorching. By stirring while heating up food, we can prevent scorching and still heat up food to a high temperature. But what helps when heating, can also be useful when cooling things down. Food that is stirred cools down faster. A: These are not dishwasher safe. Don’t let them soak in water. They wash of very easily. Whats the best wood for a spurtle? Wood that is exposed to high heat and moisture is very likely to warp, splinter and break over time. The water, high temperatures and length of a dishwasher cycle can seriously damage your wood cutting boards. Why can’t you put pans in the dishwasher?When we want a healthy and filling breakfast, porridge is always our go to. Porridge is a great way to start the day because oats are a complex carbohydrate, which provide slow-releasing energy throughout the morning and keep you going until lunch. What’s a spurtle? The Scots, who claim the authorship of the porridge, use a special kitchen utensil called “spurtle” to stir the porridge, which has been handed down since the 15th century. A spurtle is a stirrer made from wood. Preference is given to spurtles made of beech, maple or cherry wood. What kind of wood is the spurtle made of? With porridge still a regular at breakfast tables across the land, Brian Stormont looks at the history of a true Scottish classic. The second reason for stirring is mixing the ingredients. Through stirring, solid substances in liquids such as milk or water dissolve faster. Furthermore, the speed of chemical reactions between ingredients or during the heating of ingredients increases. The correct way to hold a Spurtle is with the thistle or shaped end in your hand and the smooth rounded end placed in the Porridge. I hope you have enjoyed this potted history of Porridge’s most famous cooking implement the Spurtle. I hope using a Spurtle will help you to make perfect Porridge. What is a spurtle Myrtle?

Note: This recipe is easily doubled, just cook for a minute or so longer when doubling the quantities. Top Tips for Making Porridge What oats should you use for porridge? Heating up food, for example over a hotplate, does not happen evenly. Heat is transferred from the stove to the pot or pan and from there to the food that is being heated up. The lower thermal conductivity of the contents of a cooking vessel – compared to the stove or pot – means that the contents near the bottom heat up much faster than everything above it.

You'll love these too...

Kerr's version of the spurtle was soon adopted by non-porridge-making Americans, like former Martha Stewart Living food director [Lucinda Scala Quinn] who created her own heirloom design that's "not quite a spoon, not quite a spatula." She uses it for stirring eggs, folding chives into mashed potatoes, making tuna salad, and yes, even for oatmeal. Verival Porridges are super easy to prepare. They are ready for consumption just by adding hot water, milk or vegetable drinks. Without question you can also use the next best spoon to stir. But if you want to prepare your porridge particularly creamy, with style and in the knowledge of old porridge traditions, your spurtle will soon become an essential porridge tool.

Like good experimentalists, we turned to a nearby, very heavily used whiteboard to try and get a grip on what was happening. But there’s more. Because the viscosity of porridge goes down as you stir faster, the rapidly-moving spurtle is even better at breaking up lumps than the slower-moving spoon. Then there are the toppings. “Dad taught us how to eat it,” Lee recalls. “Crumble soft, dark brown sugar on top, cover with a plate and leave for five minutes.” Once the sugar has dissolved, grab a spoon. “Lift [the porridge] up and spoon [it] through a bowl of cold cream and milk. It’s lovely.” Cloake is also one for brown sugar, although, “for a fruitcake vibe”, has been known to add candied peel, nutmeg and sweet spices. Burr goes for brown butter, flaked almonds, or hazelnut butter, while Anand’s go-tos include roast pistachios, dried dates, roughly mashed banana or mango, or coconut milk powder, “for a nice, coconutty flavour and creaminess”. The organising committee is optimistic that the current Covid-19 pandemic eases to allow them to return to normal service in 2021.

Q & A

Porridge rises during the cooking process, so if your bowl is too small, your porridge is very likely to boil over. Make sure you cook it in a large bowl with plenty of room for the porridge to rise - you can always spoon it into a smaller bowl for serving afterwards. I don't have a microwave - how do I cook porridge in a pan? The speciality is part of the normal tournament anyway and we had 26 competitors from six different countries. If you wanted to make this vegan, then you could swap whole milk for a plant based milk like soy, cashew, oat milk or almond milk. We find these tend to cook differently, so you might need to add a little more or less milk, depending on the consistency you want it.

The Lancaster made, slotted spurtle is the ideal tool for stirring, whisking, and straining. It is excellent for making a stir fry, scrambling eggs, separating egg yokes and whites while also straining pasta or steamed veggies. Why are they called Spurtles? Oats contain a type of soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which studies have shown can help to lower your cholesterol. They also contain iron, zinc, magnesium and B vitamins. If you are making this porridge with milk like we have, then the vitamin and mineral content increases, as does the calcium content. In an age of too many kitchen appliances with too few uses, it’s liberating to see a simple tool that can do a host of things. But according to Harry Clarke of Kitchen Carvers, another spurtle manufacturer, there's one thing you shouldn't do with the spurtle. For a healthy breakfast, top porridge with fresh fruit such as sliced banana, chopped peaches or mango, grated apple or berries. Dried fruit, nuts, seeds and sugar free nut butters are also delicious, or try my easy berry compote recipe. However, competition sponsors Hamlyns have stepped in to ensure that the show does indeed go on, virtually at least, by creating an online speciality contest.Serve with chopped or sliced banana and a sprinkling of chia seeds or top with other fresh fruits of your choice. The graph appeared and I confess it was really exciting to watch the points appear. A straight line down from top left to bottom right over a huge range of stirring speeds. As David had suspected, the viscosity declines linearly with the speed of rotation.