I am a fan of good oatmeal. My minimum baseline decent oatmeal is the Quaker's Old Fashioned. I prefer a heartier cut, most times, though.
Bob's Red Mill wins Scottish porridge competition
By Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
October 12, 2009, 12:02PM
Oregon wine and cheese have dazzled international judges, and now its oatmeal has too.
A team from Bob's Red Mill of Milwaukie beat the Scots on their own turf and in their own cuisine on Sunday, taking the world's porridge-making title.
This was the first time in the 16-year-old contest that a non-Scottish entry has won, and the first time that Americans have competed.
"I'm floating," said Matt Cox of Bob's Red Mill in a phone interview from Scotland. "We were so surprised."
Cox, Bob's marketing manager, had expected to bowl over judges in the specialty category with his brulee-topped, pear-studded, brandy-infused gourmet treat made with all Oregon ingredients. A Scottish lass, Anna Louise Batchelor, won that category with an oatmeal custard concoction.
But with a humble mixture of oats, water and salt, Cox won the overall Golden Spurtle Trophy, which is shaped like the traditional Scottish stirring stick that creams lumps out of porridge."This is proof of the quality of our oats," Cox said.It also pays homage to Oregon's water. Bob's team lugged bottles of Oregon Rain water to the competition, along with bags of the company's steel-cut oats made in Milwaukie. Even the spurtle that Cox wielded, continually turning clockwise per tradition, was made with Oregon myrtle wood.
He competed against 14 other teams from Britain, Sweden and Canada. The competition, with Miss Scotland on hand to give away the prizes, took place in the Scottish Highland town of Carrbridge, which is so small that it only has one pub.
That's where
Cox and his crew celebrated Sunday night with pints of beer – another Scottish tradition. For 16 years the brass-plated, 10-pound Golden Spurtle Trophy has stayed year-round in the pub, with the winners in the competition taking replicas home.
But this year the Scots let Cox bring it back to Oregon, provided he return next year.
No worries there. "We'll be back," Cox said. "And we plan to win."
