Topical Tens: 10 October: World Porridge Day

Wednesday 10 October 2018

10 October: World Porridge Day

Today is World Porridge Day. Here are 10 things you never knew about porridge.

The word porridge is probably a variant of pottage or porray, old words for a broth or stew. The word porridge was first seen in writing in the 16^th century.
It wasn't always spelled the way we spell it today. You might also see it written as porage, porrige or parritch.
Porridge is made by boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants in Water or Milk and served hot in a bowl.
It can be sweet or savoury depending on what you add to it. While it's traditional to add Salt, fruit, sugar, Honey or syrup are popular breakfast additions. Spices and vegetables can be added to make a savoury dish.
It's usually made from oats, but it can be made from any grain or cereal crop including Rice, Wheat, barley, corn, triticale and buckwheat. In some cases, if a particular grain is used, there may be a different word for the dish – buckwheat porridge is kasha, Maize porridge is grits, and cornmeal porridge is polenta.
A 237g cup of porridge contains 130 calories. You can also get Potassium, magnesium and fibre from it.
It's easy to digest, so it's a traditional food to feed sick people. Athletes in training also take advantage of this easy to digest food.
Porridge is a traditional food in Scotland, and there are correct ways to eat it – in a wooden bowl and stirred with a wooden stick called a spurtle. In Carrbridge there is an annual World Porridge Making Championship and the winner receives The Golden Spurtle.
Scientists have found that porridge is an aphrodisiac to tropical Snails. If the snails are fed porridge, they have more sex.
Porridge is traditionally eaten for breakfast and is often served in institutions, such as prisons – which is where the UK slang for a prison sentence comes from. However, the Americans wouldn't get that reference, so when the TV prison comedy Porridge was shown in the US, it was called Doing Time.