Oat
Content
Oat
By Sobi Pincses
Iulian Romaniuc
The common oat (Avena sativa) is a species of
cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by
the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other
grains). While oats are suitable for human
consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the
most common uses is as livestock feed. Oats make
up a part of the daily diet of horses, about 20% of
daily intake or smaller, and are regularly fed to
cattle as well.
Oats are also used in some brands of dog food and
chicken feed. Oat seeds are commonly marketed as
cat grass to cat enthusiasts, since cats will readily
harvest and eat tender young oat, wheat and some
other grass sprouts.
The wild ancestor of Avena sativa and the
closely related minor crop, A. byzantina, is
the hexaploid wild oat A. sterilis. Genetic
evidence shows the ancestral forms of A.
sterilis grew in the Fertile Crescent of the
Near East . Domesticated oats appear
relatively late, and far from the Near East,
in Bronze Age Europe. Oats, like rye, are
usually considered a secondary crop , i.e.,
derived from a weed of the primary cereal
domesticates wheat and barley. As these
cereals spread westwards into cooler,
wetter areas, this may have favoured the
oat weed component, leading to its
eventual domestication
Oats are grown throughout the temperate zones.
They have a lower summer heat requirement and
greater tolerance of rain than other cereals, such
as wheat, rye or barley, so are particularly
important in areas with cool, wet summers, such
as Northwest Europe; they are even being grown
successfully in Iceland. Oats are an annual plant,
and can be planted either in autumn (for late
summer harvest) or in the spring (for early
autumn harvest).
Historical attitudes towards oats vary. Oat bread
was first manufactured in England, where the
first oat bread factory was established in 1899.
In Scotland, they were, and still are, held in high
esteem, as a mainstay of the national diet.
Oats have numerous uses in food; most commonly,
they are rolled or crushed into oatmeal, or ground
into fine oat flour. Oatmeal is chiefly eaten as
porridge, but may also be used in a variety of
baked goods, such as oatcakes, oatmeal cookies,
and oat bread. Oats are also an ingredient in
many cold cereals, in particular muesli and
granola. Oats may also be consumed raw, and
cookies with raw oats are becoming popular.
Oats are also occasionally used in several different
drinks. In Britain, they are used for brewing beer.
Oatmeal stout is one variety brewed using a
percentage of oats for the wort. The more rarely
used oat malt is produced by the Thomas Fawcett
& Sons Maltings, and was used in the Maclay Oat
Malt Stout before Maclays Brewery ceased
independent brewing operations.
Oats are generally considered "healthy", or a
health food, being touted commercially as
nutritious. The discovery of the healthy cholesterollowering properties has led to wider appreciation of
oats as human food.
Oat bran is the outer casing of the oat. Its
consumption is believed to lower LDL ("bad")
cholesterol, and possibly to reduce the risk of
heart disease.
Oats contain more soluble fibre than any other
grain, resulting in slower digestion and an extended
sensation of fullness. One type of soluble fibre, betaglucans, has proven to help lower cholesterol.
Oats are the only cereal containing a globulin or
legume-like protein, avenalin, as the major (80%)
storage protein
Oat protein is nearly equivalent in quality to
soy protein, which has been shown by the
World Health Organization to be equal to meat,
milk, and egg protein. The protein content of the
hull-less oat kernel (groat) ranges from 12 to
24%, the highest among cereals.
Coeliac, or celiac, disease, is often associated
with the ingestion of wheat, or more specifically,
a group of proteins labelled prolamines, or more
commonly, gluten. Oats lack many of the
prolamines found in wheat; however, oats do
contain avenin. Avenin is a prolamine that is toxic
to the intestinal mucosa of avenin-sensitive
individuals, and can trigger a reaction in these
coeliacs
Oats are sown in the spring or early summer, as
soon as the soil can be worked. An early start is
crucial to good yields, as oats will go dormant
during the summer heat. In warmer areas, oats
are sown in late summer or early fall. Oats are
cold-tolerant and will be unaffected by late frosts
or snow.
The vigorous growth habit of oats will tend to
choke out most weeds. A few tall broadleaf weeds,
such as ragweed, goosegrass, wild mustard and
buttonweed (velvetleaf), can occasionally be a
problem, as they complicate harvest and reduce
yields. These can be controlled with a modest
application of a broadleaf herbicide, such as 2,4D, while the weeds are still small.
By Sobi Pincses
Iulian Romaniuc
The common oat (Avena sativa) is a species of
cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by
the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other
grains). While oats are suitable for human
consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the
most common uses is as livestock feed. Oats make
up a part of the daily diet of horses, about 20% of
daily intake or smaller, and are regularly fed to
cattle as well.
Oats are also used in some brands of dog food and
chicken feed. Oat seeds are commonly marketed as
cat grass to cat enthusiasts, since cats will readily
harvest and eat tender young oat, wheat and some
other grass sprouts.
The wild ancestor of Avena sativa and the
closely related minor crop, A. byzantina, is
the hexaploid wild oat A. sterilis. Genetic
evidence shows the ancestral forms of A.
sterilis grew in the Fertile Crescent of the
Near East . Domesticated oats appear
relatively late, and far from the Near East,
in Bronze Age Europe. Oats, like rye, are
usually considered a secondary crop , i.e.,
derived from a weed of the primary cereal
domesticates wheat and barley. As these
cereals spread westwards into cooler,
wetter areas, this may have favoured the
oat weed component, leading to its
eventual domestication
Oats are grown throughout the temperate zones.
They have a lower summer heat requirement and
greater tolerance of rain than other cereals, such
as wheat, rye or barley, so are particularly
important in areas with cool, wet summers, such
as Northwest Europe; they are even being grown
successfully in Iceland. Oats are an annual plant,
and can be planted either in autumn (for late
summer harvest) or in the spring (for early
autumn harvest).
Historical attitudes towards oats vary. Oat bread
was first manufactured in England, where the
first oat bread factory was established in 1899.
In Scotland, they were, and still are, held in high
esteem, as a mainstay of the national diet.
Oats have numerous uses in food; most commonly,
they are rolled or crushed into oatmeal, or ground
into fine oat flour. Oatmeal is chiefly eaten as
porridge, but may also be used in a variety of
baked goods, such as oatcakes, oatmeal cookies,
and oat bread. Oats are also an ingredient in
many cold cereals, in particular muesli and
granola. Oats may also be consumed raw, and
cookies with raw oats are becoming popular.
Oats are also occasionally used in several different
drinks. In Britain, they are used for brewing beer.
Oatmeal stout is one variety brewed using a
percentage of oats for the wort. The more rarely
used oat malt is produced by the Thomas Fawcett
& Sons Maltings, and was used in the Maclay Oat
Malt Stout before Maclays Brewery ceased
independent brewing operations.
Oats are generally considered "healthy", or a
health food, being touted commercially as
nutritious. The discovery of the healthy cholesterollowering properties has led to wider appreciation of
oats as human food.
Oat bran is the outer casing of the oat. Its
consumption is believed to lower LDL ("bad")
cholesterol, and possibly to reduce the risk of
heart disease.
Oats contain more soluble fibre than any other
grain, resulting in slower digestion and an extended
sensation of fullness. One type of soluble fibre, betaglucans, has proven to help lower cholesterol.
Oats are the only cereal containing a globulin or
legume-like protein, avenalin, as the major (80%)
storage protein
Oat protein is nearly equivalent in quality to
soy protein, which has been shown by the
World Health Organization to be equal to meat,
milk, and egg protein. The protein content of the
hull-less oat kernel (groat) ranges from 12 to
24%, the highest among cereals.
Coeliac, or celiac, disease, is often associated
with the ingestion of wheat, or more specifically,
a group of proteins labelled prolamines, or more
commonly, gluten. Oats lack many of the
prolamines found in wheat; however, oats do
contain avenin. Avenin is a prolamine that is toxic
to the intestinal mucosa of avenin-sensitive
individuals, and can trigger a reaction in these
coeliacs
Oats are sown in the spring or early summer, as
soon as the soil can be worked. An early start is
crucial to good yields, as oats will go dormant
during the summer heat. In warmer areas, oats
are sown in late summer or early fall. Oats are
cold-tolerant and will be unaffected by late frosts
or snow.
The vigorous growth habit of oats will tend to
choke out most weeds. A few tall broadleaf weeds,
such as ragweed, goosegrass, wild mustard and
buttonweed (velvetleaf), can occasionally be a
problem, as they complicate harvest and reduce
yields. These can be controlled with a modest
application of a broadleaf herbicide, such as 2,4D, while the weeds are still small.
