Entering the world of porridge making: As a mother of two, I have been cooking porridge for thousands of hours, and my mother, and her mother cooked porridge for thousands of hours for their families. I feel like I am somewhat of an expert now! According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, "ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness." I believe that I have mastered porridge making, not that I can't learn more, but I am quite adept at it after all these years. In October 2018 I was the Canadian contestant in the World Porridge Making Championships, Golden Spurtle Competition in Scotland along with twenty-nine others from around the world.

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I didn't win but I learned a lot about the competition and about Scottish oats. With my family by my side, we had a lot of fun and loved Scotland. There is quite a difference between Canadian and Scottish oats in that Canadian oats tend to be slightly tougher and darker in colour, while Scottish oats are more delicate in taste and texture, and have a lighter colour. When I enter the competition again I will only use Hamlyns Scottish Oatmeal for the best results. Canadian steel cut oats don't cook fast enough, even with soaking because they are not stone-ground, whereas the Scottish oats cook in fifteen to twenty minutes.  Scottish Oatmeal is steel-cut oats, stone ground! Since each contestant is only allowed a maximum of thirty minutes to cook and prepare a traditional and a fancy recipe, this would fare me well.

 

I learned a very important lesson about porridge tools. I needed to have a spurtle or porridge stirring stick, to stir my oats for the contest so ordered one online. It arrived and I used it daily and took it with me to Scotland. When we returned home I continued to use it to stir my porridge. Over time my family began to sneeze and show symptoms of a cold that wouldn't go away. And I began to develop my idea of taking a spurtle, designed by me, to market. What I discovered in the process was that certain woods are toxic and that not all wood is suitable for kitchen use.

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I searched for a suitable woodworker and had many discussions about the appropriate wood to use. One that would be suitable for culinary use would be my ultimate choice and after two prototypes, the third was it. This is how I developed and produced my ergonomically designed, hardwood maple spurtles that are highly suitable for culinary use. Most importantly they are non-toxic and will give you lump-free, creamy porridge each and every time.