Porridge, or porage, is a simple dish made by boiling oats (normally crushed oats, occasionally oatmeal) or another cereal in water, milk, or both. Dishes made from cornmeal to which boiling water is added are a variant of porridge, though these are more often described by regional/national variant names such as polenta and grits and are prepared and served according to special regional traditions. Oat and semolina porridge are the most popular varieties in many countries, other cereals used for porridge include rice, wheat, barley, and cornmeal. Legumes such as peasemeal can also be used to make porridge. Gruel is similar to porridge but is much more like a drink; it has a very thin consistency and is made with water.
In many cultures, porridge is eaten as a breakfast dish, often with the addition of salt, sugar, milk or cream. As the traditional breakfast of Scotland (where it is also spelled porage) it is made with salt. Some manufacturers of breakfast cereal sell "ready-made" versions; aficionados question whether these can truly be called porridge. In parts of Asia, porridge is made for horses and donkeys. Porridge is one of the easiest ways to digest grains or legumes, and is used traditionally in many cultures as a food to nurse the sick back to health.
In Scotland, the art of porridge-making is competitive, with the World Porridge Making Championships held annually in Carrbridge, Inverness-shire. The event is also known as the Golden Spurtle due to the winner receiving a gold-coloured trophy of a spurtle, which is a utensil used for stirring porridge. The contest is held in October each year[1].
Varieties
oat porridge - can be made with steel-cut oats (traditional in Ireland and Scotland) or with rolled oats (traditional in England and the United States); known simply as porridge in the British Islands, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and as oatmeal or oatmeal mush in the United States; also a traditional Scandinavian and Icelandic breakfast, where it is known as havregrød in Denmark, havregrynsgröt in Sweden, Havregrøt in Norway, hafragrautur in Iceland, and Puuro in Finland. In Scotland Porridge Oats is traditionally prepared using a spurtle. Oat porridge has been found in the stomachs of 5,000 year old Neolithic bog bodies in central Europe and Scandinavia.[2]
cornmealmush - traditional dish in southern and mid-Atlantic US states
Uji - East Africa-Kenya, swift thick porridge made most commonly from maize flour mixed with sorghum and many other different grinded grains flour, with milk/butter and sugar/(salt). Ugali, a much solid meal, made from maize flour although some mix with other grain flour, are staple foods over a wide part of the African continent, e.g. pap (South Africa), sadza (Zimbabwe), nshima (Zambia), tuwo or ogi (Nigeria) ? may also be made from sorghum
polenta (could also be made from corn) - Italy—raisins, milk, sugar
Wheatena - a brand name for a whole-wheat porridge
uppama or uppma - a fried semolina (suzi or shuji) porridge traditional in southern India; flavored with clarified butter (ghee), fried onions, toasted mustard seeds, curry leaves; often mixed with vegetables and other foods, such as potatoes, fried dried red chilis, fried cauliflower, and toasted peanuts or cashew nuts.
Cream of Rice American warm cereal boiled in milk or water with sugar or salt.
congee (also jook (Cantonese) or x? fàn (Mandarin)) - with chicken or duck's eggs and pork, coriander leaf, fried wonton noodles, with fried dough (yao ja gwai (Cant.) or yóu tiáo (Mand.))
bubur - Indonesia and Malay - there are many types of rice porridge in Indonesia, for example, bubur sumsum, made from rice flour boiled with coconut milk then served with palm sugar sauce and bubur Menado, a rice porridge mixed with various vegetables and eaten with fried salted fish and chili sauce (sambal).
juk (?) - Korea—with seafood, pine nuts, mushrooms, etc.
kao dom - Thailand—cilantro, preserved duck eggs, fish sauce, sliced chili peppers, pickled mustard greens or salt cabbage preserves, red pepper flakes
cháo – Vietnam – rice, water, beef stock (cháo bò) or chicken stock (cháo gà), ginger; contains fish sauce; often served with scallions, cabbage slaw, and fried sticks of bread
krentjebrij - a traditional Dutch porridge-like dessert
Dalia, North Indian Breakfast item, primarily made of crushed (dulit) wheat grain boiled with water and preferably milk, considered easily digestible, nursing.
Gofio made from roasted sweetcorn and other grains (e.g wheat, barley or oat). Gofio is still an important ingredient in Canary Islander cooking, and Canary Islander emigrants have spread its use to the Caribbean and all of Latin America. Gofio can be added to soups, stews, desserts, ice cream, sauces, and more.
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