rolled oats
lightly processed whole-grain food made from oat
Rolled oats are a type of lightly processed whole-grain food. They are made from oat groats that have been dehusked and steamed, before being rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers and then stabilized by being lightly toasted. Thick-rolled oats, or old-fashioned oats, usually remain unbroken during processing.
Rolled whole oats, without further processing, can be cooked into a porridge and eaten as oatmeal; when the oats are rolled thinner and steam-cooked more in the factory, these thin-rolled oats often become fragmented but they later will absorb water more easily and cook faster into a porridge; when processed this way, they sometimes are marketed as "quick" or "instant" oats.
