Porridge basics

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I can't believe I am asking this, but perhaps I can be excused as I am foreign? I didn't grew up eating porridge, in fact it's a new thing for me and I am even surprised I like it so much!

Soooooo.....how do you make porridge? I am using sachets in the microwave for now, but I would like to go for the real thing.
Do you cook it on the stove every morning? Is it ready in 5-10 minutes or does it need to stay on for longer (I saw someone on Instagram slow-cooking it overnight, does it need that long?).
What about overnight porridge? I like my porridge creamy and hot, not cold from the fridge. What's the benefit from putting it to soak overnight in the fridge if I still need to put it on the stove in the morning?

Sorry, so many questions for such a simple task! I am happy to pay back by answering questions on how to boil pasta :)

You are all just amazing, thanks so much! I feel more confident now. I just added standard 'plain' oat to my Ocado shopping list and I am looking forward to my first proper porridge next week!
I think I will try with bananas first, then sultanas, grated apples, frozen berries, cinnamon and all the variants you kindly suggested, included carrot cake-type and with coconut milk. They all sound very delicious and most of them also healthy. It will keep my breakfast varied for a while!
I read porridge is good for your cholesterol. It's certainly better than overly sugared cereals or croissants, so I hope it will become a staple in the house.

Now...pasta (@Georgyporky).... as porridge, I'd say super easy to do but I got so many questions over the year.
The basic principles are:

• big pan (big enough for the quantity of pasta you are cooking plus enough water for pasta to still be fully covered even when cooked)
• add salt (yes, you can add it before boiling)
• put lid on
• bring to the boil
• add pasta
• stir immediately as it tends to stick to the bottom or together
• leave it alone with no lid for the desired amount of time (read packet, however cooking time is for VERY al dente pasta. I normally add a couple of minutes. My parents and ILs in Italy probably cook it for much longer)
• drain pasta using colander in the sink, unless it's a fragile type of pasta (like filled pasta or gnocchi). In that case you use a strainer-type of utensil fishing the pasta directly from the boiling water.

No need to add oil to the pan not to let the pasta stick. It wouldn't work anyway as oil separates.
The lid on is to make the water boil faster. But then you need to take it off after you put the pasta in to avoid the water to boil over.
You can't cook pasta by just pouring the kettle over it, it needs to stay in boiling water for at least 10 minutes - sitting there with hot water that is cooling down doesn't work.

My current favourite:

40g rolled oats with water and sweeetener
3 mins in microwave
2 table spoons of 0% greek yoghurt
sliced banana
1 table spoon toasted pumpkin seeds

I prefer my porridge made with water. But I lowcarb most of the time so I don’t actually eat it hardly at all. I make porridge for DH almost every day though. 1 cup of milk, 1/3 cup porridge oats. Medium-high heat til it comes to a boil, then turn it down and simmer for 10-15 min whilst stirring quite often.

You can do it in a slow cooker if you want to. Soaking it overnight just makes the oats softer so they cook quicker (some people find oats hard to digest so soaking them helps as well).

DH’s favourite topping is cinnamon, demerera sugar and a little bit of butter.

We usually use rolled oats for porridge, the same type of oats the packets use.

But if I have more time I use pinhead oatmeal and make "proper" porridge cooking the oats with water and then eating with milk (and sugar sprinkled on, not the salt that Scots are meant to like)

I wouldn't suggest pinhead porridge for everyday but you might fancy as a change sometimes.
(Americans call it steel cut oatmeal)

When I was a child my favourite breakfast was salted, buttered porridge spooned on to buttered toast bite by bite.

As an adult I do 1 oats (not whole) to 2 milk, no water. I cook on a low heat but they cook fast so stir and watch. I add banana and cinnamon and like this I find I don't need sugar. I have also give through phases of mixed berries. And sainsbury's sell a mix of ground flax seeds and nuts. This is a great topper.

@dudsville that's sounds oddly amazing!
So how do you make buttered porridge? Is it as it sounds? - cold porridge with butter on it? and is the porridge salty or sweet? milky or watery?

@SomethingToldTheWildGeese, Mum made the porridge with milk. I can't remember if she cooked it with butter too, but it was served hot and I always had a dollop of butter on it once dished up in the bowl, melting to stir in. It was so delicious!

Sorry, forgot, it was creamy and thick porridge, salted.

I do mine by covering jumbo oats with half milk/half water. I put in some mixed nuts and some dried fruit. Bring it to the boil and then let it simmer for a few minutes until the oats are soft and have soaked up all the liquid. It's very porridgy but with the occasional nutty crunch or burst of sweeter fruit.

I prefer it with water and I make it thick. (This is my own porridge, others here have theirs differently.) So half a mug of oats, a bit more than half a mug of water. 2 mins in the microwave, remove, stir in some grated apple or sliced banana, back in the microwave for 3 mins. Remove (bowl will be hot), stir in a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of butter. Fold in some frozen fruit, quick blast back in the microwave and top with a little honey and finely chopped almonds.

I like mine on the thicker side, but not super thick. DH likes his thin. So many different ways to have it!

@WwMILd

For me it is Flahavans Irish quick oats - you can microwave or hob cook. I do half water half milk.

Now for the bad bit (but oh so nice) - dark brown sugar and cream.

Once you’ve tried it you will see why it’s the only way!

Oh my lord, you can have the tube of this sawdust I bought last week. That stuff is like wallpaper paste, no wonder you need to add sugar and cream - it’s horrible!!!

Op do not listen to @WwMILd, she is doubtless lovely, but she is lost, she’ll be on ready brek next.

Op - get jumbo or all fashioned oats for flavour and texture (did you hear that WwMILd?!) - 40g in a bowl with 250ml of milk, about 2 mins in the microwave, leave it to stand for a minute and you are good.

If you soak it overnight it will cook quicker. If you add a bit too much milk don’t keep nuking it - just cover with a plate and it will absorb in a minute or two.

If you use full or semi skimmed diary milk, I don’t think you need to add sugar. Yogurt and pip and nut peanut butter are great to add with fruit. Add a spoon of cocoa for chocolate porridge - which is amazing with frozen cherries (and yogurt and peanut butter), also add cinnamon and nutmeg with chopped apple or pear for an apple pie type feel. Vanilla extract is a good addition also.

You can make your own instant porridge sachets by adding milk powder. You don’t even need a microwave, just add boiling water, leave to stand for c 4 mins with a plate over it.

Avoid instant and standard oats - they lack texture and flavour. But you also need to avoid pinhead or steel cut oats - they make delicious porridge but you need to cook it properly on the stove.

Not the healthiest but definitely the yummiest :
Roast oats in a hot pan with a knob of slightly salted butter until almost golden
Cover with milk and simmer til thick
Add sugar, honey or maple syrup to sweeten

1 part oats (1/4 Cup), 2 parts semi-skimmed milk, 1 part water and leave out in the kitchen to soak overnight. Bring to boil in the morning while letting the dog out, stir, feed the dog, turn off and pour in to the bowl (yours, not the dogs). Job done. Done in no time at all.