Cooked boats always grossed me out. If I ate them fresh out of the pan, they were ok, but only if there was no milk on top. It was best if I could smother them in brown sugar, which would promptly melt if the boats were hot enough.
I once refused to eat my boats because they were cold, so Mom made me sit there in my chair until they were eaten. I held out and she held out. It finally came time to run to school, and the boats weren't eaten. Mom shooed me to school without any breakfast and I thought I was off the hook.
But after school, guess what was waiting for me on the table? Aaagh by then they were not just cold, but rubbery and grosser than gross. I sat there at the table and she busied herself in the kitchen to keep an eye on me. Bedtime came and the boats were still there.
I won't go into details of how I ended up having to eat my boats in bed. But Mom won, and it entailed a lot of tears (not just mine), and probably a bit of throwing up.
After that day, Mom never forced me to eat cooked boats again.
But guess what - I LOVE boats when they're RAW! Happily, Mom started poaring a few boats into my bowl uncooked. I would put milk and sugar on top, just as if they were cornflakes. And they were fantastic! Later I learned that cinnamon sugar on my boats was even better than brown sugar; the crispy texture of the sugar with the chewey grains of the oats were a very nice combination.
When I gave up sugar, I was reluctant to eat my raw boats, thinking that to me, they were just a carrier for what I really liked - the sugar. But, I went ahead and tasted a bowl of boats with nothing but milk a couple months ago, and to my delight, I discovered boats again for what they really are - a wonderful, nutty, chewy treat in their own right, holding their own sweetness.
Boats are boats. Or, are they really? Are all boats the same? I've decided to do a boat-tasting, to discover for myself which of all the boats are the best.
Here's the line-up; I limited the varieties to those that are certified organic:
Appearance:
My preference is big, fat flakes, because those are the chewiest and feel the best in my mouth. Of the five competitors, Waitrose Jumbo Oats, Jordan's Organic Porridge, and White's Jumbo Organic Oats had the best size. Quaker and Mornflake had smaller flakes, even though they were not advertised as quick oats. The smaller flakes tend to feel more powdery, and therefore dry in texture.
Here are the three with larger flakes, and the two with smaller:
Color-wise, White's is the richest, and Mornflake is the most washed-out.
Cartons:
Jordan's has the best carton. It has an inner bag for freshness, and closes easily at the top. Waitrose and White's both have plastic containers, which is fine for keeping freshness locked inside, but only if you have a clasp to secure the top. Quaker and Mornflake both have "easy-pour" spouts on the side. These are a nice idea, but the spouts are too large to facilitate any precision in pouring, making it very hard to pour directly into a bowl, or even a pan (maybe a garbage bin would be the easiest place to pour). Also, the flap on the spout is designed to hook into the carton, to lock it shut. I have a problem with that though, and keep pushing the flap too far into the box. When that happens, I have to dig in with my finger to pull it out. So, my vote is strongly against that design.
Flavour, in order of preference:
1. Jordans. This had a strong, nutty flavour that blossomed into a very nice aftertaste.
2/3. Waitrose and White's both had good flavour, and I couldn't distinguish between them. They were not quite as good as Jordan's.
4. Quaker. Compared with the top three, the flavour was flat, but considerably better than Mornflake.
5. Mornflake was mushy and tasteless.
The winner:
