About this episode
Oats are one of my ultimate comfort foods. Golden, creamy, filling, tasty - what is there not to love? It's been that way for me for a long time. Long before I realised that huge swathes of my English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish ancestors subsisted on oats, sometimes eating them three times a day for many generations. Today we'll focus on the oat, and fermenting oats. Finally Andrea let me out of my cage to talk about some of the research I've been doing into this wonderful grain over the last year. Listen in and I'm sure you'll hear things that you did not know about oats. We'll talk about five reasons why you'd want to ferment your oats. We'll give you a brief history of the grain and some traditional examples of oat fermentation. We'll talk about the sad way that most oats are eaten these days, and then we'll get practical, and give you details of how to ferment your oats and, as you'll hear Andrea say early on, stay to the end for some potentially controversial information which has come from my latest research into oats and phytic acid. It's probably not what you're expecting to hear, it's certainly wasn't what what I was expecting to find out, and it's changed how I eat my oats. This episode is literally jam-packed with information. You might need to listen to the science-y bits towards the end a couple of times to get them under your belt, but I hope it will inform, inspire and get you super-clear on this wonderful golden grain, and how you can bring it to life with fermentation in your own kitchen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The organ supplements we use and trust – get a 5% discount (and free shipping) on grass-fed supplements, including liver capsules by visiting: https://www.oneearthhealth.com/AncestralKitchen * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Get more news from Alison & Andrea by signing up to their newsletter at the top of the page here. For more tips, inspiration and recipes plus a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains sign up for Alison's newsletter here! Get our two podcast cookbooks: Meals at the Ancestral Hearth Spelt Sourdough Every Day Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course Get 10% off US/Canada Bokashi supplies: click here and use code AKP . Get 10% off UK Bokashi supplies. Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop for a vast selection of ancestral cookbooks: US link here and UK link here . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Our podcast is supported by a community of ancestral cooks around the world! Come join our community! You can choose to simply sponsor the podcast, or select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live Zoom calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content from Alison and Andrea, and a Discord discussion group. To read more about becoming a supporter and explore the various levels, click here! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * What we cover: 5 reasons to ferment your oats a brief history of oats some traditional examples of oat fermentation how most oats are eaten these days why didn't the Scottish ferment their oats? details of how to ferment oats Alison's latest research into phytic acid and oats * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5* reviews on Apple Podcasts, mean the world to us! Here's how you can leave one: Open the Apple Podcast app Find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews' Click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening in the box below * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Resources: Alison's Zoom-recorded course Fermenting Oats ( which is now free!) Alison's course Sowans, The Scottish Oat Ferment The blog post explaning Alison's thoughts on why the Scottish didn't ferment their oats Sign up for Alison's newsletter for the latest on her planned oat book project! The post Andrea asked Alison to share about the making of Lancashire oatcakes Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? If so, we would love to hear from you! Visit our website here for how to share. Thank you for listening - we'd love to connect more: The podcast has a website here! Alison is taking a break from Instagram. You can stay in touch with her via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen The podcast is on Instagram at Ancestral Kitchen Podcast The podcast is mixed and the music is written and recorded by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay