I tried googling this but it seems complicated. When just vegan I used to enjoy oats, with bananas, as a mix to a cereal. I notice they are usually never mentioned when people describe their raw diets... they are so cheap, I like the dryness, texture... I heard it is hard to find raw oats. Still, if not raw, they might be one of my "exception" foods. Just a few sprinkles here and there. It's still not full on COOKED food. New to this. Any insight is appreciated.

I have heard that the flakes never are because they are flattened; processed. Even steel-cut ones are processed. Oat groats can be sprouted but then I just read that they have been treating these with heat, too! It's maddening, I tell you...Best advice would be to find companies selling oat groats and contact them. Ask them if they have treated these with heat.

I buy my organic oat groats from a firm in Georgia called Homegrown Harvest.
My contact there is Tim. [www.homegrownharvest.com]

Their advertisement says that the outer hull on oats is easier to remove than barely and that the oat groats will sprout. But not too much on the heat treatment that Banana Who mentions. If you wrote Tim an email and asked him, bet he'd get back to you.

Paul

@Paul: So they are really raw? If so, thanks for the info. I am going to also find out about the companies sold in stores.

[www.wellsphere.com]

this seemed to help me very much!

I don't know about the US, but virtually all oats sold in the UK are not raw - try and sprout them and they won't sprout. rawliving.eu is the only company over here selling raw oats.

I would imagine that it would be similar in the USA, you will have to get them from a company specifically saying that they are raw.

The reason they heat treat them is because raw oats have a relatively short shelf life, once heat treated they keep much longer.

Rob

ps it doesn't matter what it say's on the label - if they are raw they will sprout, otherwise they are not raw.

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2010 09:31AM by Funky Rob.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @Paul: So they are really raw? If so, thanks for
> the info. I am going to also find out about the
> companies sold in stores.

In short, I think so. This is what Tim says on their site:

"Oats, like barley, have a hard outer hull that must be removed before it’s ready for human consumption. Even though the outer hull of an oat kernel comes off easier than a barley kernel’s hull, it’s still not within reach of the average consumer to accomplish this. For this reason, if you want whole oats to eat, purchase them already hulled. Hulled oats, called oat groats, look very much like rye or Triticale. Unlike barley which must have it’s hull sanded off damaging the seed, an oat groat kernel’s outer bran layer is still intact after de-hulling. This somewhat protects the inner nutrients and also permits it to sprout. From this stage of processing, oats are most often rolled. Sometimes they are cut into two to four pieces before rolling and are called quick rolled oats."

Raw Oats groats:
[www.thatshealthy.com]

All store bought Oats will be denatured. Raw oats have a very short shelf life. Oats sold in stores are heat treated so they so they will have a reasonable shelf life. As somebody else suggested, try and sprout them if in doubt, the "raw oats" I have bought over the internet have always sprouted.

Cheers!

"Rolled oats" certainly don't qualify as raw if that's what OP is talking about.

only a short 100 years ago are great grand family's were , if they were into farming, milling their own grains at home. it cant be THAT hard to do

i fear we are quickly forgetting how to really live ;D our society is so based on someone else doing all the work and us getting it in pretty packages

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

hi sodoffsocks

the site you listed says:

<< Organic Raw Oat Groats 16 oz

Oat groats are oat kernels with the outer hull removed. They can be soaked overnight and eaten raw or cooked into porridge as a nutritious breakfast cereal.

Cooked oat groats can be added to breads and other baked goods, where they will impart a nutty flavor and increase the nutritional content of the finished product.

Not for sprouting as Oat Grass.>>

My focus is on that last line. You said that they sprouted yet this company insists that it does not. what is the real answer here? .if it is raw, it ought to sprout as you pointed out, correct?

curious..

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hi sodoffsocks
>
> the site you listed says:
>
> << Organic Raw Oat Groats 16 oz
>
> Oat groats are oat kernels with the outer hull
> removed. They can be soaked overnight and eaten
> raw or cooked into porridge as a nutritious
> breakfast cereal.
>
> Cooked oat groats can be added to breads and other
> baked goods, where they will impart a nutty flavor
> and increase the nutritional content of the
> finished product.
>
> Not for sprouting as Oat Grass.>>
>
> My focus is on that last line. You said that they
> sprouted yet this company insists that it does
> not. what is the real answer here? .if it is raw,
> it ought to sprout as you pointed out, correct?
>
> curious..

La Veronique,

Just to state the obvious, even if this vendor does not sell sproutable raw oats, I provided a link above where you may obtain them.

Paul