THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Oats

Lisa Karen Miller

          “As for my interminable journey to the land of Calvin, oatcakes, and sulphur [Scotland]… no Prime Minister made greater sacrifice than attempting to run the country six hundred miles north of civilization.”

Benjamin Disraeli, Mrs. Brown

          Mr. Disraeli had the privilege of visiting Queen Victoria at Balmoral – and the nerve to complain about it.  Thousands of his fellow countrymen weren’t so lucky.

If you had to endure the shame and misfortune of going to the workhouse in those dark days, oat porridge was pretty much what you lived on – day in, day out.

          From the bill of fare of the Covent Garden Poorhouse in London:

“Take a pint of water and a large spoonful of oatmeal, stir it together; let it boil up three or four times, stirring it often.  Strain it through a hair sieve and add a little salt.”

          Oat porridge may have been preferable, however, to haggis – that uniquely Scottish dish consisting of a sheep’s stomach stuffed with oatmeal, suet, spices, salt, and the sheep’s liver, heart, and lungs. It is traditionally served at a Burns supper on January 25, commemorating the poet Robert Burns’ birthday.

          The haggis is piped in by a band of pipers, and the host of the supper recites Burns’ “Address to a Haggis” while sharpening his knife and slicing the dish. It is usually served with “neeps and tatties” – turnips and potatoes.

          It is also served at Hogmanay – New Year’s Eve in Scotland. For many, this celebration far outshines Christmas and sometimes lasts for days. Christmas is for children, but Hogmanay is for the grown-ups.

          The emollient properties of oats ease itching and nourish the skin. Oatmeal has long been used as a remedy for diaper rash and troubled skin.  We still find it in body washes and facial cleansers.

Today we know that eating oats helps to lower cholesterol and carry plaque away from arteries. They have long been reputed to rebuild body systems depleted by anxiety, nervous exhaustion, and poor nutrition. This, along with their affordability, may be why they were the food of choice in poorhouses.

          An old advertisement for Quaker Oats claimed, “It puts off old age by nourishing the entire system. Quaker Oats makes your blood tingle, nerves strong and steady, brain clear and active, muscles powerful.”

          Then, as today, people were more swayed by images than words.

          This ad was accompanied by a drawing of a healthy Gibson girl, who has just removed a “mask of old age” to reveal an attractive young face.

          If only it were that easy.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller