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The Oat Path
Tracing the journey of oats from the Tigris to the modern kitchen
The oat is the Horatio Alger of cereals, which progressed, if not from rags to riches, at least from weed to health food. — Waverley Root, ‘Food’ (American journalist for the Chicago Tribune & Washington Post.)
As a food historian and author of the book Past & Present, I’ve spent years tracing the origins of the ingredients we take for granted: tomatoes, herbs, onions, spices. But that research didn’t satisfy my curiosity — it only deepened it. So now I’m working through my pantry, one item at a time. Cashews, cloves, quinoa, pickles. And today: oats.
Oats and oatmeal — they have a reputation for being bland and boring. Oats grow in poor soil, tolerate harsh weather, and often get little credit for their value. But behind that humble exterior is a story that begins on the banks of the Tigris, stretches to the highlands of Scotland, and then crosses the Atlantic to 19th-century pantries and the kitchens of post-war America.
I’m not hoping to make you fall in love with porridge, but I’d like to think that the long and winding road of something as unimaginative as oats can be interesting … under the pen of the right storyteller.
Our story begins in the womb of life we call the Fertile Crescent. A bold sea of green…
