Mary Allen
Oat is a plant and belongs to the sweet grasses. There are over 20 species. Most of the time, however, people think of seed oats or real oats when they hear the word. It is grown as a grain like wheat, rice, and many others. Oats are a very healthy food for humans and animals.
The oat plants are annual grasses. After a year you have to plant them again. The seed coat grows about half a meter or one and a half meters high. The strong panicle spindle grows from the root. On it is panicles, a kind of small twigs, and at their ends are the spikelets. On it are two or three flowers that can become an oat fruit.
Oats actually come from southern Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. It shouldn’t be too hot for the seed oats, for that it has to rain a lot. It doesn’t need particularly good soil. That is why it is grown on the coast or near mountains. Good soils, on the other hand, are better used for other crops that yield more crops.
When there were few or no cars, people needed lots of horses. They were mostly fed with oats. Even today, oats are mainly grown to feed animals such as cattle.
But people have always eaten oats. Today, people who care about their health like it: only the outer shell of oats is removed, but not the inner shell. In this way, the many minerals and dietary fibers are retained. Oats are therefore our healthiest grain. It is usually pressed into oatmeal and eaten that way, usually mixed with milk and fruit to make muesli.