Oats (Avena sativa) make a scrumptious breakfast cereal and are often used in baking. Interestingly, there are multiple types of oats.

Steel cut oats, also known as Scottish or Irish oats, are less common, so you may wonder what differentiates them from other kinds of oats.

This article tells you everything you need to know about steel cut oats.

Steel cut oats are one of the least processed oat varieties.

They’re made by chopping hulled oat grains, or groats, into small pieces with a steel blade. This process keeps each part of the grain, including the bran, endosperm, and germ, mostly intact.

On the other hand, rolled and instant oats are steamed and flattened during manufacturing, causing them to lose some or all of the grain’s bran.

Because steel cut oats retain more of the whole grain and have a smaller surface area, they don’t readily absorb water. Thus, they take much longer to cook than other types of oats.

On average, a batch of steel cut oats takes about half an hour to prepare, whereas rolled or instant oats take just a few minutes.

Steel cut oats also have a unique taste and texture. They’re coarser, chewier, and nuttier in flavor than most common oats.