Can you "cook" porridge in a flask?

TDMum

I was just reading a post about thermos flasks and wondered if you could put porridge in one?

Hubby works 12 hour shifts and I think he would quite enjoy being able to have porridge for breakfast for a change instead of cereal all the time. Would it work? If so would I just make it as normal then fill the flask up or is there some nifty trick?

Thanks in advance

*niptuckfan*

i dont see why not, years ago i had a food flask and it kept stews etc warm, not piping hot but warm, i do suggest before pouring porridge in you heat the flask with hot water

BitterAndTwisted

I think you'd need to make it quite a bit thinner than you normally would or you wouldn't be able to get it all out. Also, once it's cold you'd need a pickaxe to remove it.

jackyann

I used to do that, but it took a few goes to get it right. I would consider a trial in which you put the oats in, then added boiling milk (I use powdered milk & boiling water). I found that when I did this it cooked in its own heat in the flask. I liked it, but OH didn't like the consistency.

*iluvmymini*

Does he have access to a microwave at work? My D/H takes oats in a Tupperware pot, adds milk at work then pops it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

You can also buy those pots that you add water to, I know they are about £1 each in Te**o, but Lidl do their own for about 50p, if he couldn't use a microwave, he could just take a flask of hot water?

tessasmum

There is also a recipe on a blog called Mortgage Free in Three where the author shares a recipe for home made instant oats which only require the addition of boiling water - that might be worth a try, and a lot cheaper than commercial instant oats.

Owain_Moneysaver

If there's a microwave at work then just take a slice of porridge from the porridge drawer each morning and warm it up.

joeblack066

Woo hoo, I'm going to do this for my lunch on the go! I'm often out and nowhere to heat anything up, and do take HM soup when I can, but porridge would be great! Will practice with quantities over the weekend :-) x

Parsimonia

I have an Aladdin food flask (more like a bowl really) and I make porridge in it every day at work. I just put in 40g of regular porridge oats, add about a quarter of a pint of boiling water from the kettle, stir and put the lid on. After 10 minutes I take the lid off, give it a good stir and add a bit of salt or sugar to taste and it's delicious.

It costs me 3p a day....

Not quite as good a consistency as hob-made porridge, but just as good as those 'instant' porridge pots that cost upwards of 50p a day...

Aladdin aren't brilliant for holding in the heat, so I can't make this the night before, or even in the morning before heading off for work...a better food flask might hold the heat better. Even after ten minutes my porridge isn't piping - but it's definitely hot enough to be tasty.

But, honestly, this is so easy. I just keep a kg of oats in my locker at work along with the flask and some sachets of salt and sugar ('liberated' from the canteen). I don't bother weighing or measuring the oats or the water - after a while you get pretty good at guessing how much of each you need.