Scott's Porage Oats is a Scottish food company that manufactures breakfast cereal (a brand of

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

) in the United Kingdom. It was established in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

by A&R Scott, two brothers who made a partnership to manufacture

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

products. Scott's was purchased by Quaker Oats in 1982.

History of the brand

Porridge has been consumed in Scotland as a staple food since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, and is primarily consumed in the winter. A&R Scott began producing Scott's Midlothian Oat Flour in 1880, in

, moving to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1909, and the distinctive name, Scott's Porage Oats, was adopted in 1914. They have been milled at the Uthrogle Mills at

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland, since 1947. In 1982, A&R Scott was purchased by Quaker Oats Ltd, one of their main competitors. The company was based in Edinburgh.

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

merged with the Quaker Oats Company in 2001. Sales of porridge oats continue to be higher in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, with Scott's Porage Oats taking the highest brand share. The company holds a Scott's Porage Oats Food & Drink Fair at the St Andrews Festival in November each year at the

Byre Theatre The Byre Theatre is a theatre in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was founded in 1933 by Charles Marford, an actor (found in the '' Who's Who'' of 1921) and Alexander B. Paterson, a local journalist and playwright, with help from a theatre group ...

. It has a ''

Golden Spurtle Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

Award'' for competitive porridge making.

Description and preparation

The oats are rolled thicker than standard oats and are gently kilned to create what the company considers to be "the truest taste". Scott's oats can be made into porridge either in the microwave or on a stovetop, with the addition of milk or water and other flavourings (typically salt or sugar). Oats can also be used in stews, in the topping for fruit

crumble A crumble is a dish that can be made in a sweet or savoury version. Crumbles became popular in Britain during World War II, when the topping was an economical alternative to pies due to shortages of pastry ingredients as the result of rationi ...

or haddock pie, and in

cookies A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nuts ...

or flapjacks, and in many other recipes. Some packs come with a number of suggested recipes.

Advertising

In the late 1990s to early 2000s, Scott's Porage Oats ran a successful UK advertising campaign on cinema and television featuring the actor

Rory McCann Rory McCann (born 24 April 1969) is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy ''Hot Fuzz'', Jurgen the Brutal in the ...

in a kilt and actress Rebecca Godwin as his admirer. Rory McCann, a former

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

, subsequently made many public appearances and is widely seen as the "face" of Scott's Porage Oats.

Other British brands

The following additional brands come under the Quaker Oats umbrella: * Oatso Simple *

Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. S ...

* Scott's So Easy

References

External links

* {{PepsiCo Quaker Oats Company cereals Scottish cuisine Scottish brands