The Mistake You're Probably Making When Adding Fruit To Oatmeal

Adding fruit to oatmeal is a no-brainer. However, depending on when you add the fruit, you may be making a big mistake when cooking oatmeal. Believe it or not, the timing matters. While adding fruit to oatmeal is certainly not rocket science, sometimes it's the little things that matter most, and if a morning bowl of oatmeal just hits different because of the way the fruit was added, then this is an important lesson!

Whether you're cooking your oats in a saucepan or in the microwave, you'll want to avoid adding most fruits at the beginning of the cooking process. Instead, wait until your oats have finished or are nearly finished cooking. This is particularly true for delicate fruits such as fresh berries, since they easily lose their shape when exposed to heat. Don't worry about the fruit not being warm; the oats themselves will be warm enough to heat the fruit through. Adding fresh berries at the end of your oatmeal's cooking time also allows the fruit to retain its body and juiciness. Simply add your fruit of choice immediately after turning off your burner or removing your oatmeal from the microwave and gently stir the fruit in.

When adding frozen fruit, like frozen berries or cherries, you need to add them a little earlier. It's recommended to gently stir them in about two minutes before the oatmeal is done cooking. This ensures they thaw and become warm without breaking up and becoming berry syrup. On the other hand, if you're interested in a vibrantly colored bowl of purple oatmeal, then you can add fresh or frozen berries to your oats as soon as you begin cooking them. The longer cooking time will cause the berries to burst open and disperse both their colors and sweet, tart, and tangy flavors throughout the oatmeal.

Fruits that are hard and crunchy when raw, like apples, pears, or even quince (which are quite different from apples), are actually best cooked before they are added to the oatmeal. These cooked pieces of fruit should then be added to the oatmeal as it starts to cook. Exposing these fruits to heat for a longer period of time allows their textures to soften, creating a tender bite that has a similar flavor, texture, and appearance to that of a decadent fruit dessert.

Although ripe bananas would fall into the category of soft and delicate fruit, they can either be added during cooking or after. (Adding a mashed banana into your oats while they're cooking gives your oatmeal a natural sweetness and even more banana flavor than adding banana slices after cooking does.) If none of these fruity options sound like your thing, you may want to try experimenting with this savory and trendy ingredient that's a perfect upgrade for your morning oatmeal.