Brose is a very thin, liquidy oatmeal porridge.
Scots purists say that this is the only, true, manly way to eat oatmeal; that it’s the food that fended off the Romans and the Vikings.
To make it, oats are placed in a bowl, and just covered with boiling water. Sometimes a small amount of butter and salt to taste are added as well. The bowl is covered with a plate to keep the heat in, allowing the oats to steep for 5 minutes, then milk is added, and it is ready to eat.
The oats don’t swell as much as when they are simmered for porridge.
There are many variations.
History Notes
Many poor people just had for their meals oatmeal brose 3 times a day; they would come down with a kind of scurvy that was known as “Scotch fiddle.”
Language Notes
“Brose” means “broth”, but it has come to mean a broth made with oatmeal.