oat porridge, buckwheat porridge, semolina porridge

[Charlie Bernstein]

I see the American definition is broader: ​https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/porridge

Yes, but it's one of those words we don't often say, like beverage and constable. To sound more natural here, use words like oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, or hot cereal.

 

[GoesStation]

I think beverage is a reasonably common word in American English.

 

[GeneD]

To sound more natural here, use... hot cereal.

I could never clearly understand the word "cereal". Is cereal different in any way from muesli? I always thought they are the same.

And is "hot cereal" an AmE synonym for porridge?

 

[GoesStation]

I could never clearly understand the word "cereal". Is cereal different in any way from muesli? I always thought they are the same.

And is "hot cereal" an AmE synonym for porridge?

In American English, cereal (or its longer form, breakfast cereal) means "processed grain products, often consumed at breakfast". Cereal also means grain in general, but this is a largely technical usage that's not part of everyday English. Muesli is a kind of cereal. ("Processed" can range from lightly processed, as in steel-cut oats, to industrial concoctions bearing no resemblance to the grains they're made from.)

Hot cereal is a subset of breakfast cereals. It includes oatmeal, cream of wheat, and a number of other products.

 

[GeneD]

"Cream of Wheat" is a brand name for semolina used as a hot cereal.

Is the word "cream" used in this brand name in this sense?

 

[GoesStation]

Is the word "cream" used in this brand name in this sense?

I don't think so. I always thought it was meant to refer to the creamy texture.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Breakfast cereal" in the UK covers a multitude of products, mostly eaten cold but, in the case of porridge, hot.

Here are just a few breakfast cereal products (some are brand names and some are generic names):

Bran flakes
All-Bran
Cornflakes
Muesli
Granola (muesli)
Puffed rice
Puffed wheat
Fibre flakes
Shredded Wheat
Weetabix
Coco Pops

 

[newkeenlearner]

In the UK, when people say "porridge", we generally mean the one made of oats (oatflakes, rolled oats, jumbo oatflakes, oatmeal). People who make their morning porridge from a different grain usually specify it. On cold winter mornings, I have quinoa porridge made with hemp milk and rice syrup. (It's delicious, vegan and healthy!)

Wow! You seemed to be a really good mother and wife as well as a great teacher. :up:

 

[newkeenlearner]

I thought she put time into making it herself. :roll:

 

[emsr2d2]

Wow! You seemed to be a really good mother and wife as well as a great teacher. :up:

Wow! is the right word. I can assure you that I am neither a mother nor a wife. I don't want to sound like a uber-politically-correct pain in the a*se, but suggesting that a woman is either of those things based on her knowledge of and ability to make breakfast products is spectacularly sexist.

I totally understand that you probably thought that you were being complimentary but I promise you that, in the 21st century, you failed. I am an independent, self-sufficient, childless adult woman.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant (I suppose it is, to a certain extent) but I really couldn't let your post go without comment.

 

[Tdol]

In British dictionary definitions of 'porridge', mention is normally made only of 'oats': https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/porridge

The term rice porridge is widely used for congee in Asia.

 

[Tdol]

You, apparently, are happy enough with that word. A number of people I know who have chosen not to litter the world with offspring prefer 'child-free'.

I was happy enough with the term, but I do like your alternative. :-D