Did You Know?
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Oats grow naturally alongside wheat and barley. They were once considered weeds, but were then cultivated in 1000 BCE.
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The ancient Greeks and Romans grew oats for animal feed.
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Oats became widely used in Great Britain and Scotland because they could ripen in the cold, wet climate.
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The Scottish Highlanders depended on oats as a staple of their diet.
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Oats came to America with the early colonists. Captain Bartholomew Gosnold first planted oats on the Elizabeth Islands off the Massachusetts coast.
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Oats were grown throughout colonial America and then spread west with the settlers.
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Quaker Oats Company created rolled oats in the late 19th century by steaming and rolling out the kernels. From there many more recipes for breads and other baked goods were created using rolled oats.
