#180 Mosh

Trevor likes the Guatemalan-style porridge I make for him. A good friend asked for the recipe. I started thinking about it and went down a rabbit hole.

Let’s start with its name. In vernacular Guatemalan Spanish, we call it “mosh”. I couldn’t found the origin of the word, but found a thesis from the University of Bergen researching this among other Guatemalan food words (Norway keeps showing up everywhere). Janne adopted this word for any porridge. She would ask me in English, “Do you want some mosh?”

The main characteristic of mosh is that it should be liquid. You could drink it off a cup or eat it from a bowl, your choice. Oats should feel soft, like small marshmallows massaging your tongue. And it should be sweet.

Use the following ingredients with your favorite cup as a measurement: two-thirds of a cup of rolled oats, two to three cups of milk, three teaspoons of sugar, a quarter of a teaspoon of salt, a stick of cinnamon.

You can replace most of the ingredients. You could use powdered cinnamon, but it won’t taste the same. Janne agreed with me. Trevor doesn’t like the cinnamon taste, but I will convince him later.

I have a muscle memory of how to prepare it. I hadn’t done it in perhaps ten years until Trevor asked for it a few days ago. Janne used to do it the Estonian way, but I asked him if it would be Ok to do it my way. He loved it.

You need time to prepare it. If you are in a hurry, don’t even try. Janne never had the patience. Put all the ingredients in a pot and set the stove to the highest temperature. Stir continuously until it boils. Use a flat-ended spatula (I prefer a wooden one). You will have done it right if nothing has stuck on the bottom of the pot. If you have trouble washing it afterwards, you need to do better next time.

It takes long to boil. When stirring, you are cooling it off a bit as you are fighting the elements. If it gets too thick, you can add more milk. Once it boils, lower the temperature and let it simmer for a few minutes. Mosh should melt in your mouth.

I didn’t expect that my muscle memory includes thinking of Janne while I’m stirring it. I wish it would take even longer to boil.