Fancy Food Find: Umpqua Oats
In the “Fancy Food Find” series, take a closer look at some of the treats on display at the 2015 Winter Fancy Food Show.
The folks at Umpqua Oats are used to answering the oft-repeated question, “What is umpqua?”
No, it’s not a mistype of kumquat. No, it’s not the next quinoa. Umpqua refers to a green valley in Southern Oregon. It’s known for the Umpqua River and the Umpqua Tribe of Indians. It’s where founders Mandy Holborow and Sheri Price were born and raised, and it’s where Umpqua Oats was founded in 2008.
In pursuit of a quick, tasty and healthy alternative to the typical instant oatmeal packets, Mandy and Sheri turned Sheri’s kitchen and garage into an oatmeal experimentation lab. When they hit the proverbial jackpot (perhaps with their “Jackpot”—raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and pecans—flavor?) and local coffee shops and grocery stores began selling the oatmeal cups, the operation moved to a former department store building, followed by the full-fledged factory they reside in today.
Umpqua Oats uses custom milled whole rolled oats known as groats. Because the whole hulled grain (cereal germ, fiber-rich bran portion, and endosperm) is used, the resulting oatmeal gains a thicker, chewier, and ultimately heartier consistency. Flavors move beyond the same-old maple+brown sugar and apples+cinnamon combo, from nut-free “Mostly Sunny” (apples, cranberries, and raisins) to “Salted Caramel Meltdown” (caramel with pecans and sea salt), They’ll even take your suggestion for the next flavor in their product line.
A quick anecdotal interlude: I was running late for an early-morning flight and needed sustenance before the long trip. I’m not a coffee drinker and didn’t have time to swing by a fast food drive-through, much less cook breakfast at home. Reaching for the Umpqua Oats Vanilla Almond Crunch container sitting on my counter, I poured hot water in and capped it with the lid. Trust me, the process can’t get any easier than this. A few minutes later when I was in the car en route to the airport, I dug into my oatmeal. My concerns about a runny, mushy, or oversweetened breakfast like you might find from your average instant oatmeal packet disappeared upon first bite. The texture was nuanced, from the chewiness of the oats themselves to the crunch of the vanilla almond granola. The oatmeal was richly flavored and surprisingly substantial; I was still full well past lunchtime.
Rumor has it that “umpqua” is a Native American word meaning “satisfied stomach.” I couldn’t agree more.