the invention comprises a process for preparing oatmeal , which process comprises soaking steel cut oats and oat bran for a period of time sufficient to hydrate the oats , mixing rolled oats into the hydrated oat fraction , cooking the resultant mixture for a period of time sufficient to produce a flavorful food product , and optionally aseptically packaging the resulting product . the invention also comprises a process for preparing an oatmeal composition , which process comprises cooking steel cut oats in a manner so that the material is hydrated , adding rolled oats after a cooking time such that cooking of steel cut oats is substantially complete , adding optionally hydrated oat bran either before or after addition of the rolled oats , cooking the entire mixture for a time sufficient to render the product edible and packaging the product . the packaging steps in this aspect of the invention may comprise adding an acidic modifier to the cookable oat mixture , filling containers with the cooked oat mixture , inverting the filled containers allowing hot air to rise through the containers , and cooling the oatmeal . alternatively , the packaging steps may comprise transferring the product to containers and cooling the product and container to a temperature sufficiently low so as to maintain product freshness and to retard spoilage .