We can all tell the difference between orange juice from concentrate and the freshly squeezed real deal, but when it comes to oat drinks it can be hard to navigate what’s what on the supermarket shelves. The third and final part of our oat drink series will explore how oat drinks are made from concentrate and why MOMA oat drinks are not from concentrate
Oat drinks from concentrate
Oat drinks from concentrate start using the same basic ingredients: oats and water, but this mixture then has water removed to produce a concentrated oat syrup. This oat syrup is then sold to various brands to be re-diluted and packaged – like an oaty squash.
It’s hard to visualise what an oat syrup looks like, so below is a picture of some undiluted oat syrup (left) and what it looks like once it has been re-diluted with water (right).
What difference does this make to the oat drink?
To reduce the oat drink to an oat syrup the water is boiled off, only leaving behind what physically can’t be evaporated. This naturally changes the flavour profile, just as instant coffee tastes very different from fresh coffee after having the water removed. Once re-diluted and packaged up it still won’t taste the same as its original state before being concentrated. Oat drinks from concentrate tend to be thinner with a less creamy mouthfeel and can have a slightly artificial taste. Taste is the key to everything we make at MOMA, so this is why we never make ours from concentrate, to ensure we retain a well-rounded oaty taste and creamy mouthfeel.
What to look out for when you buy oat drinks
Even armed with this knowledge it can be hard to spot the difference as the ingredients list will still look virtually the same. We have our ‘not from concentrate’ symbol on the front of our packs so look out for these to ensure a superior glass of oat! You can also have a go at taste testing oat drinks side by side and soon you’ll be oat drink experts like us.
