What is the difference between quick cook and traditional steel cut oats?

Question

I've noticed a grocery store sells both Quick Cook steel cut oats and Traditional steel cut oats. Quick Cook take only 5-7 minutes to cook on the stove, while traditional require 25-30 minutes. Traditional also require more liquid, but I assume this is due to evaporation during the longer cook time.

The question Difference between old fashioned and quick oats? appears to be talking about rolled oats, but my main takeaway is that the quick rolled oats are processed into smaller flakes.

On the other hand, I'm aware that minute rice cooks faster than normal rice because minute rice has been precooked and dehydrated.

Are quick cook steel cut oats just cut smaller, or is there also some other difference?

Answer 1

Bob's Red Mill makes quick cook steel cut oats. According to them, they're just cut smaller.

Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats are simply whole oat groats that have been cut into neat little pieces on a specialized rotary granulator mill. We use high protein, whole grain oats that have been lightly toasted to create our hearty steel cut oats. Also known as Irish oats or pinhead oats, steel cut oats create a chewy, full-bodied hot cereal. Our Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats are cut a little smaller than our Regular Steel Cut Oats, making them ready in a scant 5 to 7 minutes.