OK, steel cut oats have to be cooked a very long time to be enjoyed, like an hour! I boiled the water, dumped a cup of oat pellets in and then turned it down to low. After the water started to cook away, I put in milk and maple syrup and waited another 1/2 an hour. Finally they looked done and they were still a little chewy. Steel cut oats are nothing like the instant 1-minute oats :-). They are very, very filling, which is a good thing when you are attempting to diet.