The Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland

Of all the thingamajigs floating around in drawers, thespurtlemight be the coolest. The wooden stick is something of a magic wand for porridge—it's engineered to prevent the lumping and congealing of mushy hot cereals. On October 11, expert porridge makers from far and wide will compete for the coveted golden spurtle trophy at the sixteenth annualGolden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championshipin Carrbridge, a village in the Scottish Highlands.

This year, Matt Cox ofBob’s Red Mill—the first and only U.S. participant—will compete with his oatmeal brûlée topped with pears, cherries, hazelnuts and distilled spirits, stirred with a custom-mademyrtle spurtle(naturally). Part of me still wants a spurtle to be an endangered hybrid of spider and turtle, but porridge saber is also pretty great.

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