Gruel's a type of preparation consisting of some type of cereal, oat, wheat or rye flour, and also rice, boiled in water or milk. It's a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk than eaten and need not even be cooked. Historically, gruel, often made from millet or barley, or in hard times of chestnut flour and even the less tannic acorns of some oaks, has been the staple of the human diet, especially that of the peasantry. The importance of gruel as a form of sustenance's especi… (More on Gruel)