CORN BREAD
By
Inez McCollum
Corn bread is older than our country. Native Americans were making corn bread when the settlers came to America. Through the years, it has changed tremendously. The Native Americans made corn bread from a simple mixture of water, salt and cornmeal. Various sweeteners were added for northern corn bread. The south tended to steer clear of the sweetened corn bread.
During the civil war corn bread was plentiful and cheap. In later years, farming families fed both family members and live stock this staple item. Because of the variety of corn grown through out North America, corn bread differed by region. The northern regions favored yellow corn and the south preferred white corn. A blue corn was popular in the southwest.
Songs have been written about cornbread. In 1949 “Beans and Corn Bread” was performed by Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five.
Later, the Dave Matthews Band performed “Cornbread”. Beans and corn bread became the traditional pre-launch meal at NASA. Cornbread became the official state bread of Alabama last March. (Please note that the bread is two words and/or one word in everything I read about our Southern Comfort Food.)
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By changing a few ingredients or method of cooking, you can make Broccoli Cornbread, Jalapeno Cornbread, stuffing, corn pone, corn fritters, corn muffins, hush puppies and even Italian Polenta. A friend, who at one time catered meals, gave methe following recipe several years ago:
YEAR’S BEST CORNBREAD
1 cup self-rising meal
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cream style corn
1/2 cup oil
1 teas. salt
3 eggs
Mix all ingredients together. Put in a well greased pan. (NOTE: a cast-iron skillet like this is best) Bake at 400-425 until done (15-20 minutes).
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My Granny made the best cornbread in the world!!!
My family is from the south…..LOVE cornbread. Especially in a glass with buttermilk poured over it. THAT was my “fast food snack” while growing up.
The most important rule is sugar has no business in cornbread
AMEN!!!!!
Amen!
AMEN!!!
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!! NO SUGAR IN CORNBREAD!!!!!!!!!
My mom put sugar in her corn bread…
Amen no sugar in my cornbread if you please and it must be cooked in a well seasoned cast iron skillet. I use my grandmothers cast iron skillet. Nothing like using heirloom cast iron that is close to 100 years old. I also have her cast iron bean pot. There’s nothing like pinto beans slow cooked in cadt iron. I gave my daughters each a skillet from their great grannie. Four generations have grown up cooking with these. Money couldn’t buy them or the memories.
heirloom cast iron skillet = priceless
Indians made cornbread before we ever came to the Colonies. It was cooked on hot rocks and used for spoons, soping up food. Some variations were also wrapped in leaves and cooked in ashes. Some forms of cornmeal are boiled in water and called mush-add butter and honey.
You forgot about crackling cornbread! It is to die for!
I remember the first time i eat sweeten cornbread thought it was some kind of cake LOL
I remember hearing “Beans and Cornbread” on the radio, when we lived in Tarrant City. I believe it was the Joe Rumor show. I was 9 yrs old and the song was ssssssoooo FUNNY! My granmaw Crawley up in Scottsboro would cook cornbread and I would drench it with her homemade butter and blackberry jam for dessert when we visited them in the summertime. Great memories of good times. BTW, I was born in Chicago of Alabama parents, SO I’m American by birth BUT SOUTHERN by the grace of GOD!