When you think of cornbread, you may associate it with American Southern food. That notion isn't incorrect; cornbread is a classic staple in the regional cuisine. But depending on where you are in the United States, a plate of cornbread may vary.
Various foods are considered cornbread, such as Johnnycakes, hushpuppies, hoecakes, and crackling bread. But there are two main versions of this beloved dish -- head north, and you'll find Northern-style cornbread and travel south to nosh on Southern-style cornbread. While both styles generally use the same ingredients -- cornmeal, flour, eggs, and baking powder -- the variance lies in the flavor and texture.
Northern-style cornbread tends to be sweeter, moister, and cake-like compared to its Southern counterpart. Of course, there have been different versions of cornbread since its original conception by Native Americans. But if one version were to be considered the authentic one, Southern-style cornbread would most likely be credited, given its history.
If you prefer to stick to authenticity regarding cornbread, there are ways to do so. First, use acast-iron skilletfor Southern-style cornbread and a baking pan for Northern-style cornbread. To make the traditional Southern style, buttermilk -- not just any milk -- is key. Also, Southern-style cornbread should contain very little sugar and flour, and if you can, get your hands on stone-ground cornmeal. If you favor moist, sweet Northern-style cornbread, use flour and sugar liberally in your mix.
Whether you enjoy Northern or Southern-style cornbread, you can alwaysfine-tune recipesto your liking. Experiment with sweeteners by adding molasses or honey. Sprinkle spices and herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, and parsley, into your batter for savory cornbread. Or toss in cheese like cheddar, pepper jack, or mozzarella for gooey goodness. Jalapeños and bacon are popular additions to cornbread for a spicy and smoky kick.
How We Got Two Styles Of Cornbreads
The cornbread many enjoy today has very humble beginnings. Cornbread can be traced back to Mesoamerican societies. Corn, also known as maize, was an essential crop in Mesoamerican civilizations, and cornmeal was used to make tortillas and cornbread. This early version of cornbread was simply cornmeal and water. As enslaved people, settlers, and Native Americans intermingled, so did recipes as dishes were adopted and tweaked among different groups over time. This birthed various forms of cornbread, including Johnnycakes and hushpuppies.
So, how did we get to the two distinct cornbreads in the North and South? Prior to the 20th century, stone-ground white cornmealwas prevalent. White corn is naturally sweet; stone mills help preserve the corn meals' flavors and textures as the method is less processed. As food historian Michael Twitty tells The Charlotte Observer, sugar is traditionally absent in Southern-style cornbread because it was a "valuable commodity" and contained sweet white cornmeal.
When industrialized steel mills were introduced in the 20th century, steel-milled yellow cornmeal was favored, especially in the North. This resulted in a finer, less sweet cornmeal. Because yellow cornmeal was fine-grained and less sweet, sugar and flour were added to cornbread to boost its structure and sweetness. Over time, this led to vastly different cornbread recipes: Cornbread made with white cornmeal in the South and cornbread containing yellow cornmeal, sugar, and flour in the North. Whatever cornbread you prefer, both versions are rooted in rich history.
While both styles generally use the same ingredients -- cornmeal, flour, eggs, and baking powder -- the variance lies in the flavor and texture. Northern-style cornbread tends to be sweeter, moister, and cake-like compared to its Southern counterpart.
Southern cornbread has traditionally been made with little or no sugar and smaller amounts of flour (or no flour), with northern cornbread being sweeter and more cake-like. Southern cornbread traditionally used white cornmeal and buttermilk. Other ingredients such as pork rinds are sometimes used.
Cornbread is as American as apple pie, but its origins date back far beyond the inception of this country. With roots in Mesoamerican, Native American, and African cultures; history and people have shaped this iconic American bread into what it is today.
There are cornmeal puddings served with sweet sauces, but no Southern cook would risk the spoiling of her cornbreads by sweetening them." In 1937, the Times reported that "cornbread in Kentucky is made with white, coarsely ground cornmeal. Never, never are sugar and wheat flour used in cornbread.
Mexican cornbread traces its roots back to ancient Mesoamerican civilizations where corn, or maize, was deemed sacred. Over centuries, as culinary skills refined and flavors evolved, this modest corn-based bread transformed into the culinary icon we know today.
Among them was a version of Indian bread made of cornmeal, salt and water called pone or corn pone. The name came from the Algonquin word apan, meaning "baked." The Narragansett word for cornbread, nokechick, became no-cake and then hoe-cake.
While either white or yellow cornmeal will technically work when making cornbread, yellow does make for a softer more tender bread. Milk is what is going to make sure our bread stays nice and moist as it acts as the binding agent. Baking powder is key for getting a nice tender and fluffy crumb.
The Aztecs and Mayans made tortillas out of ground corn and water. The mix was cooked over an open fire or in a hearth. This proved to be an enduring cornbread since you can now buy packages of corn tortillas.
Corn, cornmeal and cornmeal mush came from the Indigenous people of Mesoamerica, who called it maize. For them, it was both sacred food and daily sustenance. The Mesoamericans were growing, drying and grinding corn for millennia.
Now, I don't want to start a debate about cornbread—but it is a fact that there are differences between Northern and Texan cornbread: Northerners like it sweet while Texans like it salty. We are also known to jazz it up with jalapenos, green chiles or cheese.
Various foods are considered cornbread, such as Johnnycakes, hushpuppies, hoecakes, and crackling bread. But there are two main versions of this beloved dish -- head north, and you'll find Northern-style cornbread and travel south to nosh on Southern-style cornbread.
Most early Texas settlers hailed from the South, so Texas cornbread was prepared sans sugar. Only later did Texans start tampering with tradition by Tex-Mex-ing cornbread with jalapenos and red peppers. (A perversion in the minds of cornbread purists, as is folding kernels of corn into the batter.)
The thing that distinguishes Southern cornbread from, say Yankee cornbread, or any other cornbread one is likely to eat outside of the southern states, is that it is savory, not sweet, and it is made mostly with cornmeal.
The first introduction of Cornbread in America was the pre-European Native Americans when they used maize, which they ground into a meal and mixed with water and salt. It was the Europeans who were first to modify the recipe and like many other groups who did so, they did it to feel more at home in America.
The expression "someone's cornbread ain't done in the middle" is a southern American idiom that means that someone is not very smart or intelligent. The metaphor of "cornbread" refers to a popular southern bread made from cornmeal, which is often baked in a pan.
In contrast to the dryer, less-sweet nature of Southern cornbread, Northern cornbread is much more cakey and sweet. Indeed, colonial Americans made their cornbread with molasses to sweeten it. Also, Northern cornbread sometimes uses milk rather than buttermilk.
It ranges in texture from fine to coarse. For this recipe, I like to use coarse cornmeal because it adds that traditional cornbread texture. When you mix it with flour, it provides the perfect crumb. I prefer to use stone-ground cornmeal, which you can find in the baking aisle or bulk bins.
While regular cornbread is made by pouring batter into in a pan or skillet and baking it in the oven, for hot water cornbread, the batter is shaped into cakes and fried in hot fat in a skillet on the stovetop.
A Johnny cake recipe makes a thinner batter that is fried into rounds, essentially making cornmeal pancakes. Cornbread is made with baking soda or baking powder to give it a bread-like lift and texture and is oven-baked in a baking dish and cut into squares for serving.
Introduction: My name is Trent Wehner, I am a talented, brainy, zealous, light, funny, gleaming, attractive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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