The rest of the world seems to have a difficult time with corn in general. I’ve seen what they do with corn in the British Isles-- It’s not pretty.
Well, one out of four is right. What the hell are you doing with flour, sugar and butter in cornbread? See above post.
what do we do with it that is so strange? It is normally eaten on the cob with butter or as a side dish vegetable. Sometimes in a salad or rice dishes.
You mean the grain that’s a staple throughout Southern Africa?
It’s not Britain, but Eastern Europe and Japan seem to think that corn belongs on pizza, in big piles, of all things.
…doesn’t sound terrible, actually.
From Manitoba, Canada.
I’ve sometimes seen it on a menu. Once or twice I’ve had it at a potluck but as a rule I’d say no.
Granted that I’ve only been to B.C., Alberta, Manitoba (obviously) and Ontario.
Assuming the described food is actually cornbread, then there’s one upmarket hipster market/deli chain in southeast Queensland which sells it regularly.
It’s really expensive ($5 for a half-size loaf) but my wife really likes it; I don’t see the attraction myself but that’s probably because I’ve got no idea what to do with it.
don’t ask writes:
> There used to be a fast food place in Sydney called Boston Market.
Boston Market is a moderately big (462 locations) American fast food (well, fast causal) restaurant that tried and failed to expand to Australia:
It will be easier to find it at a bakery, or in the baked goods area of a supermarket: we consider it cake, not bread (the same is true of many other things Americans consider bread, such as banana bread… that’s a banana fruitcake!). We do make pan de maíz, but it’s more similar to shortbread than to cornbread. Or I can give you a very common recipe. I copied this one from a web but it’s within a hair’s breadth of mine:
Yoghurt bizcocho.
1 Yoghurt (lemon or natural)
3 large eggs
2 yoghurt-glasses of sugar OR 1 and a half of sugar and half of cocoa powder
3 yoghurt-glasses of corn flour
1 yoghurt-glass of oil (olive, corn or sunflower)
1 sacket of leavening
While the oven preheats to 180ºC (360ºF), mix the yoghurt, eggs and sugar until you have a homogeneous, light-yellow batter. Add slowly and mix the oil, flour and leavening (for the newbies, this doesn’t mean you need to grow a second set of arms: add a bit, mix, add a bit, mix…).
Depending on the pan you’ll use, you may need to put a little bit of butter and flour on the sides to keep the cake from sticking. I don’t, but many books say to… then again, I normally don’t bother taking it out of the pan either, I just don’t use anything sharp to cut and plate it.
Pour the batter into the pan and, if the oven is already at the right temperature, stick it in for 35 min. Do not open the oven until it is done, if you open it while the cake is rising it will slump.
When it has finished rising, test the center with a toothpick: it should come out clean (crumbs are ok, mushy bits mean it needs more cooking).
Most Americans do consider banana bread to be a form of cake (or at least, as a dessert-ish item), despite the name. We would never, however, call it “fruitcake”, because that word has a specific meaning to Americans: Fruitcake is made with so-called “candied fruit” (preserved in some foul manner that leaves it tasting like kerosene), is nearly indestructible, and is for some reason a common Christmas gag gift.
And again, while there is some American cornbread that’s cakelike in its sweetness, the really good stuff isn’t any sweeter than the corn it’s made from.
Yes. There are several near me (in NY). And their cornbread is probably the closest thing to real cornbread that Australia has ever seen, it’s doesn’t quite hit the target. Way too sweet, and the texture is all wrong.
It’s pretty good as a dessert cake, but it isn’t cornbread.
Am from Québec. Cornbread is not very popular. Corn, on the other hand…
I know there are Johnnycakes in Maine because The Sopranos told me so.
Heh. That was one of those diversions some series have where you kind of wonder if the writers are running out of ideas.
Sounds like it might be a variation on Anadama bread. A yeasted cornmeal/wheat/sometimes rye loaf, sweetened with molasses(traditionally) Is your bread on the sweet side? It DOES make terrific toast.
The upthreader who posted the recipe using white cornmeal reminded me of my first exposure to it. Years ago my husband and I visited his family and the street they lived on was having a huge flea market cum fair. We went to his aunt’s house and were fed ham and beans(which was being cooked outdoors in iron kettles over an open fire) One of the accompaniments was the densest, least sweet and tangiest cornbread I had/have ever eaten. Auntie dear could tell it was a flavor I was not particularly used to. She said, “I suppose you’d like some of that Yankee Cornbread instead?” She had made several skilletfuls of the white variety, but very wisely made one with yellow cornmeal, sweetened, which she dubbed “cake.” For the uninitiated.
What Boston Market sells is not what I grew up calling cornbread, it is more in the corn muffin category.
As I’ve gained exposure to a larger world than where I grew up I found that what a vital distinction in my house was a blurry line elsewhere.
This was in the Pacific Northwest and I have no idea how much the criticality of this distinction was a result of the local norms or just the Kansas farmer roots of my grandparents.
I’ve only ever had cornbread once, when I was in the US. And that’s exactly how I’d describe it. Not that it was bad, but it was a bizarre combination to have it accompanying a savoury dish.
Just to make things more confusing, I have to bring up a famous old New York Jewish bread called “corn bread.”
It’s a moist, heavy, dense RYE loaf, which contains no corn except for a dusting on the bottom when it goes into the oven.
You don’t see it a lot these days (okay, I’ve lived in NYC 35 years and I’ve NEVER seen it), but the alte kackers remember it fondly.
It has nothing to do with pan or skillet cornbread, which is Goy food. But I wanted to bring it to everyone’s attention as a potential diversion into ignorance.
Again, see my recipe for REAL SKILLET CORNBREAD, above. NOT sweet, and an excellent accompaniment to a Southern meal of pinto beans, greens, and fried fish or chicken.
The addition of sugar is a weird Yankee thing. Even NYC restaurants well-reviewed for their Southern-style cooking do it.
I give up. What size is meant by a “yoghurt glass”? We don’t eat yogurt out of glasses, so this come across as a nonsense measurement to Americans.