# Who has the best cornbread? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 18, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004 "2023-02-18T19:17:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/21 "2023-02-19T04:06:23Z")
Not everything in society has changed for the better during my lifetime (Understatement of the Year Award, anybody?), but the fact that we can now refer matter-of-factly to “lots of local brands in your area” when discussing beer, grains, produce, etc., sure AF counts as one such change. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/22 "2023-02-19T10:32:20Z")
I won’t post my exact cornbread recipe because then there would be more than one person who can rightfully claim World’s Best Cornbread, and that wouldn’t do. But, I will say that jalapenos, bacon fat, whole kernels and creamed shoe-peg corn, and an iron fry-pan are involved…and yes, just a smidgen of saccharine (I like a mere whiff of sweetness, but I’m diabetic. Sue me). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/23 "2023-02-19T13:30:38Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > QFT. In particular, stay away from that fine-ground Quaker stuff. Indian Head is quite good as a commercial brand you can generally find. (Lots of local brands in your area may be better). I agree with this. My cornbread took a leap in quality when i discovered Indian Head and stopped using Quaker. I prefer the yellow cornmeal. I may be the outlier here, but the best cornbread is cornbread, it’s not cornbread with stuff dotted through it. No bits or corn or bacon. (And of course no peppers, as they ruin every food they touch.) I also prefer butter to lard or bacon fat, but cornbread with bacon fat or goose fat are still excellent, just not as good as cornbread with butter. I waffle between no sugar and a tablespoon or two. I rather like it with no sugar, but my husband and daughter (who share my table) like a touch of sweetness, so i often add that. The cast iron frying pan is key. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/24 "2023-02-19T14:32:07Z")
As an aside, the Jiffy mix makes a decent batch of corn pancakes, or waffles. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/25 "2023-02-19T16:22:38Z")
I make cornbread from the recipe on the Alber’s Corn Meal box, and bake it in a cast-iron frying pan that’s been slathered with Crisco shortening. The Alber’s recipe does include sugar. I’d omit the sugar, but my wife likes sugar in it. She doesn’t make cornbread from scratch. If she makes it, it’s Jiffy mix. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/26 "2023-02-19T16:27:15Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Yeah, you can’t beat Jiffy’s for value, but my mom always made ours from scratch using Albers Corn Meal. I can still picture the box it came in. My mom raised seven kids, in-between tending the garden and milking the cows. Jiffy was a timesaver, and we loved it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/27 "2023-02-19T16:39:34Z")
We only had four kids (all born within six years), and the only cows I ever saw were those oil cows mentioned in another thread. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/28 "2023-02-19T17:33:27Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > (And of course no peppers, as they ruin every food they touch.) I like and respect you, so I’ll just say “more for me!” -mutters quietly about people with no appreciation for the finer things 😜- ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/29 "2023-02-19T17:36:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Coarse ground corn meal works best. I use Bob’s Red Mill medium ground, which gives a good result. And there’s nothing better than cornmeal pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/30 "2023-02-19T18:55:57Z")
Has anyone tried Kodiak’s cornbread mix? All their other mixes I have tried are great. See this awesome thread about Kodiak: > [@Pancakes that make me feel like a man](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pancakes-that-make-me-feel-like-a-man/808884): > > [Kodiak Cakes. Power Cakes.](http://www.kodiakcakes.com/power-cakes/) So friggin’ manly, they couldn’t contain the manliness in one name. There’s a damn bear growling at you right on the front of the industrial-grade cardboard box, so don’t wet yourself, Francis, when you see it on the counter next to my carpenters axe and blowtorch. It’s a big black box, with two massive bags of protein-packed flapjack mix inside. Now listen up: This thing contains almost three-thousandths of a ton of Y-chromosome-polishing powder, so don’t drop it on y… ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/31 "2023-02-19T19:53:51Z")
People put sugar in cornbread? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/32 "2023-02-19T20:08:04Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > (And of course no peppers, as they ruin every food they touch.) > > I like and respect you, so I’ll just say “more for me!” > > -mutters quietly about people with no appreciation for the finer things 😜- Eh, i suspect we all have different personal chemistry, that makes different foods taste good or bad. I realize that peppers are very popular. I find that if the lime wedge sat next to the jalepeno slice, it gives an unpleasant off-flavor to my pho. In the “what do you do when served food you don’t like?” poll, i said i wouldn’t eat it. But in fact, I’ll say, “no thank you, i don’t eat peppers” before that dish touches my plate. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/33 "2023-02-19T20:11:58Z")
Oh, please. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/34 "2023-02-19T20:41:44Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > People put sugar in cornbread? Don’t point at them and make fun of them. It isn’t polite and they probably don’t know any better. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/35 "2023-02-19T20:48:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Oh, please. I’ve never seen a cornbread recipe that called for sugar. > [@AHunter3](#): > > Don’t point at them and make fun of them. It isn’t polite and they probably don’t know any better. I sat down for breakfast with some folks who were soon to be my in-laws and right there next to the biscuits was bowl of what looked steaming pudding. I asked why we were being served hot pudding for breakfast and they explained to me what chocolate gravy was like I was an idiot. So I guess sugar in cornbread doesn’t seem so farfetched. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/36 "2023-02-19T20:50:04Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I’ve never seen a cornbread recipe that called for sugar. I see. I always put sugar in mine. It’s just personal preference, much like beans in chili. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/37 "2023-02-19T20:52:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I see. I always put sugar in mine. It’s just personal preference, much like beans in chili. I am not going to look down my nose at anyone. It’s likely I’ve had cornbread someone put sugar in without even realizing it. If you made me some cornbread I’m not too proud to eat it! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/38 "2023-02-19T20:52:52Z")
Chocolate gravy? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/39 "2023-02-19T20:54:46Z")
It’s a thing. A thing I never heard of until I was 25, but a thing. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/96V5yBv9pQU/maxresdefault.jpg "How to Make Chocolate Gravy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96V5yBv9pQU) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004/40 "2023-02-19T21:44:13Z")
Bob has a coarse ground also. There are a variety of companies offering different grinds in yellow and white, but I don’t see them at the grocery store often. I can get some very coarse grind at a local shop serving the Hispanic and Portuguese marker where you can weigh out what you want, or buy a 50 lb. bag. I haven’t tried it yet, it’s so coarse i think it will require soaking to make bread, but I think it will produce fantastic flavor and texture. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-the-best-cornbread/980004.md?page=3)