Georgia’s Kitchen: Cornmeal

Georgia Diehm

Keota, Iowa – Cornmeal is a basic staple that was used very often in the Pioneer diet and during the Great Depression. It was also one of the foods that Mom fell back on to feed her large family because it was cheap but nutritious at the same time.

To get the best nutrition make sure you get cornmeal that hasn’t been de-germed (refined). Cornmeal is a good source of niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate, and vitamins B-6, E and K. It contains 18 amino acids and valuable minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium.

There are numerous delicious recipes that use cornmeal. One of the most remembered dishes that Mom cooked for us was a meal of beans and cornbread. I still like them a lot.

Here are a few of her recipes for using cornmeal. She has several more that I will share with you next week.

Original Injun Puddin’

5 cups milk
2/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 Tbs butter

Heat 4 cups of the milk & add molasses, sugar, cornmeal, salt, spice & butter to it. Cook 20 min or until mixture thickens. Pour into baking dish. Add remaining cold milk. Do not stir. Put into slow oven(300) and bake for 3 hours without stirring. Serve warm with cream or hard sauce or vanilla ice cream. Serves 8

Really Southern Corn Bread

1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 heaping tsp baking powder
1/3 cup flour
1 1/4 cup white or yellow cornmeal
2 level Tbs shortening

Beat egg and salt together with a fork. Then add milk, baking powder, flour, and white or yellow cornmeal; beating slightly with same fork between additions. In a middle sized skillet melt shortening. Pour most of it into batter leaving just a little. Pour batter into skillet. Put skillet in the oven. Bake for 25 min at (425). Cut like pie and serve.

Corn Pone

1 egg- well beaten
2 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs melted shortening
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp (level) baking powder

Beat egg and add to milk and melted shortening. Stir liquids into dry ingredients which have been sifted together. Fill greased pan 1/2 full. Bake 25 to 30 min in hot oven at 350-375 degrees

Hasty Pudding

1 heaping cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sifted flour
1 qt boiling water
1 pt milk
1 Tbs butter
salt, as you like it

Wet the meal and flour with milk; stir slowly into the boiling water. Boil hard for 1/2 hr. stirring almost constantly from the bottom with wooden spoon. Put in salt and butter; simmer 10 min longer. Turn into a deep uncovered dish; eat with sugar; cream with a light dash of nutmeg

Indian Batter Cakes

1 qt warm water or skim milk
1 qt cornmeal
1/2 pt wheat flour sifted
1 level tsp salt

Pour the water into a pan. Add the salt; having mixed together the wheat and corneal stir them gradually into the water a handful at a time. It should be the consistency of buckwheat cake or muffin batter. Beat long and hard. If you find it too thick add a little more water. Have ready a hot griddle. Grease it then bake the cakes on it. They should not be larger than the top of a tumbler or a small saucer. Send to table hot in even piles; eat with butter and molasses.