Cornbread
From Free net encyclopedia
Cornbread is a variety of quick bread (a bread leavened chemically, rather than by yeast) containing cornmeal.
Cornbread, often called skillet bread, is a traditional staple of rural cuisine in the United States of America, especially in the Southern United States.
There are numerous regional names for this flat cornmeal item - johnnycakes, johnny cakes, jonnycake, ashcake, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, pone, Shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin. The origin of the name is unclear, possibly from 'journey cake' as a bread easily prepared by travellers, or as a corruption of 'Shawnee cake', or based on a forgotten Indian word.
A typical contemporary northern US cornbread (referred to in the South as "Yankee Cornbread") recipe contains half wheat flour, half cornmeal, milk, eggs, sugar, leavening agent and salt, resulting in a bread that is somewhat lighter and sweeter than its more traditional southern counterpart, which is normally made from a mixture of cornmeal, buttermilk, salt, eggs, lard or bacon fat, and leavening agent. This bread will tend to be denser, meant more as an accompaniment than as a bread meant to stand on its own. White cornmeal is preferred over yellow corn meal in the southern United States for use in making cornbread. Other ingredients can also be added for variety, such as cracklins, shredded cheese, hot peppers, or fresh corn. Traditionally, a well seasoned cast iron skillet is used to make cornbread.
Cornbread is a popular item in soul food enjoyed by many people for its texture and scent.
History
Corn bread was first discovered during the European contact in North America. The Native Americans were using ground corn for cooking before the European explorers arrived to the New World. The Europeans had to use the local resources for food so they used the Native Americans corn meal and made it into corn bread. Corn bread was popular during the Civil War because it was very cheap and could be made into many different foods. They would put it into yeast loaves or fry it for a fast meal. The reason Northern and Southern corn bread were different is because they used different types of corn meal. The North used flint yellow corn meal and the South used Boone County white. They both also preferred different flavorings of corn meal, the North preferred the sweet tastes and would add molasses while the South like salts and would fry the bread with cracklins.