Cornmeal

[goodgiver]

What do you all consider the best corn meal for corn bread White, Roasted, Yellow what?

 

[skilletlicker]

My opinion is, of what I can buy in the grocery store, whole grain stone ground yellow corn meal is the best for corn bread. I think the flavor deteriorates fairly quickly as soon as it's milled, so I freeze it as soon as I bring it home. [highlight]As yet[/highlight], I don't have the right kind of mill to grind my own corn meal, but I look forward to the day when I do.

There is a lot I don't know and I need some help here. In the context of corn bread what does roasted corn mean? Of course, roasted sweet corn could be added to corn bread batter but it wouldn't be one of the primary ingredients. Please explain.

I don't remember seeing corn bread made from white corn. I think it would taste the same but look unusual.

Looking forward to future posts.

 

[marmalady]

I've never seen 'roasted' corn meal. As for white or yellow, it's a regional thing. Some areas of the South use only white cornmeal, others only yellow. Matter of fact, here in Charleston, it's even hard to find fresh yellow corn - everyone seems to be growing the white only.

I buy only the stone-ground or water-ground corn meal and grits, then keep it in the fridge.

 

[skilletlicker]

Marmalady, When corn bread is made from white corn meal is the crumb the color of white bread?
I'd never heard of water ground corn meal. Googling the term only produced two relevant hits. One for Cherokee Saunooke's Mill in Cherokee, NC and the other, a general information Food Network page about corn. Neither site gave any information about the process. Can you fill us in at all?

 

[Constance]

I like the yellow cornmeal for cornbread. I always figured the white cornmeal is for making grits.

 

[marmalady]

No, white cornmeal is used 'exclusively' in some Southern states - in fact, yellow cornmeal is considered 'yankee', lol.

The color isn't 'white-white' like white bread; think of what white corn looks like; not bright white, but more of a pale, pale butter color. The white cornmeal/cornbread is the same.

I personally like yellow best - yankee or Southerner! - 'cause I think it just has more flavor.

 

[Gretchen]

White corn meal is NOT grits. Grits are grits. I prefer yellow for all. Stone ground is a method--very nice results. the grains are not so uniform. White cornmeal--for cornbread (as in cornmeal mixes) is a lot more prevalent.

 

[marmalady]

Gretchen - - 'grits IS grits!

Water ground is a term used for how they mill the grains. If water drives the grinding stones, then it's called 'water ground', as opposed to 'stone-ground' - even though they're all stone ground.

 

[skilletlicker]

Gretchen - - 'grits IS grits!

Water ground is a term used for how they mill the grains. If water drives the grinding stones, then it's called 'water ground', as opposed to 'stone-ground' - even though they're all stone ground.

To some, including me, grits is ground from hominy. The tense is correct but sure sounds funny.

I thought that might be what what "water ground" meant. I understand why a mill would use the term for marketing reasons, but not why The Food Network would imply a difference. I've never heard of electric corn meal or diesel corn meal.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Grits can be made from either plain dried corn (corn grits) or dried hominy (hominy grits) ground to a coarse sand-like texture. Hominy is hulled corn which had been stripped of its bran and germ, usually by soaking in a lye solution - which gives it a different flavor. The corn, in either case, can be either white or yellow. Can't find the etymology of the term - but since it is ground to the texture of sand, and sand is gritty, ergo grits?

Personally - I was never a big fan of hominy grits ... but I loved corn grits, which I guess is more like cornmeal mush, which sounds so much more exotic if you call it polenta.

As for white, yellow, roasted cornmeal to make cornbread ... I don't think you would notice any difference in texture, they are interchangeable. Yellow corn is generally a little sweeter, expecially when fresh, than white - but I don't know if that holds true for cornmeal. White cornmeal cornbread is probably more common in the South (some regions more than others) - but a fair amount of "Yankee Cornbread" (same recipe but using yellow cornmeal) can also be found. Of course, Southern cooks also argue about adding sugar, or not, to the recipe - I think the general rule is corn muffins have sugar and cornbread does not, from what I can remember. Of course, there is also the argument that "pie are round - cornbread are square" (sorry, old Southern joke).

As for roasted-corn meal - it could add a slightly different flavor. Don't know - I never tried it, never even thought about it. But, I must admit that my thought when I thought about using roasted corn meal was something Bobby Flay would create .... roasted blue corn cornbread.

 

[licia]

I use white corn meal exclusively, sometimes stone ground, sometimes self rising corn meal (not corn meal mix) and I also use white grits. Yellow grits seem a bit starchy to me. Also, I don't like hominy grits, they don't cook up as creamy as the others. I suppose what you like depends on what you are used to having. There aren't many things made from corn that I don't like. Too bad it's something we have to watch our intake, since it has a cajillion carbohydrates - any way it is prepared. But corn meal doesn't have gluten unless it is a mix.

 

[Gretchen]

White grits are hominy grits--grits made from grinding hominy which is corn treated with lye to make it puff up--then ground. Michael has the explanation correct. Yellow "grits" is just cornmeal, and once again, Michael has it right--basically polenta.
A cousin runs the last family owned mill in SC which makes all sorts of flour and meal products--supplies the grits to the finer restaurants throughout the South--and even Charlie Trotter in Chicago.

There is nothing inherently wrong with carbohydrates.

For further info--

Hominy grits, or just plain grits, are an institution here in the South, though they can be hard to find in northern states. Hominy is made from flint or dent corn,varieties with hard kernels that are dried on the cob then removed and soaked in a solution of baking soda, lime, or wood ash. This process causes the hulls to soften and swell. The kernels are then hulled and degermed using friction, then dried. Grits, coarse whitish grains, are ground from hominy, as is masa harina, the flour used to make corn tortillas. If you really want to start from scratch, Mountain Laurel has instructions for the whole process, including making the lye solution with wood ashes.
It's interesting that the alkaline soaking process also unbinds necessary niacin in the corn, and has an effect on the protein balance.
Though the overall available protein is decreased, the relative availability of the lysine and tryptophan are increased. The alkaline process has been used for centuries where corn was a native food, but in areas where corn was introduced as a new staple, the process was not. Pellagra, a niacin and tryptophan deficiency, became common disease in areas where corn was the main source of food, as in the early South. One has to wonder how ancient civilizations discovered the process which made corn a more balanced source of nutrition.
The word grits comes from the Old English. "grytt", for "bran", but the Old English "greot" also meant something ground. Some cookbooks refer to grits as hominy because of regional preference for the name. Americans have been using the term "grits" since at least the end of the 18th century.

 

[skilletlicker]

Gretchen, Thanks for a terrific post on a subject dear to my heart. Just one very minor point with which I'd quibble.

Yellow "grits" is just cornmeal, and once again, Michael has it right--basically polenta.

Grits is most commonly made of hominy made from white field (dent) corn, but could just as easily be made from yellow corn, or blue for that matter. If you start with yellow corn the alkali soak intensifies the yellow color. That's my experience.
My only experience with grits made from cornmeal was called mush by the Pennsyltucky cook.
Thanks for the great instructions link. I found it very interesting.
I was surprised to hear that soda could be used.

Folks today usually use soda to soak the corn. Both Miss Addie and the Burnette's told me this

I use, and had only previously heard about using, cal, sometimes called lime. It's actually calcium-hydroxide.

 

[skilletlicker]

I forgot to mention this. Gretchen mentioned tortillas. If you were to take your fresh wet hominy (nixtamal) and put it through a grinder suited to the task, you'd have masa (dough in Spanish) that makes unbelievable tortillas that bear little resemblance to those made from masa harina.

 

[Gretchen]

I didn't really "mention" it technically. It is in the quote I took from a site.
Cornmeal mush is basically fine ground cornmeal polenta. I grew up with it--fried with maple syrup.
I have never seen real yellow corn grits (lye treated yellow corn). Even our cousin's is cornmeal.

 

[licia]

All white grits are NOT referred to as hominy grits. Hominy grits are larger grained and don't cook quite as creamy as other grits. Also yellow grits are NOT corn meal. They are not ground as fine as corn meal and don't cook into mush like yellow corn meal would. If you are used to eating grits, you can tell one from the other right away.

 

[skilletlicker]

All white grits are NOT referred to as hominy grits. Hominy grits are larger grained and don't cook quite as creamy as other grits. Also yellow grits are NOT corn meal. They are not ground as fine as corn meal and don't cook into mush like yellow corn meal would. If you are used to eating grits, you can tell one from the other right away.

Uh-oh, I meant no offense with the comment including grits, cornmeal and mush in the same sentence. I'm aware that there is a long tradition of making grits from ground corn that has not been soaked in an alkali. I intended to say that it wasn't the kind I'm used to in a mildly humorous way. Clearly neither the meaning nor the humor was successful. I meant no offense however.

 

[licia]

None taken. Many people refer to ALL grits as hominy grits and there is a definite difference. I certainly wish they were more nutritious. They are truly a comfort food for me.

 

[Gretchen]

All white grits are NOT referred to as hominy grits. Hominy grits are larger grained and don't cook quite as creamy as other grits. Also yellow grits are NOT corn meal. They are not ground as fine as corn meal and don't cook into mush like yellow corn meal would. If you are used to eating grits, you can tell one from the other right away.

Cornmeal mush is not grits either. It is a sort of yankee dish. You buy it in a chub, slice it, fry it, and serve for breakfast. My dad used to make it--you could buy the chub in the store for $0.79. Now you can again buy the chub of "cornmeal mush" in the produce cooler section. However, it is labelled "polenta" and costs $2.79--true, true.
Yellow grits are just a coarser grind of cornmeal (polenta).
According to the quote, if you treat corn with alkali it causes the corn to expand and this is then ground for grits==hominy grits. Grits to me are what is treated.
I never refer to them as "hominy grits", but that is what they are. There are quick cooking grits and old fashioned grits. Perhaps it is the latter that don't cook up as "creamy". Please tell me the brand of grits that you use that are not "hominy grits" so I can try a comparison. We get a number of different brands besides Quaker--Magnolia Plantation, Anson Mills, Adluh, one with an old fashioned farm house on it.

 

[skilletlicker]

Please tell me the brand of grits that you use that are not "hominy grits" so I can try a comparison.

Not to speak for licia, but Bob's Red Mill is one that's in the grocery stores around here.
I don't remember seeing this in the market but since you mentioned the brand, I believe Anson Mills Antebellum Course Grits is another.