Even Cornbread Has A History

If there were a clear career path that supplied a living wage, I would become a Culinary Historian for the final chapter of my career life.  But there's not so the history and cultural meaning of food will remain a hobby that fascinates me...

A while back there was a 'placed post' (aka advertisement) in my Facebook feed from The New York Times that got my attention.  It was titled, The True Story Behind Your Thanksgiving Cornbread.  Now I don't know about you, but I don't reserve my cornbread eating for just Thanksgiving... I like it.  And I'll eat it anytime I get the chance.  Always have, always will.  And I've heard the whole spiel about adding sugar makes it into corn cake.  Whatever!  I'm Southern by adoption and I like a little bit of sweetness in mine so I'm not even entertaining that argument.

The article, though, captivated me.  It took a page from a newish cookbook by Toni Tipton-Martin, "Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking" about the roots of cornbread.  In it, she shares that cornbread stuffing, a Thanksgiving staple to be sure, is a memory dish; an attempt by West African slaves to recreate a dish from their homeland called Kusha.  And today's recipes are a kind of homage to that heritage.  Ms. Tipton-Martin continues, pointing out that as slaves were freed, they founded communities and opened businesses, including eating establishments where recipes were transformed by the locally available foods and trends of the day.  And that's how humble cornbread was transformed into such dishes as corn pone, griddle cakes, spoonbread, corn muffins, hoecake, and hushpuppies. Today we see the fusion influences of the American Southwest and Tex-Mex foods when we include such ingredients as whole kernel corn, cheddar cheese and green chiles in our cornbread.

I've put in a request with my local library for "Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking" and I can hardly wait to see what else I learn!

Cornbread made up as muffins.

In the meantime, here's my recipe for cornbread that I based on a bread recipe on the wrapper of an old-time hot cereal named Germaid.  (And yes, when I'm going to use it in stuffing I leave out the sugar, well at least most of it, and it is wonderful when made with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese chunks and either green chiles or finely chopped jalapeno!)

Kathy's Cornbread

1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cube margarine, softened

Mix together to form a stiff batter.  This is enough batter for a 9" round cake pan or my favorite 9" cast iron skillet.  It's also just right for 12 muffins.  Bake at 400F until golden brown on top.