I also love all types of cornbread, incliding the stuff made from the Jiffy corn muffin mix. Elery's sister, however, told me that it had to be made with white cornmeal and it had to contain NO sugar, or it wasn't cornbread.

That's OK, I like it that way too, and I sometimes take my cornbread batter, add bacon or sauteed onions or bits of canned jalapeno or cheese or any combination. I'll add corn kernels and make pancakes sometimes too.

I had a recipe that I used and liked, then suddenly it was too dry and too crumbly and the batter was too stiff. Maybe there was a change in the Quaker yellow cornmeal I always buy, but now I'm back to experimenting with cornbread recipes.

I've never had pineapple in any of it though, but I could imagine a cornmeal muffin with ham and pineapple for breakfast. Right now would be good.

Annie

A long time ago, someone told me this was a copycat recipe for the cornbread from Boston Market (then Boston Chicken). I love it, but it is surely not for diehard cornbread purists:

1 box jiffy cornbread, mixed as directed
1 box jiffy white cake, mixed as directed.

combine both batters and bake according to cornbread directions.

Yum.
Jo

The cornbread holy wars erupt every so often. I personally prefer a nonsweet cornbread simply because I don't care for sweet stuff all that much, and I like to serve cornbread with savory stuff like beans and chili.

I found an old post I posted some years back (hard to believe I've been spewing out opinions for five years now on CF!!) on the subject. For those of you looking for a non-sweet cornbread, I've never found anything better than this one, from Bernard Clayton:

I will grant a point to those who use 'adulterants' :) like sugar and flour: unless the quality of the corn meal is very good, cornbread made with just corn meal can be bitter. Meal can go rancid and stale pretty quickly. But cornbread made with fresh cornmeal, preferably stone-ground locally, is plenty sweet on its own.

I generally only buy small quantities of cornmeal--just enough to make whatever recipe I'm making, and I buy it at a store that seems to have a good turnover of product. (That means not buying it at a gourmet store. No telling how long that stuff has been on the shelf.)

Fortunately in my area of South Carolina there are a few grist mills not too far away that supply the local stores.

Bernard Clayton's 'New Complete Book of Breads' actually has a listing for 2 different breads. One he calls "Yankee Corn Bread" (sugar, flour, yellow corn meal) and the other is Southern Corn Bread (white corn meal, no sugar or flour.)

I find, though, that the freshness of the meal is more important than whether it's white or yellow.

For those with access to good fresh meal I recommend this recipe for Southern Corn Bread, from Clayton:

2 eggs, room temp
2 cups buttermilk, room temp
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups white cornmeal (but yellow is okay, too)
1 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven and baking utensil (skillet or 9 x 9 pan) to 450 while mixing batter.

In a small bowl beat the eggs and mix in the buttermilk. In a mixer bowl, mix the baking soda, cornmeal and salt. Pour in the egg-buttermilk mixture and mix well until smooth.

Pour batter into the preheated pan, return to oven for 20 to 25 minutes. It's done when a knife inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean & dry.

I use this recipe when I make cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving; a quadruple recipe just barely fits into a 5 quart KitchenAid mixer bowl, and into an 11 x 14 pan. Absolutely delicious.

This is what you use to soak up the pot juices from cooking black-eyed peas or greens. I always called those juices 'pot liquor' but my non-southern wife wondered what the heck I was talking about when I used that term. I guess that's southern as well.

My self-rising cornbread mix contains some self-rising wheat flour in it also, so the cornbread is a little lighter in texture than it would be if it were made with just cornmeal. There are a number of old-fashioned grist mills still left in the south where you can buy cornmeal, cornbread mix, grits, etc. Southerners lived on corn, pork, and greens for many generations and more southern cooks know how to make cornbread and biscuits than they know to make yeast breads.

I love it all. Has anyone else ever had broccoli cheddar cornbread? It's good stuff.

I agree with you, Teresa, that more southern cooks know how to make cornbread and biscuits....maybe that explains why I don't do a lot of baking. No, wait, I don't do much pie or cake baking.:-) I don't put sugar in my cornbread just because I'm used to making it that way.

Several years ago, when my MIL was still living I had a spring brunch each year to celebrate Mother's Day, my anniversary and 3 birthdays that all fell within the space of a month. I found this recipe in a book by Mary Emmerling called American Country Cooking. One SIL is from Ohio and he only likes cornbread with sugar.

Vermont Sweet Corn Bread

1 C. yellow cornmeal
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. granulated maple sugar
1 T. plus 1 teas. baking powder
4 T. unsalted butter, softened
1 C. milk
1 large egg
pinch of salt
powdered confectioners' or maple sugar for the top of the
baked bread

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, if using a deep cake mold or preheat to 425 degrees if using an 8-inch square pan. Grease the mold or pan well and set aside.
In a food processor, combine the cornmeal, flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and butter. Pulse a few times until the mixture becomes mealy. Add the milk and egg and process for 30 seconds, or until well mixed.
Turn the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes for the deep fancy mold or 25 to 30 minutes for the square pan. Cool the bread on a wire rack and sprinkle with the powdered sugar before serving.

This is so good and I haven't made it in a long time but I think I may just change that. BTW it is not a substitute for just plain good cornbread and not something I would serve with green beans and other vegetables or stews etc.

jude

Maybe I've just never had good cornbread but I don't care for it at all.

Maybe I should try and make my own and see what I think......ah, but sugar or no sugar? ....that is the question! LOL

Sharon, it is cheap enough to make - try one of each!

Alexa

We like northern cornbread. It's a staple here. I never thought of pineapple & ham. That sounds fabulous! Will try soon.

/tricia

I'm a Yankee who is a student of Southern food. With my morning coffee I enjoy a sweet cornbread or corn muffin. But with a meal alongside savory foods I don't want cake. I want a Southern style cornbread like the recipe given by Arley -- no flour, no sugar and made with buttermilk. I use this very similar recipe:

REAL CORNBREAD
From Butter Beans to Blackberries by Ronni Lundy

4 tablespoons drippings (bacon fat, butter, margarine, vegetable oil)
2 cups fine ground white cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
1 and 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk

Turn the oven on to 450 degrees. When it starts to get hot, put the drippings in a 9 inch cast iron skillet or small cake pan, but a skillet is what you really want. It's worth getting an iron skillet just for this. Put the skillet in the oven and let it get really hot while you mix up the batter.

Mix cornmeal, salt, baking soda and baking powder together well in a bowl. Add the egg and milk and stir until just blended. Don't beat.

Remove the skillet from the oven and very carefully swirl the drippings around the pan to coat the inside. Drippings should be bubbly. If you're using butter and it's browned a bit, that fine. It'll make the cornbread yummy!

Pour the drippings into the cornbread batter, stir just enough to incorporate, pour the batter back into the skillet and pop into the oven. It will take 20-25 minutes for it to turn brown around the edges and get firm in the middle. Remove and turn upside down on a sturdy plate to turn the cornbread out. (If it sticks, you can serve it straight from the pan.) Pass while it's hot.

Jim

I offer this one when someone asks. Always moist.

Sundowner Cornbread

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup unsifted flour
1/2 cup sugar (I use 1/4 cup sugar)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoon butter

Mix all together just enough to blend. Do not over mix. Pour into greased 8" x 8" pan and bake at 425 degree oven about 20 min. Cut into squares. Serve hot with butter. I often use a round 9" pan.

From: The Complete Yogurt Cookbook by Karen Cross Whyte

Sour cream or buttermilk in place of the yogurt would probably yield similar results.

Made cornbread recipe from the side of the Albers box for 40+ years until DH brought home a bunch of boxes of Jiffy mix because they were on sale cheap. Now I'm a Jiffy convert.

My current thought on cornbread is: Do you think your son and his friends are worried about offending the editors of "Fine Cooking" because their movie treat is deemed "unauthentic"? Why are you?

Ruthanna, it seemed to me that AM was just thinking that since her cornbread was not "authentic", that she'd try an "authentic" type and see if she or anyone liked it better. I always have to try, even if I have a recipe that I like, thinking maybe I'm missing out on something!

By the time I put butter and honey on mine, it's all sweet anyway! And the only thing that's probably "authentic about any of the recipes I use is the fact that I always bake it in a hot cast iron skillet, because I like the crunch it gives the crust...

Annie

Funny thing about cornbread -- since my MIL makes it the Southern way and I find it horribly dry and bitter (why would anyone want to eat that?) --- whenever I make Jiffy cornbread muffins she refuses to eat them.

My little girl went on a field trip to the "Jiffy factory" which is here in Michigan -- now she only wants me to buy Jiffy cake mix, Jiffy muffins etc...!

Question for those that make Jiffy corn muffins -- I keep having a problem with the muffin sticking to my paper wrapper --- should I just forgo the paper liner and clean the darn muffin pan instead???

I like just about all cornbread, but if I'm making to eat with my meal, like with beans, turnip greens, etc, I want the cornbread I grew up with. Non sweet, coarse but moist cornbread. I enjoy the sweet cakelike cornbread, but I want to eat that by itself as a dessert. It just doesn't "go" with beans for my taste!

I'm a foreigner, so the North/South thing is irrelevant to me. But I'm not partial to sweet cornbread. I like the one Jimster posted - I downloaded a few years back and use it often, except I can't easily get white cornmeal here so I use yellow.

I've also used this one a lot, which has a finer crumb and a bit of sugar. I found it in a Middle Eastern cookbook, and its attribution is Turkish. Sorry for the non-standard measurements - I have a kitchen scale just for these oddities.

Dari Unu Ile Yapilmis Ekmek

4 oz flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 oz cornmeal
2 eggs
14 fl oz plain yogurt
3 tbsp olive oil

Stir together dry ingredients. Mix the eggs, yogurt and olive oil, then stir into the dry stuff. Batter should be smooth, but don't overmix. Bake in a greased pan at 425F for 20-30 minutes.

And what about warm cornbread crumbled in cold milk (or buttermilk if you insist) and eaten with a spoon? Do I dare ask this question here - not wanting to hijack AM's thread. I learned to love this concoction from my mother, in fact, it usually serves as my "dessert" after the meal I have with the cornbread. Now.....don't knock it unless you've tried it! LOL!

Teresa

Teresa, I've tried it both ways...cold milk or buttermilk and it's g-o-o-d!

Hijack away, Teresa!! I love it when threads take an interesting turn and I end up expanding my knowlege base on a subject.

I have never thought to crumble my cornbread in milk, but that really does sound delicious and comforting.

Jude - maple sugar? That's new to me.

I love reading all the potential variations. I bet yogurt is lovely, and broccoli, cheddar, jalapeno! All wonderful ideas.

I appreciate all the recipes. I'm going to try the Fine Cooking one this weekend and a save some of the others. It looks like we'll be indoors for a bit because of the hurricane, so we'll need some projects.

I don't much care which type of cornbread Fine Cooking claims as authentic. And I don't think they do either - good food is good food! And as Annie points out, slathered in butter and honey, it's all good!

AM

PS Nancy, did you see htat roasted brussels sprouts with wild mushrooms and cream recipe (p. 44). Looks amazing!

Here it's a toss up. Just depends on who's making it whether it's sweet or not.

I did like this recipe my SIL made when I visited her.

Sour Cream Corn bread
1box Jiffy cornbread mix,1/3cup oil, 3ggs beaten,1 sm can creamed corn and 80z of sour cream..Mix first four ingreds until moist. Pour into a 9 inch pie pan (sprayed with pam). Drop tablespoons of sour cream on top of the cornbread..Bake at 375* for 35-...40min. Yummy

When I make it I cut back on the sour cream and it's still good.

Di

NOOOOOOOOOOO Jiffy boxed cornbread for me.

AM, yes, I saw the Brussels Sprout recipe and the cauliflower recipe on the next page...both look good.

Of course I would also have to make that Tarte Tatin for dessert..

Nancy

I used to like Jiffy cornbread, but not anymore. Too sweet and it leaves a strange mouth feel that I don't like.

Teresa

I personally use Jiffy because it's so easy.

But, Jimster...yours is the recipe that sounds like the one my mother used to make to go with bean soup. She fried hers in an iron skillet on top of the stove and the edges were lacy. I'm glad you posted your recipe...I had forgotten! Thanks!

I spray my muffin tins with Pam....and they slide out and have a lovely cfrisp brown bottom....no papers for me!
Linda C

FWIW Jiffy has lard in it. Some folks will like that, some not.

I used to use jiffy till Jessy told me it had lard. My son is a vegetarian so he donated all his jiffy mixes to the food for the hungry bin when I told him. Anyway, there are plenty of mixes without lard. I made cornbread last night. I'm not a purist and like it to be just a little bit sweet.

I used a mix - Martha White I think - and added some shredded muenster cheese and some chopped roasted hatch chili pepper. Subbed buttermilk for the milk as well. Turned out delicious.

To me, cornbread is one of those things that comes out well enough from the mix that I don't feel the need to make it from scratch. But like I said, when it comes to cornbread, I'm not a purist.

Yes, Jiffy corn muffin mix has lard in it, it's included in the ingredient list so if you read the ingredients you know.

Not that it stops people like me, LOL, but those who don't eat pork or are vegetarians or even watching saturated fat should check their ingredient list on things like packaged mixes, there's all kinds of stuff in there!

Annie

LOL! Read the ingredients!! Isn't that sort of like reading the instructions? Who does that??

I normally don't care that much - I know I know, I should. But for the most part, it just doesn't affect me. Now BEN shoulda known better. HE's the vegetarian! I quit buying the Jiffy mixes though just so that when he IS home, I don't have to worry about it.

AM, yes the maple sugar is interesting and now that I mentioned the recipe, I think I'll make some muffins. It is not real sweet, which to me is good, but sweet enough. I would not use it like I do my regular cornbread. I think my Yankee son-in-law would love them and, since he is a borderline diabetic, they might work for him. I'll consult DD before I offer them.

jude

I grew up in the Midwest eating the "sweet cornbread". I never really cared for cornbread probably because I don't care for sweets. Then I moved south and was informed by a neighbor that the kind of cornbread I made was NOT cornbread at all. She taught me to make southern cornbread. Since then, I've tweaked her recipe and now use my own recipe. I served it to my Midwest family, and they loved it. No more Jiffy for them.

LINDAÂS CORNBREAD

Martha White corn meal mix, white or yellow (DonÂt use the Jiffy corn meal because it has too much sugar in it.)
Follow the directions on the package,

 1 egg,
 substitute buttermilk for milk,
 add one 11 oz. can of whole Mexican corn, drained,
 add one cup of shredded cheese,(cheddar or Colby Jack)
 add a couple of drops of hot sauce.

and mix well.

 2 slices bacon
 ¼ finely chopped onion
 1 finely minced garlic clove (optional)

Chop up two slices of bacon into a cast iron skillet and add ¼ cup finely chopped onion and garlic (donÂt let the garlic burn); heat bacon and onion in the oven at 400°; cook until the fat is rendered out of the bacon and the onion is tender. DonÂt drain, but pour the mixture directly into the very hot cast iron skillet and cook for the given time on the package.

You can add the following variations:
 pork cracklings
 jalapeños, bell peppers or other peppers

I serve this cornbread with pinto beans or black beans. Oh, and yes I realize this is high in calories and it is not a heart-healthy recipe, but it is very easy and very good!

Isn't it strange that Southerners love sweet tea but don't like sweet cornbread? Personally, sweet tea is worse than sweet cornbread to my taste. :-)

BTW, when I serve Southern style cornbread made according to the recipe I posted, it gets lots of compliments from my Yankee guests.

Jim

jimster...is your cornbread related to the Yankee johnny cake? If so, I bet that's why they like it. :)

I make my cornbread from a homemade mix. Just as easy as Jiffy & I control the ingredients. If anybody's interested, I'll post my recipe for the mix.

/tricia

Tricia, yes please post your mix recipe.

Di

I'd like it too, tricia. How long does it keep and how do you store it?

pfmastin,

Interesting thought. But, even though they both may have a similar flavor, they are basically different in the way they are made. I haven't been successful at making johnny cakes so far. I intend to visit Rhode Island next spring to sample the johnny cakes at their springtime fundraising breakfasts put on by churches, schools and fire houses. Johnnycake is a regional specialty in RI and I will try to replicate what they make there.

Jim

Do cornbread muffins freeze well????

I have polenta meal. Can i use that in place of cornmeal for cornbread? Now I'm in the mood!

barnmom -

Yep, you can use polenta meal for cornmeal. Polenta is milled from flint corn (looks like popcorn), while cornmeal is milled from those fat, starchy nibs of dent corn. Polenta has also been degermed and hulled, so less nutrition and fiber.

Polenta comes in grades coarse and fine, so if you have a coarse grind, expect a more crumbly crumb than if you have a fine grind.

FYI - A great place to find ingredient substitutions is The Cook's Thesaurus (link below).

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: The Cook's Thesaurus

I've not found a good corn muffin that freezes well! They all sort of crumble up and fall apart. And if I freeze them with corn or green chile peppers in the recipe, they get kind of weird. So, I just make my cornbread fresh and eat it up quick - like in two days.

Teresa

I freeze left over cornbread or muffins, if there's still some left after a couple of days, ... and there's not too much.... and use it for cornbread dressing. Just put it in a ziplock bag and add to it when you have extra. But you are right about the crumbling, which makes it ideal for dressing.

Another thing, with self-rising cornmeal there's no need for a mix.

jude

I like all cornbread variations as long as they are fresh and do not include a box mix. I can always taste a box mix even heavily disguised.

How timely.... I went to make some corbread the other night and the darn cornmeal (which I hadn't even opened yet) was full of weevils. I will make ribs, cornbread, and black eyed peas tomorrow. I like it moist and sweet, almost like yellow cake. My best friend and I have this argument all the time, he can't stand sweet cornbrad... almost every day he makes an unsweetened cornbread "pancake" in a cast iron skillet. Adding pineapple is a great idea, I'd never have thought of that!

I love cornbread. I never make it to serve as a side. I like it sweet and served for breakfast.

I have two recipes that I use interchangeably and I bake the cornbread in my cast iron pan, loaves, round cake pans or muffin tins.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Cornbread Loaf
==============
1-1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
6 tablespoons melted and cooled butter
8 tablespoons melted and cooled vegetable shortening
1-1/2 cups milk

preheat the oven to 400°. sift into a mixing bowl the cornmeal, flour,
sugar, salt and baking powder. Beat the eggs lightly, add the melted
butter and shortening, and stir in the 1 1/2 cups of milk. Pour into
the bowl of dry ingredients and beat together for about a minute, or
until smooth. Do not overbeat. Lightly butter an 8 x 12 inch shallow
baking pan and pour in the batter. Bake in the center of the oven for
about 30 minutes, or until the bread comes slightly away from the edge
of the pan and is golden brown. If you wish you make bake the
cornbread in a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan or in muffin tins. Increase the
baking time to 45 minutes if using a loaf pan.

Also great baked in a cast iron skillet.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Cornbread Muffins
=================
I have a number of cornbread recipes
That I make but this is the most
Tender,
Melt in your mouth cornbread recipe
You can make it in muffin tins, loaf
Pan
Or a springform pan
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk, warmed
1 cup cake flour
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Beat the egg, melted butter and the oil
until well blended. Stir in the milk. In a separate bowl, blend the
cake flour with the cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add to the
egg mixture and stir until just blended. This is a very light, loose
batter. Spoon into desired pan and bake until golden. If making muffins
this will take 15 to 20 minutes to bake. It will take longer in a loaf
pan or a springform pan.

Gorgeous Ann - I think I may need a cast iron pan...

AM

I love these kinds of subjects!

For what it is worth, Jim, you made me see my Mom standing there making cornbread. Always white meal, no sugar, bacon drippings melted in the skillet. I think her recipe is almost exactly like yours.

I don't know why but I gravitated away from white meal to yellow and I like mine a little sweet. I do use her technique.

I have been using a recipe from Aunt Jemima's corn meal (Quaker Oats Co.) for several years now.

Easy Corn Bread
1-1/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cup Corn Meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup skim milk (I use whole from my cow)
1/4 cup oil (I use bacon drippings-a jar is always in the frig)
2 egg whites or l egg, beaten

Heat oven to 400°F. I put drippings into cast iron skillet and place in oven to preheat.
Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk and egg and hot bacon drippings from skillet. Stir just until all is moistened. Pour into skillet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

Mom's people were all from Tennessee and NC so I guess the Southern type of bread was carried over to southern Missouri.

I have been wanting to try an all-cornmeal type. I will be copying a lot of these recipes.

Teresa, my favorite thing is buttered, hot cornbread in a glass of cold milk. DH won't touch that, but he sure likes it with pinto beans or chili.

I have never thought of it for breakfast but think it would be delicious. Leftovers go in the freezer for dressing or as a treat for the chickens.

BTW, Grandma raised her baby chicks on cornbread softened with a little milk.

I am from the South and prefer a sweeter cornbread.

My great grandmother used to add creamed corn to her batter. It makes it moister and a little sweeter. I have actually added one of those small cans of creamed corn to a box of jiffy mix. When I make it that way people rave over it.

Can I use Shawnee Best white corn meal instead of Albers white corn meal but use Albers white corn bread recipe instead