That Ain't Southern Cornbread
Before we begin, let me state that what I consider to be authentic Southern recipes, may not be to you. Different regions of the South have some differences in their cooking style. So, if you do not agree with my rants following, we are probably just from different areas of the South. What follows is intended mainly for those that are not from the South and want to cook authentic Southern cornbread. Allow me, if you will, to vent my frustration over the so-called Southern Cornbread recipes you find on the web.
Here's the scenario:
You see an ad or search results that offers a real, authentic Southern cornbread recipe. You go to the site and it has a Southern sounding name such as "Bubba's Ol' Fashioned, Down Home Southern Recipes". So far, so good. And the site has some Southern looking graphics, such as a moss-draped magnolia tree and a cast iron skillet. Still good. Then you go to the "Real, Authentic, Southern Cornbread recipe" and read the ingredients.
Horror of horrors! They want you to put sugar in your Southern Cornbread! Not only that, it's YELLOW, because they want you to use yellow corn meal.
I grew up in Alabama and where I came from, Southern cornbread is not sweet. It is bread, not cake. It is not dessert. It does not contain sugar...and it's not yellow.
Now, if you like sweet cornbread, that's O.K. Put sugar in it. But I would not call it Southern cornbread!
Here's my pet peeves:
1. I don't know what Webster says, but it's cornbread, NOT corn bread. Most Southerners spell cornbread as one word, not two.
2. Southern cornbread should use white corn meal, not yellow. Nearly every recipe on the web calls for yellow corn meal. I don't know why, other than the fact that the recipe is probably written by someone from New Jersey, who has never been South of Philadelphia. Where I come from no good Southern cook uses yellow corn meal in cornbread. To me, yellow cornmeal belongs in tacos, not cornbread.
3. Sugar belongs in iced tea, never in cornbread (I know...I'm repeating).
4. Aluminum and glass cookware is for California casseroles not cornbread. Cornbread should be cooked in a cast iron skillet. If for no other reason...it is the traditional way.
5. Southern cornbread is cooked in a round shape, in a skillet, or as pones. Pones are also known as corncob or corn sticks. The round shape comes from using a round cast iron skillet and the pone shape comes from a cast iron pan that forms the bread into the corncob shape. To me, real Southern cornbread is not made in muffins! That's restaurant cornbread.6. Too much flour. Many recipes call for equal parts flour and corn meal. Southern cornbread should be crumbly and carry the corn meal flavor. It should not have a cake-like texture (which results from too much flour). The flour is there only to help hold it together. A good ratio is 1/3 cup flour to 1 cup corn meal.
7. Eggs in cornbread...well, I'm a little flexible on this one. However, eggs tend to detract from the crumbly texture that makes Southern cornbread so good. I say, "no" to eggs.
Well, these are most of my pet peeves about what many websites call Southern cornbread. It saddens me that people use these recipes and think they are cooking authentic Southern cornbread, when, in fact, most Southerners would not recognize it. You may not agree and I hope I have not offended any sweet cornbread lovers...hey, it's only cornbread.
For a real, authentic Southern cornbread recipe, see www.olsouthrecipes.com/cornbread.html.
