Cornmeal Mush
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Bring 2 pints of water to a boil in a kettle.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the boiling water.
Cook the mush
Gradually stir in 1 cup of cornmeal, sifting it through your fingers while stirring.
Cook the mixture on low heat for 1 to 2 hours, stirring often.
For a thicker consistency, add flour at the end if frying.
If using a double boiler, mix cornmeal and salt with a little cold water, then pour in boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 hours.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal
- Forms the thick body of the mush as its starch swells and gelatinises in hot water.
- Flour
- Adds body and thickness when added at the end for a firmer mush for frying.
The step that matters
Gradually stir in the cornmeal. Adding cornmeal slowly while stirring keeps the grains separated so they hydrate evenly. Dumping it in at once forms lumps that stay dry inside.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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