Polenta
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Bring water to a boil in a pot.
Gradually whisk in the maize meal to avoid lumps.
Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened (about 30 minutes).
Add salt to taste and serve hot.
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
- Maize meal
- Forms the thick body of the dish as its starch swells and gelatinises in hot water.
The step that matters
Whisking in the maize meal. Adding the meal gradually into boiling water lets each grain separate and hydrate, which prevents lumps. Dumping it in at once clumps the starch, and those clumps are hard to smooth out later.
“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.
More polenta recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.