Mush or Porridge
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
In a porcelain vessel, combine the grain and salt.
Add enough water to moisten, but do not overdo it.
Cook
Cover the pot and place it in a 350°F (175°C) oven.
Cook for several hours or overnight.
Serve
To serve, eat as is or let it cool, then cut into thin slices.
Fry the slices in a pan until golden brown.
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 main body of the porridge as its starch thickens during slow cooking.
- Oatmeal
- Can replace the cornmeal, giving a similar starchy body when slowly cooked.
- Cracked wheat
- Can replace the cornmeal, providing starch that softens and thickens during long cooking.
- Hominy
- Can replace the cornmeal, giving a starchy, tender base after long cooking.
The step that matters
Adding the water. Too much water makes the grain soggy and loose instead of a firm mass that can be sliced and fried. Add just enough to moisten the grain.
“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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