Baked Corn Mush
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Ensure the cornmeal is fresh.
Wet the cornmeal with cold water.
Cook and bake
Add salt to the boiling water and gradually stir in the cornmeal.
Pour the mixture into a buttered pan.
Bake for 3 to 4 hours at 300°F (150°C) until the surface is rich brown.
Serve
Serve with cream and sugar or syrup.
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 body of the mush, thickening as it cooks and setting into a firm, sliceable mass.
- Boiling water
- Hydrates and gelatinises the cornmeal starch, turning the grains into a thick porridge.
- Cold water
- Wets the cornmeal before adding it to hot water, helping it mix in evenly without lumps.
The step that matters
Bake until the surface is rich brown. Long, dry baking browns the surface through Maillard reactions between sugars and proteins, adding flavour. Stopping early leaves the top pale and the centre too wet to set firmly.
“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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