Fried Corn Meal Mush
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.
Make the mush
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a pot.
Slowly whisk in 1 cup of cornmeal and a pinch of salt.
Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a greased dish and let it cool until firm.
Fry and serve
Cut into slices and fry in hot oil until golden brown on both sides.
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
- Starch thickens as it cooks and sets firm when cooled, giving the mush its body.
- Oil
- Conducts heat to the slices and browns their surface, creating a crisp golden crust.
The step that matters
Whisk the cornmeal in slowly and keep stirring. Adding cornmeal slowly into boiling water while whisking prevents lumps. Constant stirring during cooking keeps the starch evenly hydrated and stops it from scorching on the bottom of the pot.
“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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