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Rhode Island Dumplings

A cornmeal dumpling boiled in water, served with meat gravies or cooked potatoes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Rhode Island Dumplings

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the dough

  1. In a bowl, mix cornmeal and salt.

  2. Add cold water gradually until stiff dough forms.

  3. Shape the dough into small balls.

Cook and serve

  1. Place the balls at the bottom and around the sides of a kettle.

  2. Pour boiling water over the dumplings.

  3. Boil briskly for 1 hour.

  4. Serve with meat gravies or cooked potatoes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 dumplings, giving them their starchy, firm texture.
Cold water
Hydrates the cornmeal so it binds into a stiff dough that holds its shape.
Salt
Seasons the dumplings through the cornmeal dough.

The step that matters

Add cold water gradually until stiff dough forms. Cornmeal absorbs water at different rates, so adding it slowly lets you stop at a stiff dough. Too much water makes dumplings that collapse or turn mushy while boiling.

“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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