Mush, Or, As the Italians Call It, Polenta
Ingredients
Directions
Add a little salt to the boiling water.
Carefully sprinkle the corn meal into the boiling water while stirring constantly with a spoon.
Boil for 45 minutes, stirring continuously to prevent burning.
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
- Indian corn meal
- Forms the main body of the dish, thickening into a soft, porridge-like mass as its starch swells in boiling water.
The step that matters
Sprinkling the corn meal into the boiling water. Adding the meal slowly while stirring constantly prevents lumps, because dry meal hitting hot water clumps before it can disperse. Continued stirring during the long boil keeps the starch from settling and 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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