If a recipe requires cornmeal, you may end up within the grain aisle, staring down baggage of grits, polenta, coarse cornmeal, superb cornmeal, blue cornmeal, corn flour, and a acquainted field of Jiffy. Which do you flip to? All cornmeals have a objective, and we’re right here that can assist you discover the correct one for the job.
What’s cornmeal, although?
Cornmeal is dried, floor subject corn (not the identical kind of candy corn we eat off the cob) that ranges in texture from superb to medium to coarse. The scale of the grind signifies how briskly the cornmeal will soak up water (smaller grind = sooner absorption), which is why coarsely floor grits take so lengthy to stew into creamy goodness.
Like wine and honey, cornmeal has terroir, a elaborate phrase for distinct native taste. “Flavors vary from vegetable-y, carroty notes to floral apricots. And simply the tiniest trace of citrus,” says Roxana Jullapat, baker and writer of Mom Grains. “Corn has a phenomenal grounding taste.” If yow will discover native cornmeal at your grocery retailer, swoop it up. Loads of nice on-line mills, comparable to Anson Mills, additionally promote heirloom varieties in a spread of eye-catching colours and distinctive flavors—discover our favourite mills right here. Now, again to the grind.
Sorts of cornmeal:
Cornmeal might be categorized primarily by two elements: colour and grind measurement. Yellow cornmeal has essentially the most distinguished corn taste, whereas white cornmeal has a extra refined, delicate taste (it’s particularly good in a ricotta cornmeal cake). Blue cornmeal is normally an heirloom selection with indigenous roots throughout the American South. It has a candy, distinctive taste and putting lavender-blue colour. Be taught extra about it and do that selection from Anson Mills.
Now for the grind measurement. Corn flour is the smallest, silkiest grind of cornmeal. (Don’t confuse it with cornflour, the British time period for cornstarch.) Dried corn is floor to a near-powder, giving it the comfortable texture of all-purpose flour—however most corn flour is totally gluten-free. Search for manufacturers made with only one ingredient: natural, whole-grain corn, just like the one from Bob’s Pink Mill. Use it to make melt-in-your-mouth sablé cookies, gentle tempura batter, or crispy Cachapas.
High quality and medium cornmeal are your each day, do-it-all cornmeals. High quality-grind cornmeal is greatest for baking tasks the place you need a tender crumb, like pound cake, strawberry snacking cake, and corn muffins. It’s additionally perfect for hushpuppy batter and crusting candy potato wedges. As for one of the best cornmeal for cornbread, both fine- or medium-grind cornmeal is a good selection. Medium-grind cornmeal will convey barely extra texture and grittiness to the batter, which you’ll or might not need (it’s as much as you!).
