8/16/2019 A History of American Cuisine

1/6

A History of American Cuisine, Part I

And a simple cornbread recipe

BY JOSEPH BYR

Email

Print

!a"orite

Comments

clic# to $ip t%rou&% '()

S#illet cornbread* P%oto by !lic#r user a+ian& Stef* Creati"e Commons Attributionicense*

S#illet cornbread* P%oto by !lic#r user a+ian& Stef* Creati"e Commons Attributionicense*

-.%ere is no /American cuisine01- in2uired 3ero 4olfe* -Ha"e you eaten 5arylandterrapin ste6ed 6it% butter

and c%ic#en brot% and Bourbon1-

-3o*-

-Ha"e you eaten a plan#ed porter%ouse stea#, t6o inc%es t%ic#, c%arred on t%eoutside, but surrenderin& %ot 7 red 8uice under t%e #nife, escorted by t%ic# slices offres% 9in& Bolete mus%rooms faintly underdone1-:

-3o*-

-Or paper;t%in sliced Smit%

8/16/2019 A History of American Cuisine

2/6

belly;fodder compared 6it% its namesa#e in 3e6 Orleans, 6it% Atlantic red snapper,=ulf oysters, and

bayou cray

8/16/2019 A History of American Cuisine

3/6

.%e fact t%at t%ere 6as no sin&le state, but a &roup of independent royal En&lis%c%arters, allo6ed di"ersity in diet from t%e start* A mid;day dinner in ruralPennsyl"ania 6ould be "ery diDerent from t%at on a Carolina plantation, or fromstreet food in .%e Bo6ery*

.o t%e initial presence of Britis%, utc%, !renc% and Spanis% food, successi"e 6a"esof immi&ration added culinary in$uences from =ermany, Ireland, Scandina"ia andItaly* 5ean6%ile, t%e under&round but per"asi"e in$uence of sla"ery played its rolein t%e Sout%* !ollo6in& t%e anne+ation of .e+as, 5e+ican border states de"elopedt%eir o6n re&ional cuisine* Je6s brou&%t Baltic and Sla"ic in$uences to t%e urban3ort%east, and coolie laborers in California added C%inese* By t%e early years of t%e( t% century, t%e nited States 6as repository to a sta&&erin& le&acy of foods*

But t%at le&acy 6as not a literal one* .%e diDerences t%at e"ol"ed o"er time anddistance 6ere substantial* .%ere 6ere also critical diDerences in in&redients,preparation, and indeed, diDerences of life and culture* .%ere is no suc% t%in& as-c%op suey- in C%ina, -c%ili- in 5e+ico or -frenc% fries- in !rance, and a C%ica&o;style deep;dis% pi a 6ould be considered an embarrassment in 3aples* Americanfood for&ed a uni2ue pat%, i&norin& t%e entreaties and scoDs of purists, collectin& Fli#e a ma&pie F s%iny bits of metal and pieces of strin&, seemin&ly random t%in&s*But in t%e end, it is not random* It is a #ind of &enius* It is its o6n t%in&*

.oday I 6ant to be&in a series of 8ourneys t%rou&% America0s culinary past* It 6ouldbe interestin& 'and often amusin&) to s%are early recipes, or -receipts- as t%ey 6erecalled* But instead I 6ant to select useful ones, ones I0"e actually tested* Obsessin&about t%e past is as bad as i&norin& it*

5y

8/16/2019 A History of American Cuisine

4/6

7 .%e best corn bread 6e e"er ate 6as from meal 6ell;#neaded, 6it% not%in& but6ater and a little salt, and t%en made into lumps about t%e si e and some6%at t%es%ape of a man0s foot, and ra#ed in t%e embers 8ust li#e potatoes to roast, and t%ereallo6ed to remain and coo# all ni&%t* Remember t%e t%ree &rand secrets aboutba#in& &ood corn bread 3e"er &rind your meal "ery t%in, al6ays %a"e it fres%;

&round, and ne"er fear ba#in& it too muc%*

F Solon Robinson, 5id6estern pioneer and aut%or, >@KK

.%in, dense and $at, cornca#es 6ere t%e perfect 6ay to transport %ealt%y food forlon& distances o"er periods of time 6it% minimal 6ei&%t* .o&et%er 6it% 8er#ed"enison and pemmican, -pone- became a staple of t%e pioneers* Alon& t%e 6ay,some brilliant 6oman made a critical impro"ement, t%e addition of e&&, and t%at isits tradition*

Cornbread 6as t%e natural fodder for a nation of constantly s%iftin& demo&rap%ics,of poor 6%ites and blac#s see#in& a better life* isdainin& c%arity and %andouts, t%esee#ers made do 6it% 6%at t%ey %ad* In t%is on&oin& American 2uest for

independence, cornbread played its role F t%e most democratic of foods*

In %is boo# Serious Pi&, Jo%n .%orne describes &rindin& %is o6n meal from #ernels-.%ey loo#ed li#e tiny &lass beads, and t%ey &round up somet%in& li#e t%at, too* .oturn t%em into meal 6as an arm;6renc%in& e+perience* .%e mill 6as bolted do6n tot%e #itc%en counter, 6%ic%, underneat% its linoleum "eneer, 6as an inc%;t%ic# pieceof ply6ood* E"en so, I 6as sure t%at I 6as &oin& to rip a c%un# ri&%t out of it before I6as done* Enou&% cornmeal for one small cornbread 6as a %alf %our0s &rindin&*-E"er 6onder 6%at basic food preparation 6as li#e 6%en you did it all yourself, fromscratc%1

.%orne continues -But it 6as lo"ely, fra&rant stuD, and t%e resultin& cornbread 6asdelicious, possessin& tiny $a"or notes t%at are lon& &one by t%e time cornmealarri"es from t%e mill*-

8/16/2019 A History of American Cuisine

5/6

.%e modern ta#e on cornbread is about additions and impro"ements, and I0m as&uilty as anyone F I0"e made it 6it% layers of c%eddar c%eese or c%ili in t%e middle,or s%redded pepper 8ac# on top, 6it% 8alapenos, 6it% &arlic, 6it% %oney, and 6it%corn fres%ly s%eared from t%e cob* Ideally, %o6e"er, cornbread s%ould taste li#ecorn, and not%in& else*

.%ree of my most trusted sources claim t%at 6%ite cornmeal %as more $a"or* But6%ere can you buy it1 I searc%ed Eure#a 3atural !oods, t%e Co;op and 4ildberries*In fact, 6%ere I found it 6as Safe6ay in Arcata, in t6o;pound bo+es used mostly fortortilla ma#in& by t%e atino community*

3ote in t%e recipe t%e absence of -Clabber =irl- or ot%er ba#in& po6der* .%e use ofaluminum sulfate in ba#in& po6der introduces a -metallic- oD;$a"or, so soda andtartar are used instead to boost lea"enin&* Still, t%is is not a puDy ca#e*

Basic Sout%ern S#illet Cornbread

7 'adapted from a recipe by Jo%n and 5att .%orne in Serious Pi&)

Put a 6ell;oiled: @;inc% cast;iron s#illet in a L ;de&ree o"en for L minutes*

> cup 6%ite corn meal

>M( t ba#in& soda

>M t cream of tartar

>M( t sea salt

> lar&e e&&> cup buttermil#, or yo&urt mi+ed 6it% mil#

':> . bacon &rease, lard or peanut oil for t%e s#illet)

8/16/2019 A History of American Cuisine

6/6

77 4%is# t%e e&&, addin& li2uid, t%en pour t%e dry in&redients t%rou&% a strainer toremo"e lumps, and 6%is# a&ain*

77 4%en t%e pan is ready, remo"e F %otN F pour batter in, t%en ba#e for >L;(minutes* Bread s%ould be set and &olden bro6n 6%en done*

77 Remo"e from o"en, and in"ert o"er a cuttin& board 'ot%er6ise it 6ill continue tocoo# and become dry)* Allo6 to cool >;( minutes before slicin&* Ser"e %ot, 6it%butter*

.%is 6as t%e simplest recipe I0"e e"er encountered* I 6as s#eptical*

But omi&od* I0m no6 a de"out belie"er* It 6as t%e best cornbread I0"e e"er tasted,so &ood 6e i&nored most of t%e meal, cuttin& oD and butterin& little 6ed&es until6e felt li#e .%an#s&i"in& tur#eys ready for t%e o"en* '4e 6ere also testin& Or&anicGalley -cultured butter,- 6%ic% is t%e perfect accompaniment*) Simpler is not 8ustbetter it is %ea"en*