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While enjoying warm cornbread, slathered with butter, the history of cornbread isn’t foremost in our minds. The taste of this easy to prepare, yellow, crumbly bread is what we appreciate.

 

Linda: I looked up some cornbread history. Archeologists believe that corn originated in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico 7,000 years ago where it was roasted, ground into meals, formed into cakes and simmered in stews. I also discovered there are big controversies about cornbread.

 

Lucy: I’ve also been studying different cornbread recipes. It does seem that there are northern recipes and southern recipes. Cornbread has been more of an everyday bread in the south, while in the north it’s more often an accompaniment to certain meals.

 

Linda: Yes, I read that cornbread is considered a staple in many southern homes. And even in the south, opinions on it differ. One website described the variations, “Is it sweet, or is it savory? Do you add sugar or molasses? Should you add actual corn kernels, cheese, peppers or even bacon?”

 

Lucy: And there are differences in the actual type of pan used. In the south heavy cast iron seems to be the choice. Northerners generally use a simple baking dish. Northern-style cornbread batter is more like a corn muffin batter and is actually often baked as a muffin.

Linda: Well, it’s quite confusing and I don’t know how our recipes would be categorized. I know you found a recipe called Biltmore Cornbread. 

 

Lucy: After reading about different versions of cornbread, this might be more of a northern recipe. However, I found it in a magazine put out by the Biltmore Estate. Whatever the classification, it’s tasty.

 

Linda: I have a recipe that might be more Texan. It’s called Pepper-Jack Cornbread Sticks. You use a cast iron pan that makes sticks that look like little ears of corn. And it only takes five ingredients

 

Lucy: I recently tried a recipe called Zucchini Cornbread. It’s completely different than most cornbread recipes. It calls for several different vegetables plus cornbread stuffing mix. It could be served as a side dish casserole with pork or chicken.

 

Linda: Let’s dig out our recipes. We’ll let our readers decide if they fit a northern or southern description of cornbread. What’s most important, “do they taste good”!

 

Biltmore Cornbread Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups corn meal, regular not self-rising

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

1½ cups buttermilk

½ cup melted butter (one stick)

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels thawed

1 cup cooked bacon, diced (about 10 slices)

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl whisk together corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter, then fold in the corn and bacon. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake approximately 30 minutes, until golden brown.

 

Pepper Jack Cornbread Sticks

Ingredients

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

3/4 c. Creamed Corn

3 oz. Pepper Jack

2 large eggs

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Set 2 cast-iron cornbread-stick pans in the top-third of oven until hot, about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except butter. Stir until batter just comes together; do not overmix.

Carefully remove pans from oven and brush each cornbread-stick mold with butter. Fill each mold with about 2 tablespoons batter. Bake until sticks are golden and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove pans from oven and, immediately, using a sharp knife, release sticks. Serve warm with additional butter.

Zucchini Cornbread Casserole

4 bacon slices

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 6 oz box cornbread stuffing mix

1 cup milk

2 small shredded zucchini

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup shredded cheese

 

Cook bacon until crisp. Cool and crumble bacon,. Saute onions, peppers, celery, and garlic in bacon drippings for 5 minutes. Combine stuffing, season packet, and milk and let stand for 10 minutes. Add bacon, veggies, zucchini, and egg. Spread into an 11 x 7 pan. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.