Tips & Tricks: Cornbread
Martha White helps you measure up in the kitchen so your family and friends think you're a pro.
Cornbread Basics
Cornbread Dressing
Cornbread Sweetness and Color
Cornbread's Best Friend: Cast Iron
White vs. Yellow Cornbread
Cornbread Basics
Great Southern cornbread is soft and moist on the inside with a deep golden brown crust on the outside. The three requirements for perfect Southern cornbread are: 1. Good Southern corn meal. 2. Creamy, pourable batter, like thick pancake batter. 3. Hot, cast-iron cookware.
Cornbread Dressing
Try dried sage leaves in your dressing instead of ground sage. Ground sage can turn dressings an unappetizing shade of green, especially if you prefer a lot of flavor.
Cornbread Sweetness and Color
The debate rages on among cornbread lovers. For Southern purists, the sugar bowl doesn't come near the batter, and they prefer white corn meal. Residents in the Southwest prefer unsweetened cornbread made with yellow corn meal. And everywhere else, people like their cornbread yellow and sweet.
Cornbread's Best Friend: Cast Iron
The secret to great Southern cornbread is a well-seasoned cast-iron pan. "Seasoning" gives iron cookware its smooth, natural non-stick finish. It takes a little time and care, but good cornbread is worth it.
White vs. Yellow Cornbread
White corn meal (made from white corn) and yellow corn meal (made from yellow corn) have slightly different flavors. Personal preferences are often associated with the areas where white or yellow corn grows. Martha White corn meal is made from whole kernel corn including the sweet germ and bran. The sweet germ and corn oil provide the nutlike flavor of corn; the bran contributes the characteristic texture.
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