What Is Cornmeal and Which Type Should You Buy? (2024)

FAQs

What Is Cornmeal and Which Type Should You Buy? ›

Yellow cornmeal has the most prominent corn flavor, while white cornmeal has a more subtle, delicate flavor (it's especially nice in a ricotta cornmeal cake). Blue cornmeal is usually an heirloom variety with indigenous roots across the American South. It has a sweet, unique flavor and striking lavender-blue color.

Types of Cornmeal

Besides the difference in grinds, cornmeal can be made from blue, white, or yellow corn. Stone-ground cornmeal is labeled as such or can also be called “water ground,” and you can usually assume unlabeled cornmeal is made through the steel roller process.

It ranges in texture from fine to coarse. For this recipe, I like to use coarse cornmeal because it adds that traditional cornbread texture. When you mix it with flour, it provides the perfect crumb. I prefer to use stone-ground cornmeal, which you can find in the baking aisle or bulk bins.

While either white or yellow cornmeal will technically work when making cornbread, yellow does make for a softer more tender bread. Milk is what is going to make sure our bread stays nice and moist as it acts as the binding agent. Baking powder is key for getting a nice tender and fluffy crumb.

The recommended coarseness of the cornmeal you buy depends on how you intend to use it. Regular “cornmeal” in fine or medium grinds is best for baking and dredging, while medium or coarse grinds (including those labeled polenta or grits) are better suited for porridge.

Fine-grind cornmeal is best for baking projects where you want a tender crumb, like pound cake, strawberry snacking cake, and corn muffins. It's also ideal for hushpuppy batter and crusting sweet potato wedges. As for the best cornmeal for cornbread, either fine- or medium-grind cornmeal is a great choice.

White corn contains white or cream kernels, and yellow corn kernels can be pale yellow to dark yellow. Nutritional value: Yellow corn contains slightly more nutritional value than white corn because the pigment that makes corn yellow, beta carotene, turns into vitamin A when digested.

Cornmeal: You can use any grind of cornmeal (fine, medium, or coarse), but we prefer a fine or medium grind. I especially enjoy the flavor of Bob's Red Mill's stone-ground cornmeal. Note that bags labeled as polenta are likely cornmeal. If you already have polenta at home, you can use it to make cornbread.

Soaking the cornmeal in buttermilk for a few hours, or even overnight, tenderizes the large grains of cornmeal, making the bread more moist and tender.

Cornmeal is sold in 5-pound bags. There is a "best if used by" date rather than an expiration date. This means there is an opportunity to extend the shelf life of cornmeal; if it's stored under good conditions, cornmeal will keep for about one year. To assure the best quality over time, use the following storage ideas.

What is the difference between Yankee cornbread and Southern cornbread? ›

The thing that distinguishes Southern cornbread from, say Yankee cornbread, or any other cornbread one is likely to eat outside of the southern states, is that it is savory, not sweet, and it is made mostly with cornmeal.

Coarse cornmeal can be used in the breading for fried chicken or crusty fish, whereas fine cornmeal is preferred for baking muffins, cakes, and cornbread. Some cooks may swap medium- or coarse-ground cornmeal in place of regular polenta in a pinch.

Blue corn is a nutritious corn variety native to Mexico. This variety of corn is easier to digest than its yellow counterpart, as it has less indigestible starch. It also has about 20% more protein than yellow corn and a lower glycemic index. This means less sugar spikes and crashes.

Use in baking to add texture and flavour to biscuits and cookies and for making delicious cornbread. Cornmeal is great too for making traditional Jamaican-style cornmeal porridge, classic creamy polenta dishes, tasty American-style corndogs and can also be used as a thickener for soups and stews.

"For extra crispy use stone-ground yellow cornmeal.

If you're in the market for something authentic, try Anson Mills Antebellum Fine Yellow Cornmeal. The cornmeal is top-rated by America's Test Kitchen and produces moist baked goods and unparalleled cornbread.

If the recipe does not specify, use finely ground. The test kitchen's favorite finely ground cornmeal is Arrowhead Mills Organic Yellow Cornmeal. THE BOTTOM LINE: Feel free to use white and yellow cornmeal interchangeably in recipes since flavor differences are minor.

The corn flour used in Latin American cooking is made from precooked corn; this distinguishes it from cornmeal, which is ground from uncooked dried corn. But unless you're familiar with the various corn flour terms, it's easy to confuse them.