Corn Bread
A handful of hominy, two spoonfuls of butter and lard mixed, three eggs, one cupful of corn meal, and one cupful of milk.
A quick, eggy skillet cornbread — no wheat flour, no sugar, just corn the Southern way.
- “A handful of hominy”Roughly ½ cup of cooked hominy grits or mashed canned hominy, stirred in for softness.
- “Two spoonfuls” of fatAbout 2 Tbsp total of mixed butter and lard, melted; the lard is what gives old cornbread its savory crust.
- No leavening listedThe three eggs are the only lift, so beat them well; for a lighter loaf you can add ½ tsp baking powder.
- Use a hot, greased skilletPour into a preheated, greased cast-iron skillet and bake at about 425°F for a crackling bottom crust.
- White cornmealFor an authentic Southern loaf, use white cornmeal and skip the sugar entirely.
This plain, sugarless loaf is a textbook example of Southern cornbread, and the difference from its Northern cousin is real and long-standing. Southern cooks have traditionally favored white cornmeal, plenty of eggs and fat, and little or no sugar, producing a savory bread meant to sop up pot liquor and gravy. Northern cornbread, by contrast, leaned on yellow meal, wheat flour, and sugar for something closer to cake. The split reflects what each region grew and how each put cornbread to use — as everyday sustenance rather than a sweet.
From page 54 of the 1904 edition.
Original page from the book
