Cornmeal (with recipe)

      Controversy has long waged over the origins of the genus Zea mays, or maize – or if you will, common corn. There are those who assert that it is strictly American in origin; certainly the Native Americans were master corn cultivators long before Europeans set foot on these shores. Others claim that corn reached Europe from the East with the Arab invasions into Spain in the thirteenth century. In Italy, where cornmeal cookery has attained a fine art, the name for corn is granturco – Turkish grain – which certainly points to an Eastern origin.

            Well, East or West, it is a superb food! Nutritionally it contains less protein and niacin than other grains, but unless your diet consists of absolutely nothing but refined cornmeal, your chances of getting pellagra – that old bugbear of cornmeal – are entirely nil. White cornmeal is milled from white corn and is said by some connoisseurs to have a more sophisticated flavor and smoother texture than meal from yellow corn. Yellow cornmeal, on the other hand, has a fuller taste and is more nutritious, for it contains carotene, which is converted by the body into vitamin A.

            Never buy degerminated, overmilled, overheated, synthetic-vitamin-enriched commercial cornmeal – it has little health value and even less taste. Among properly milled whole kernel meals, flavor will vary depending on the type of corn used; buy in small quantities until you find the taste that pleases you. Texture is also a variant; some distributors label as “meal” grinds that are more like flour in fineness. What joy to be able to choose and not be constricted to standardized lifeless products!

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“FOOLPROOF” POLENTA

1 cup polenta (cornmeal)

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 cup cold water

3 cups boiling water

·     Mix polenta and salt. Add 1 cup of cold water and mix well. Add 3 cup of boiling water and stir together until thoroughly blended. Cook over boiling water in a double boiler. Cook for 20 minutes, or until soft, stirring occasionally.

·        You may serve plain, or you may add 2-3 tablespoons of butter and ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Mix together and serve as is or topped with fresh tomato sauce or stir-fried mushrooms.

·        Serves four.