Cornmeal: The Unsung Hero of the Pantry

Over the last few years, I have fallen in love with all forms of cornmeal. It’s incredibly versatile and fun to use. But I used to only think of cornmeal as the main ingredient in cornbread. So what changed? I began to learn more about it and what it can do. While learning though, I became confused about all of the variables that can change which product to pick. Let’s break down the differences between cornmeal and all of the other ground corn products you might see on the shelves of your local stores. Then we’ll take a look at how you can use each one. Let’s dive in!

Cornmeal vs Polenta vs Masa Harina vs Grits

Have the different cornmeal products at the store left you scratching your head in confusion? The packages are often labeled ‘cornmeal/grits/polenta’ or ‘grits/polenta’ or ‘cornmeal/grits’. And masa harina is usually in a separate aisle from the rest, if it’s in the grocery store at all (at least in my area). In fact, Hubby went to two stores to find some so we could try a new recipe, only to wander down every aisle and not find masa harina. On top of the confusing names are the different versions: instant vs steel-ground vs stone-ground. It’s no wonder it’s so hard to pick the right one for your recipe. First thing we need to do is clarify what each of these corn-products are. If you’re a visual person, this article has great photos of what we’re about to talk about.

Let’s break this down!

Cornmeal

Cornmeal is dried corn that’s been ground up. It’s made from field corn (dent corn in the Americas, flint corn in Italy). Field corn differs from the sweet corn we eat off of the cob, with a more upfront corn flavor and softer starch that makes it easier to mill. The biggest variation in cornmeal comes from the size of the grind. This can range anywhere from fine like flour to coarse like kosher salt. Cornmeal also comes in yellow, white, and blue colors depending on the corn.

Polenta

Polenta is an Italian dish made (most commonly) from cornmeal. It’s a thick porridge that can be eaten fresh or allowed to solidify, sliced, and grilled/fried/baked. You can often find the solidified version sold in tubes at the grocery store. Authentic polenta is made from Italian flint corn instead of dent corn. It has a harder starch leading to a more granular texture. Coarsely ground yellow cornmeal is the most common, but finer ground or white cornmeal is also used.

Masa Harina

Masa harina, which means ‘dough flour’, is a type of fine cornmeal that goes through an additional process called nixtamalization. An alkaline solution is added to dried field corn, cooked, steeped, and rinsed, at which point it’s called hominy. The hominy can then be ground up into a dough known as masa. Then, the masa can be dried into cornmeal/flour and that’s masa harina. Nixtamalization loosens the hulls from the kernels, softens the corn, allows your body to absorb nutrients like niacin, and emparts a distinctive flavor. It also allows masa harina to be transformed into a dough with just the addition of water, something standard cornmeal can’t do.

Grits

Grits are a dish made from cornmeal. A thick porridge that can be either sweet or savory, but savory is more popular. The cornmeal used to make grits is a medium to coarse grind, it can be yellow, but white is more common. It can also be made from hominy, which is then called hominy grits. In addition, there’s a lot of instant or quick versions available due grits being a popular breakfast.

Different Grinds

Instant, steel-ground, and stone-ground refer to how the grain was prepared/ground. Instant products have been partially cooked and dried to decrease the time you have to cook it at home. This increased speed comes at the cost of less corn flavor and less nutrients. Steel-ground results in a uniform texture and removes most of the germ and bran from the corn, which makes the finished product have a longer shelf-life but less nutrition. Stone-ground results in a coarser, less uniform texture that leaves more of the germ and bran intact, making it more nutritious. This means it won’t last as long on the shelf, but that time can be extended by keeping it refrigerated/frozen.

Porridge/Mush

Let’s talk porridge, or mush. Grits and polenta are both names for their respective ground corn products, but also the names come from their two ground corn based porridges. You can also make porridge or mush from regular cornmeal or masa harina.

Grits are a staple dish in the Southern United States. They’re usually made with water and/or milk, seasoned with salt and pepper, and finished with butter. Many folks add cheese and any manner of toppings, shrimp being one of my favorites.

Polenta is a classic Italian dish. It can be made with water/stock/milk, seasoned with salt, and finished with butter. Parmesan cheese is an excellent topping, but most things you top pasta with work well on polenta.

Masa harina is commonly made into atole, a Mexican porridge/beverage. It’s made with water and/or milk, some sweetener, and some salt. There are multiple variations with different mix-ins, and the name changes based on the mix-ins. Atole blanco being common with the additions of cinnamon and vanilla.

Many other cultures have cornmeal based porridges. One of my favorites is a Jamaican version which uses coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and several spices. I will often make a porridge that’s a hybrid between many recipes. In fact, I made some of this same porridge and topped it with blueberries during my month of meatless Mondays.

My Go-To Porridge

5:1 liquid to cornmeal ratio. Mix half water and half milk in a medium saucepan. Add salt to taste, spices like cinnamon and ginger, and sweetener of choice (brown sugar, honey, maple syrup). Bring to a boil. While mixing, slowly add your coarse ground cornmeal product of choice to the pot. Reduce to simmer and stir regularly for thirty minutes or until the porridge thickens and grains are soft. Add in extra liquid and mix vigorously if lumps occur. Remove from heat, stir in butter, and top with favorite fruits or nuts.

Baking and Cooking

The cornbread making category! There are many different cornbread recipes out there. These recipes differ from region to region. Some recipes have more flour, others have more cornmeal. You can make it sweet or savory, with various mix-ins, or plain. Basically, you can make cornbread however you like. But cornbread is just scratching the surface of corny baked goods.

You can make cornmeal cakes, muffins, cobblers, dressings, biscuits, scones, cookies, and crackers. There’s even a Southern dish called spoonbread. I haven’t tried all of these myself yet, but I will one day. My favorite from this list that I have tried are cornmeal muffins. Who doesn’t love portable cornbread?

Cooking with cornmeal is great. You can use it in casseroles, dumplings, fritters, fried doughs, grilled/fried/baked polenta, and pancakes to name a few. Cornmeal pancakes are a newer love of mine. They are fluffier than European pancakes, but not quite as fluffy as American style pancakes with crispy edges and a bit more chew. The light, corny flavor goes well with sweet or savory toppings.

Family Favorite

Though I enjoy many things from these lists, I have a special place in my heart for fried polenta. My family makes it as part of Christmas morning breakfast, except we call it cornmeal mush. A day or two before, we cook up a batch of simple polenta/mush with just water and salt. Instead of eating it right then we’ll pour it into loaf pans, smooth it out, cover it, and put it in the fridge. Then, we take out the pans on Christmas morning and slice the now solidified mush into about ½ inch or 1 centimeter slices. We dredge it in flour and fry it in oil and butter on a hot skillet. The slices will brown and crisp on both sides. Served hot and drizzled with maple syrup, everyone comes running when we shout ‘mush is ready’!

Coating/Breading

One of the versatile ways to use cornmeal is to bread other things in it. A popular food to bread in cornmeal is fish. You can deep fry, pan fry, or even bake it. It adds a delightful crunch to a normally softer food. It’s also excellent on various vegetables. My favorites are sweet potatoes and zucchinis. Slice them up like french fries, coat in seasoned flour, then egg, then cornmeal, and cook them how you like.

Corn dogs are an American classic that also have cornmeal breading. A thick batter is made from cornmeal, a sausage or hotdog on a stick is dunked into this batter until it is completely encased, then the entire thing is deep fried until it’s a deep golden brown.

Another common use for cornmeal is to liberally sprinkle the underside of dough with it to create a non-stick coating. Pizza is the first dough that comes to mind. Any bread dough you want to add a little extra crunch to or prevent sticking would work well.

Final Thoughts

Whether you have cornmeal, polenta, grits, masa harina, or any combination of the four in your pantry/fridge, I hope you had fun learning about the differences and similarities with me. The most versatile of the bunch for my money is a coarser, stone-ground cornmeal. Just know that ‘grits’ or ‘polenta’ might appear on the label instead of ‘cornmeal’. You could grind it down farther yourself with a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle if you needed something finer.

If you’re looking for some fun cornmeal recipes to try, here’s thirty from Taste of Home. Also, feel free to share what your favorite cornmeal recipes are down below, I’d love to see what else I’ve been missing!

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