I want to make cornbread like my mother did, she was from Kentucky - we called it cornbread, my father called it pone, his father was from Arkansas. The ingredients were extremely basic (rural Kentucky) and had what I call a cripy bottom and sides (baked in an iron skillet) and was absolutely the best cornbread ever. Don't all mother make the best? Several aunts and a grandmother made cornbread just like it, so I'm assuming that it's a univeral (Kentucky, universal?) recipe - there are none of these wonderful ladies left to ask. Thanks, Jerry

-- Jerry Cummings (futures8@bellsouth.net), August 25, 1999

Answers

What you are seeking sounds a LOT like my old standby...Sourdough Cornbread.

1 cup sourdough starter 1 1/2 cups cormeal (I grind my own from whole corn) 1 1/2 cups milk (I use 1/3 cup powdered milk) 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons sugar (I usually use molasses) 1/4 cup melted butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Mix together all dry ingredients Mix together all wet ingredients Combine and bake in a PREHEATED cast iron fry pan, about 400F for 25 min. Serve hot. Sometimes I add diced ham. Sometimes diced chili peppers. Sometimes grated cheese (chedder). First class YUM.

I have found that the best cornbreads do NOT have ANY wheat flour in them. The grittiness of the cornbread is a direct measure of how fine is the corn meal. If too gritty, grind your meal into flour.

Now that I have written this I need to go make one.

-- Nick (nikoda@pdqnet.com), August 25, 1999.

Nick's recipe sounds great. The main thing is the corn.

Grinding it yourself will insure good quaility, but you need to start with good tasting corn. Some corn (any variety) will be pretty stale. It may have been in a bin for a winter and summer. Try grinding mature, hard corn fresh out of the field. You may discover some of the "best cornbread" again. Personally, I love Black Aztect for a superb corn meal. My husband starts drooling while grinding it just from the aroma. It is some I grow myself. Hard to buy really fresh corn, even from health food stores.

Good Luck.

-- Kathy Dice (redfernfarm@lisco.com), August 28, 1999.

The cornbread you want might not be just the recipe. My family is from KY (rural) and I'm here now. The one trick I remember mom and g-ma doing was using bacon grease in the cast-iron skillet. Make sure you get the grease and the skillet hot before you put the batter in. I make my cornbread with cornmeal only, no flour. I use enough eggs to make it the right consistancy. If I make ho-cakes,(cornbread pancakes) I use 2/3 cornmeal, 1/3 flour, eggs, and a little milk. Then fry like your making pancakes. But the crispy taste your looking for is the bacon grease being hot in the skillet so that it sizzles when you pour in the batter.

-- Lisa Scruggs (lisafrm1@aol.com), August 30, 1999.

I agree, its the bacon grease that makes all the difference. My cornbread also has a pinch of cayenne and 2 Tbsp. brown sugar in it. I got the recipe from my grandma who was from oklahome though. But definatly the bacon grease!!

-- jenny pipes (auntjenny6@aol.com), September 09, 1999.

If you don't have the bacon grease to coat the side and bottom of your pan, just do as I do. Preheat your oven.Put the butter for your recipe in the pan you are going to use to bake it in. After the butter has melted, pour it in with the rest of your ingredients. What remains on the bottom and sides will make the cornbread bake up nice and crispy.

-- Katrina Ninness (kittle1@otbnet.com), October 02, 1999.

I realize that it has been a while since you posted your question about cornbread, but I just found this site and I thought you would be interested. It is supposed to have 158 cornbread recipes!

http://soar.berkeley.edu/recipes/baked-goods/breads/cornbreads/indexall.html

-- CC (car-col@usa.net), October 10, 1999.

I agree with the bacon grease fans, heat the skillet in the oven with bacon grease. When smoking hot add batter and bake for about 20 minutes until bread pulls away from the side of the pan. This does for a nice crisp cornbread!!!

-- cara lewis (cnllewis@email.com), December 14, 1999.