Cornmeal Mush Recipe

I added more water. For all cornmeal mush, here's a simple ratio to remember: 1-1-2, meaning: 1c cold water, 1c corn meal, 2c boiling water. Add 1c corn meal to 1c cold water, stir. Pour cold mixture into 2c boiling water. The ratio will always stay the same, so increase or decrease amounts proportionally according to ratio. Thickening times will vary. Stir till thickened..

I will not make this particular recipe again. I knew as soon as I put the first spoonful in my mouth that this was not what I remembered from childhood. So, I went looking in an old cook book and found what I was looking for. 1 cup corn meal mixed with 1/2 cup cold water and /2 tsp. Salt. Boil 4 cups of water, add cornmeal and simmer for 30 min. Nice and creamy. This recipe doesn't cook the cornmeal long enough and is very gritty. Should be smooth like cream of wheat.

My grandmother lived on a farm im Ohio and made corn meal mush. We can trace her ancestry back to the American Revolution .(D.A.R.) She used the corn they grew. This is a very traditional American dish. Nothing hispanic about it. I also use the 1 1 2 ratio. Chill the loaf, slice it 1/2" thick and fry it in butter. Maple Syrup to top it. I liked the idea of an over easy egg. I want to try that. I wish someone could remove the negative and inaccurate comment. This is American comfort food.

first off, in response to the person who gave it one star and said it was really "harine de mas" or some such nonsense: there may very well be a mexican dish like this. the the author was certainly NOT "ripping off" the recipe without giving proper credit. in quebec (canada) the french farmers have been making this for hundreds of years, without any influence or contact with any hispanics. we also have our own name for it, but it is irrelevant here: this is an ENGLISH-language site! :) second, we make it and chill it for frying. as written, the recipe doesn't work so well for frying. the reader who mentioned the 1-1-2 ratio is correct. that is what we've always used, and it's perfect every time. thank you for posting this!

I truly enjoyed this recipe! It was a meal that was a favorite for breakfast prepared by my Grandmother, who was ever warning that 'bad times' were ahead, while reminiscing about The Great Depression. I do not believe she used any particular recipe or ratio of ingredients, she just 'whipped up a batch' from decades of practice. Probably with different amounts of ingredients each time I observed her as a child. I did observe, as closely as I was allowed, not much, I was 12 or so when I first began cooking breakfast for my younger Brothers and myself (not always successfully), and I enjoyed the task. Since becoming an adult I have continued the practice, feeding my fellow bachelor Friends what I called: grub, sustenance, or victuals. I eventually expanded beyond breakfast, to lunch, and dinner items. I have learned to tweak recipes to meet or match my preferred flavor profiles and textures for completed dishes. This time, I first lowered the heat, while still stirring constantly, then removed from heat entirely, still stirring constantly, as the mixture thickened, I hastily added margarine, granulated sugar, and a slice of American cheese (divided into four equal sections). At that point, I stopped stirring and covered the pot a few minutes. After waiting for that to melt &steam together, I stirred in the butter, granulated sugar and cheese to make it a rich, smooth consistency. Before heating, the corn meal did threaten to clump. I systematically burst each of those lumps as they appeared while I kept stirring. I'm happy to say the result was marvelous! Truly exceptional and far better than Grandma's ever was. 😀

I made this recipe with one part corn meal and two parts water and the result was a big sticky glob . The corn meal soaked up all of the water ! I then kept adding water one - half part water at a time and my best result was one part corn meal to three and a half parts water . I added coffee creamer and sugar to my recipe and then it was perfect ! I used a "PRESTO INSTA - POT " cooker and first I was going to pressure cook it but it would not produce steam so I just left the cover off . With my experience behind me and no bad results , I don't recommend pressure cooking this as it may cause the corn meal to burn . I had this as a kid growing up in the 1960's so this is the first time that I have had it since ! I used to eat this as a kid growing up in the 1960's and I have to say that this is the first time that I have tried it since !

I always made this with the 1-1-2 recipe. My Grandma made it for my dad using chicken broth and small pieces of chicken. She put it in a loaf pan. Mom would slice it dredge in flour and fry. Dad put butter salt and pepper on it and ate it for breakfast w/ over easy eggs.

The other reviewers are correct, it takes at least 4 cups of water to one cup of cornmeal to be able to cook this until it’s no longer “raw and gritty” tasting. Once I added the extra water, I wisked it continuously for about 10 or 15 minutes while it simmered, then it was finally tender and creamy.

The best way to cook this very simple dish, is to do it in a slow cooker. Just add 4 cups of water to 1 cup of corn meal and salt to taste and let it cook to the consistency of a cream. If you want to get fancy, add corn nibblets into the mix, and then top the finished dish with 1 or 2 fried eggs and/or chile con carne or sloppy joe.

First I want to address the person calling this a rip off. My German great great Grandmother brought this over many many years ago. And no Hispanic blood in our lines. So before you start bad mouthing we all have similar dishes and under different names. Also I use 3 cups water as that is what my Mom taught me. I fine it makes a smoother less lumpy batch. I always have to double recipe so I can make a loaf for my daughter as well. Brings back great memories of fried mush with Karo syrup on top.

I'm not appreciating these negative comments , either. My family is Native American and this recipe is a breakfast staple of ours. Fried in butter and Crisco and served up with some fried eggs and shedded venizen , put raw honey over the top of it. It's a good , hearty meal for those cold winter days! Yum!! Also, I think this recipe is getting confused with farina, slight difference in the processing.

I made the 1-1-2 preparation adjustment that others suggested and it came out perfect! I plan to include this in a meal of homemade pinto beans and spice red sauce. 😋

Awesome recipe. I rather use honey than sugar.

For a single serving, use the microwave. I prefer a 4 to 1 ratio of water to meal. By using a microwave safe bowl, it avoids the cleanup of a cooking pot. I use just less than a quarter cup of cornmeal, then using the same measure, four just less than a quarter cup measures of cold water. Stir so the meal is evenly distributed in the water. Microwave 1 minute on full power, then stir. Return to microwave, then repeat the heat and stir steps for 30 seconds until the cornmeal is fully cooked. The number of 30 second heat/stir repetitions depends on the temperatures of the water, the power of your microwave, and the amount you put in the bowl. Just sample some residue from the stirring spoon after each heat/stir cycle and make certain the cornmeal is fully cooked and not crunchy or grainy between the teeth. Experiment with the water to meal ratio and find the amounts more to your liking. I like 4:1, others swear by 3:1. By using the microwave, it tends to shorten cooking time and limit cleanup to just your measuring cup, the bowl, and a spoon. Once you find the measurements of water and meal that suit your various family members, cooking single servings also helps avoid leftovers. Big appetites might appreciate 1/3 cup of meal. Light appetites might like an amount of meal approaching 1/6th cup.

First, no reason to insult the writer. Cultures have variations of the same dishes. My Amish great-grandmother taught my grandma this dish in the late 1800s. I grew up having this for supper and then fried for breakfast. I had forgotten the recipe. This really helped. I made it as written. Thank you.

So fresh and full of flavor.

Thank you, Kathryn! Just like my granny (from Arkansas- German ancestry) used to make! Should have used honey. -LC

My mom introduced this recipe to me as a child on our wood cook stove. She'd double batch it to eat as a hot dish with butter, salt, and pepper. Then she'd put the rest in a loaf pan, put in fridge and slice it to fry it. Whoever said this is harina de maiz is stupid. Harina means flour in Spanish and that's pretty much what Maseca is.... corn flour. Us cooks who know what we're talking about know that corn meal is a much coarser texture, not a fine one. One star? This stuff is comfort food at its finest! The hater doesn't know what they're saying. I said what I said y'all! About it being a Hispanic dish, I'm not sure it's 100% exclusive. My Moms side of family has Native American, German, Irish, and probably other cultures that I'm not aware of yet. No Hispanic culture here. It's just passed down from one family or friend to another from all walks of life. That's how we have food variations that we have today. 200 years from now, they will be different than what they are now. Peace out and enjoy the good food!

We loved the mush and I'll be frying what's left. Just a thought... Corn became a food item in Central America about 7,000 years ago. The European explorers took it home with them in the 1400s. I think today it is pretty hard to say which food belongs to what culture. The potato was critical to starving Irish yet it came from South America. Rice is a big favorite in many cultures but originated in Asia. We talk about something being as American as apple pie, but the apple came from Asia. Food belongs to us all and we all have our own recipes that include that food, from wherever it originated. Imagine spaghetti with no marinara.... the tomato did not appear in Italy until the 1500s.

I grew up eating fried cornmeal mush with maple syrup and fried bacon for dinner at least once a month. I still love it. I'm glad I came across this recipe today, I made it for dinner but used another reviewers suggested 1-1-2 system when making it. Perfect.