Kentucky Cornbread

[Hellmanns]

Hickory King corn.

C.S. Bell #2 mill.

Bolting the meal to remove the grits.

Mixing the batter.

Enjoying my efforts!

[MarcH.]

I'd take a bite.

[Starlight]

Pass me a plate please! Boy that sure does look good. I love the pics of actually seeing how you make your own cornbread from start to finish. Looks like a lot of work and I would be savoring every bite of it.

How much corn did you have to grow to fill your bins there? Acres and acres?

Crazy question, but when your growing corn for meal like you did, does it really matter what variety you grow? Do they not all taste and perform the same once ground up?

Oh and if you wouldn't mind, can you explain what "bolting the meal" means and how it is done?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Starlight

Pass me a plate please! Boy that sure does look good. I love the pics of actually seeing how you make your own cornbread from start to finish. Looks like a lot of work and I would be savoring every bite of it.

How much corn did you have to grow to fill your bins there? Acres and acres?

Crazy question, but when your growing corn for meal like you did, does it really matter what variety you grow? Do they not all taste and perform the same once ground up?

Oh and if you wouldn't mind, can you explain what "bolting the meal" means and how it is done?

May I step in If I may?
I just got out of the garden to take a break and saw this.

For one it matters greatly what kind you grow each corn has a different flavor and you need to grow a corn suitable for your area.
There is nothing like fresh ground cornmeal.
There are basically three different kinds of corn, flint, dent and sweet not to exclude popcorn.
Dent corn is the one normally used for making cornmeal.

Bolting cornmeal is the process of sifting the ground cornmeal to get rid of the larger pieces of meal making for a finer and better cornmeal.

Now I want to go out and till up the back of the place and grow some corn.

Worth

[Donna Mattingly]

Hellmans that is AWESOME!

[barefootgardener]

Yummy..Thats what I call real cornbread. Yours looks especially tasty since you put the time and effort into it. I love the step by step pictures. Someday I want to try my hand at growing a good corn for meal and such to grind.. I've been saying someday for the past 10 years..

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by barefootgardener

Yummy..Thats what I call real cornbread. Yours looks especially tasty since you put the time and effort into it. I love the step by step pictures. Someday I want to try my hand at growing a good corn for meal and such to grind.. I've been saying someday for the past 10 years..

Me too and I have the tiller and the place to do it and I am going to the store.

I want the blue corn but I would have to order seeds, at this point I would be happy with deer corn.
Hellmanns

The cornbread and all of your other stuff looks great.
I admire the work that goes into it.

I have looked at everything you have posted great job.

Worth

[Hellmanns]

Thanks everyone!

Home ground is best! The reason it is the best? The kernels are ground whole, the germ and all. The germ contains the natural oils within the kernel. The oils contain a lot of flavor, and they also give the meal moisture. Commercial cornmeal does not contain the germ, the meal is bland, and DRY.

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by Starlight

Pass me a plate please! Boy that sure does look good. I love the pics of actually seeing how you make your own cornbread from start to finish. Looks like a lot of work and I would be savoring every bite of it.

How much corn did you have to grow to fill your bins there? Acres and acres?

Crazy question, but when your growing corn for meal like you did, does it really matter what variety you grow? Do they not all taste and perform the same once ground up?

Oh and if you wouldn't mind, can you explain what "bolting the meal" means and how it is done?

It doesn't take much room to grow enough corn for a family's use. A hand full of seed should produce a "few" bushels of corn. I generally grind 2-3 bushels for our personal use, and triple that amount for friends and neighbors..

[Salsacharley]

Now I wanna grow me some corn, too. Dang. Does anyone know what the quality of meal would be from Glass Gem Corn? That stuff really looks delightful to me.

http://www.victoryseeds.com/corn_glass-gem.html

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by Worth1

May I step in If I may?
I just got out of the garden to take a break and saw this.

For one it matters greatly what kind you grow each corn has a different flavor and you need to grow a corn suitable for your area.
There is nothing like fresh ground cornmeal.
There are basically three different kinds of corn, flint, dent and sweet not to exclude popcorn.
Dent corn is the one normally used for making cornmeal.

Bolting cornmeal is the process of sifting the ground cornmeal to get rid of the larger pieces of meal making for a finer and better cornmeal.

Now I want to go out and till up the back of the place and grow some corn.

Worth

Thank you for the explanation. I am going to have to buy some of the real stuff as I have never tasted it. My corn meal has come out of the Martha White read and white box.

Originally Posted by Hellmanns

Thanks everyone!

Home ground is best! The reason it is the best? The kernels are ground whole, the germ and all. The germ contains the natural oils within the kernel. The oils contain a lot of flavor, and they also give the meal moisture. Commercial cornmeal does not contain the germ, the meal is bland, and DRY.

Your right about the commercial being dry. I learned you don't take a big bite cuz it so dry you just about choke which is probably why most folks down here smother it in the juice from Black Eyed peas or Collards.

Originally Posted by Hellmanns

It doesn't take much room to grow enough corn for a family's use. A hand full of seed should produce a "few" bushels of corn. I generally grind 2-3 bushels for our personal use, and triple that amount for friends and neighbors..

I think I can grow that much. I was thinking I would need fields of it.

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Now I wanna grow me some corn, too. Dang. Does anyone know what the quality of meal would be from Glass Gem Corn? That stuff really looks delightful to me.

http://www.victoryseeds.com/corn_glass-gem.html

Ask Joseph. I think he may have used it for meal. I know it is some really pretty corn. Diverse colors all over the place. No two ears look alike for sure and from the collection of seed I have it doesn't really seem that one color stands out more than another, but all the colors are vibrant for sure.

Here is what Joseph had to say about it when he grew it.

Glass Gem, Flint Corn: Perhaps the most beautiful corn in the world. How about those blue colors? Oh my heck!!! This corn was way too long-season for my garden. The seed I am offering represents the earliest plants to mature: About 1/3 of what was planted. A few of the kernels pop, but not reliably. Some of the plants on the end of rows had a dozen cobs on them. Very genetically diverse. [Lot #: 2012-late. Germination: 86% 2012-11. MyFolia#: gfjm-360137. GDD:10C = 1340, GDD:50F = 2400, (DTM 110 days)]

Another pretty corn is Hop McConnell's Speckled. It has cream, a I call burgundy color and a cream and burgundy stripe all on the same cob.

If you want something really different I have plenty of seed of Bear Paw.

Hellmanns... Did you build your mill? Does it take a long time to make meal?

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by Starlight

Hellmanns... Did you build your mill? Does it take a long time to make meal?

I took an antique C.S. Bell #2 mill that had a hand crank and motorized it. It takes maybe a half hour to grind a bushel of meal. I grind only enough to last for a couple of weeks to keep the meal fresh... another thing, because fresh ground has the germ, it will go putrid after a few months because of the oils it contains. If one grinds more than can be used within a month or so, it is best stored in the freezer and used as needed..