MetaChat - Cornbread: Should it be sweet, or not?

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14 June 2012

Cornbread: Should it be sweet, or not? →[More:]In my opinion, sweet cornbread is an abomination. If I want cake, I'll eat cake. Jalapenos are a nice addition, though.

My mom used to make it with a little bit of bacon grease added for flavor. Not healthy, but OMG best cornbread ever.

post by: BoringPostcards at: 15:44 | 22 comments

NOT!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 14 June | 16:02

NOT!

posted by deborah 14 June | 16:18

SWEET!

posted by bluesapphires 14 June | 16:39

BOTH!

posted by Splunge 14 June | 16:40

Well cake is the best thing, so the more anything is like cake the better it is.

posted by mullacc 14 June | 17:26

SWEET. Also based on my youthful conditioning.

posted by bearwife 14 June | 17:45

PS. Why it works -- because cornbread is a delight with spicy hot dishes like chile and spicy barbecue sauce, when the sweetness is a palate cooler.

posted by bearwife 14 June | 17:46

Hey BP. Do you think we could get your mom's recipe, the one with bacon grease? I'm with you on the not sweet.

posted by Kangaroo 14 June | 18:02

Nope, not sweet. I also came here to pitch jalapenos, but I see you're on board with that already!

posted by richat 14 June | 18:29

NOT! It should be crumbly, corny, mild and slightly salty to go with chili or soupy beans. And it should be made in a skillet. And if you can replace the oil with bacon drippings, so much the better. This is the proper TX cornbread I grew up with.

It shouldn't be sweet at all. That's something different - corn cake, or corn muffins.

In New England, sweet cornbread seems to rule. I can't stand it - can't say how many times I've been at a barbecue or chili cook-off and put a square of cornbread in my mouth only to find out it's sugary. Bleah! So wrong!

posted by Miko 14 June | 18:40

Definitely jalapenos! I don't mind a hint of sweet (especially if it's natural sweetness from the corn), but really, if you want a small, sweet bread thing, why not just go for a fresh biscuit cut in half with some melting butter and a liberal drizzle of honey?

posted by ufez 14 June | 18:47

The bacon grease bit:

I keep bacon drippings in a coffee can in the freezer (we don't cook bacon that often so it has to be the freezer). For cornbread, just pull out the frozen drippings, dip a paper towel in, and generously grease your skillet with the drippings rather than oil or butter.

Then make the recipe for plain golden cornbread on the Quaker box (or the Indian Head bag, etc). You could also just sub in melted bacon fat for some or all of the oil in the recipe.

Note that I don't have anything with sweet cornmeal quickbreads that don't masquerade as cornbread. Like a nice lemon-thyme cornmeal quickbread, that's good. Just not with a savory supper dish. Anything with more than a tablespoon of sugar per serving is dessert, in my book.

posted by Miko 14 June | 18:48

Why can't it have Sweet AND Jalapenos AND Bacon Grease???

typed while eating a sandwich on Hawaiian Sweet Bread... yep, definitely sugar-junkie

posted by oneswellfoop 14 June | 19:09

I think cornbread is sweet anyway just from the corn. It also makes for an interesting strawberry shortcake.

posted by Ardiril 14 June | 19:30

savory, absolutely.

posted by eekacat 14 June | 20:39

NOT SWEET.
I also use an iron skillet, bacon drippings whenever possible, and sometimes a handful of finely grated Mexican blend cheese. The crust next to the skillet gets delightfully crunchy and the inside stays more moist.

posted by lilywing13 14 June | 22:15

Sweet? That be crazy talk.

posted by -t 15 June | 01:05

Sweet. Poured in a cast iron pan already hot from the oven and shimmery with bacon grease so the edges are all crispy.

posted by rhapsodie 15 June | 01:57

... um.

I can imagine the appeal of a not-sweet cornbread, but I've never, ever had a not-sweet cornbread that I actually liked. It's not so much the sweetness (though I do like that, especially served with something spicy) as the lovely lush softness that a bit of sugar gives to a quick bread. I like it sweet and fluffy. YUM.

posted by Elsa 15 June | 14:21

I'm with you BP. sweet cornbread is an offense to the gods, and likely a regional thing. Growing up in southwestern Ohio was a constant uphill battle against the locals who insisted on adding sugar to EVERY. DAMNED. THING. Like the neighbor up the street who was OMG SO PROUD of her recipe for "spaghetti sauce" that included, among other abominations, an ENTIRE POUND of sugar! *retch*

I never ever went near cornbread as a result until my lovely New Mexican now-husband responded in horror that "no, cornbread most assuredly should never be sweet... who DOES that?!?"

posted by lonefrontranger 15 June | 15:21

Woe is me: cornbread is not available up here as a mix nor is there cornmeal to make it from scratch.

posted by deborah 15 June | 16:24

Silly americans. Bread should be made of weat!

posted by jouke 15 June | 21:22

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