Cornmeal Mush Recipe

Also known as cornmeal coosh, cornmeal mush (or simply mush) is a type of porridge or pudding recipe made out of corn flour. The most common way of preparing cornmeal mush is to either boil the corn flour in milk or in water and adding seasonings like salt or sugar in accordance with individual taste preference. Another variation of preparing cornmeal mush is to fry the cornmeal pudding after cutting it into flat quadrangles. Let's check out a few recipes for cornmeal mush that can easily and quickly conjured up in your kitchen for an early morning breakfast or for inclusion as a side dish along with a proper luncheon meal!

Basic Cornmeal Mush Recipe

The following recipe discloses the most basic ingredients and preparation method of the most conventional variant of cornmeal mush. I'm sure you can whip up a bowl of this cereal based breakfast in just a few minutes by going through the following recipe! It's a great way to avoid skipping breakfast on those mornings when the hands on the clock appear to be running a marathon race! Given the nutritional value of corn and the fact that this recipe is a real time saver, a cornmeal mush can be a real life saver on hectic mornings!

Ingredients

1. Water - 4-4½ cups
2. Cornmeal or corn flour - 1 cup
3. Salt - 1 teaspoon full

Preparation Method

1. Boil around 3-3½ cup of water.
2. Add salt to the boiling water when the air bubbles begin escaping.
3. Add the cornmeal to the remaining cold water and mix well into a smooth batter so as to avoid lumps and trapped air.
4. Add this batter to the boiling water and stir it in
5. Continue stirring for about five minutes on full flame.
6. Lower the flame after five minutes are over and cook on low flame for another twelve to fourteen minutes.
7. Turn off the flame when the porridge begins to pull away from the sides of the cooking utensil.
8. If you wish, you can add a little butter and milk to the hot cornmeal mush when serving.

You can either serve the mush hot if you intend it as a breakfast preparation or you can freeze it and serve it as a cold pudding by pouring it into a mold and refrigerating it.

Recipe for Sweet Cornmeal Mush

This is a sweet variant of the above recipe for basic cornmeal mush. This recipe is for those who have a somewhat predominant sweet tooth.

Ingredients

1. Water - 4-4½ cups
2. Cornmeal or corn flour - 1 cup
3. Salt - 1 teaspoon full
4. Sugar - 1-2 teaspoon full (or as per taste)

Preparation Method

1. Boil around 3-3½ cup of water.
2. Add the salt and the sugar to the boiling water when the air bubbles begin escaping.
3. Add the cornmeal to the remaining cold water and mix well into a smooth batter so as to avoid lumps and trapped air.
4. The rest of the procedure is the same as the above recipe for basic cornmeal mush

Sweet cornmeal mush, if served hot, is best served by adding a little milk and syrup. Frozen cornmeal pudding can be garnished with colorful jelly crystals and fruit crushes (say, strawberry crush or black currant crush). The delicious taste of this corn pudding recipe coupled with the temptingly colorful appearance would steal anyone's heart! Besides, it's so easy to make!

Recipe for Fried Cornmeal Mush

This variant includes making the basic cornmeal mush, whether the sweet or salty variant, freezing it in a mold and cutting the cornmeal pudding into flat quadrangular pieces. For this purpose, a shallow, wide mold is preferable rather than one that is in the form of a deep bowl. Hereafter, the preparation method goes as follows:-

1. Heat a little bacon dripping in a frying pan. You won't be deep frying the pudding pieces, hence do not use too much of the grease.
2. When the dripping is ready, fry both sides of each pudding piece. Make sure each side turns sufficiently brown without burning.
3. You can serve these fried cornmeal mush pieces with butter, scrambled eggs, bacon and butter.

Whether or not you include sugar in preparing fried cornmeal mush is completely up to you! You can also top these fried pudding pieces with grated cheese or baked beans! Besides being a tasty snack, fried cornmeal mushes can double up as a healthy breakfast options, given the beneficial nutritional corn facts.

Those were some easy and quick cornmeal mush recipes. As far as serving and garnishing is concerned, you can use your imagination to conjure up innovative toppings and a wide variety of accompaniments. So, what are you waiting for? Wield that frying pan and turn your ladle to magically come up with your very own personalized variations of this popular frontier corn recipe! Happy cooking!