The Historical Significance of Cornbread in America - Paper Example

Introduction

Cornbread traces its roots to the pre-European Native Americans. The Indians introduced that the European settlers came in contact with. The word corn was initially used to refer to grains of any sort, for example, grains of rice or wheat (Stanley, 2016). Cornmeal was introduced to Britain and Europe in the 17th century. By then, it was commonly known as the Indian corn. Corn was then believed to be food for animals and unfit for human consumption (Park, 2016). Southern America was too hot for growing wheat as the rest of the country. That climate was however perfect for the growth of corn which thrived well and was easy to grow and prepare.

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Cornbread was considered as a meal for the poor people in the society, or those with low social standards like the settlers, slaves, and even the Native Americans (Stanley, 2016). This group of people could not afford wheat for their bread. Their poor conditions resulted in the rotation of their dietary meals across corn, porridge, and ale, although with different variations. Cornmeal later became a key ingredient in all the three meals thus making it a very important crop in their lives. For example, to make porridge, they would add grounded corn flour.

Grounded corn could be used to make a variety of meals because it was available in plenty and was also cheap. Meals made from corn, like cornbread, were very easy to make hence its popularity. Traditionally, cornbread was made just by mixing cornmeal with water and salt and baking the mixture (Stanley, 2016). This kind of cornbread was dull in taste. Americans, however, started to use the natural resources around them and made adjustments to the traditional cornbread. Such resources included sweeteners like sugar, honey or molasses and fat from bacon. Adding these ingredients to the cornbread made it tastier and sweeter. Some of the natural components in corn made it easier for the bread to rise on its own without adding yeast. The cornbreads could be baked, fried, or on rare occasions, boiled.

There were different varieties of corn in America. Therefore cornbread differed by each region. Blue corn was popular in the south-east regions; the northern region had yellow corn while the south had white corn (Park, 2016). Northern and southern cornbread differed because of the different types of cornmeal and using varying degrees of eggs and sugar. The southern cornbread was made with white cornmeal, little or no sugar and with smaller amounts of flour too.

In comparison, the northern cornbread was sweeter. The bread was then served with milk or clabber, which is buttermilk. Cornbread was a nutritious meal as it contained nutrients such as calcium and was high in carbohydrates, thus providing stamina.

Cornbread was also a very common meal during American civil wars like the American revolutionary war. Cornbread was considered to be the revolutionary war meal. It was a common food in both of the regions that were at war with each other. Soldiers in the civil war ate this bread because it was easy to make and when baked, could serve up to eight men (Park, 2016). Since cornbread is often baked, this could be done with ease even during campfires. It is believed that in 1777-1778, cornbread was prepared in order to serve the starving troupes of George Washington (Park, 2016). This took place during a winter season at a place called Valley Forge, during the American revolutionary war.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cornbread played a very significant role in Native American history. Cornmeal played a role when it came to saving the Americans during seasons of drought, poverty and war was a major contribution to saving their lives. The fact that cornbread could be made in different but easier ways was also a very important aspect of it in the 18th century.

References

Park, S., Hongu, N., & Daily III, J. W. (2016). Native American foods: History, culture, and influence on modern diets. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 3(3), 171-177.

Stanley, J. (2016) 18th Century Cornbread. https://savoringthepast.net/2016/05/04/cornbread