Hardtack & Johnnie Cake

[Mortblanc]

As a person from the southern section of the U.S. I am an expert on corn meal having been educated on the subject from birth!

Corn meal is made from ground dried maise. It has the texture of beach sand. It is available here in the States is both yellow and white versions. It is also available as pure corn meal and also with baking powder included and then called "self rising" meal, or "corn meal mix".

There are as many ways to cook corn meal as their are people and circumstances sourrounding the situation.

It can be mixed into a batter with any liquid you have, usually milk or water. It can then be fried or baked.

When I am alone I will mix up a few spoonsful of batter and fry it up because it is quick. If i am preparing for a group I will make a big batter and bake the whole as bread.

The standard southern cornbread recipe is;

2 cup corn meal
1 spoon baking powder (if you are not using the self rising mix)
2 cup water or milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoon bacon grease
2 tablespoons sugar

Place in a coated pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.
or fry as cakes in a skillet at medium heat until brown on each side.

One nice thing about cornmeal is that you can mix the batter thick and fry it on a hot rock. You can cook it on a hot shovel blade or on a piece of sheet metal you found on the roadside. In the old days the farmers would fry it up on the blades of their garden hoes, which gave the fried bread the name "hoecakes"

Corn meal can be boiled into a thick porage we refer to as "corn meal mush". If all the mush is not eaten in one setting the leftover can be allowed to jell, then sliced and fried in any oil or meat grease available.

Corn meal can be consumed raw and was used as dry rations when mixed with brown sugar.

Corn meal will keep for years if in airtight containers. Back in the old days people bought it in 100 pound sacks, placed it in barrels and stored it indeffinately. Most farmers grew their own corn and took it directly to the mill for processing. The dried corn kernals do keep better than the meal so they often made a trip to the millhouse every couple of months. Each community had a waterpowered mill nearby.

Opening a mill was usually one of the first business endevors in a primitive society. Grain was ground for a 10% charge and the miller sold his share to earn his living. Might be something to think about in the usefull skills section.

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I may have not made it clear the the "batter" does not have to contain what I placed in the recipe. It can be a simple paste of water and corn meal.

I also sometimes fry up a bit of sausage, then crack an egg into the frypan and sprinkle in some corn meal and fry up the whole mess.

It is very hight in both carbs and sugar making it a fantastic survival food.