Cornbread

Cornbread is a general name for a variety of quick breads (those leavened chemically, rather than by yeast) made from cornmeal. As maize (corn) is native to North America, the majority of these cornbreads originate from the New World, although there are breads made from cornmeal made in other parts of the world, such as Italian polenta.

Cornbread is usually cooked in a frying pan, but may also be baked in the oven or deep-fried. It has a distinctive flavour of maize and a golden yellow colour.

In the United States, Southern and Northern cornbreads differ due to the type of cornmeal they use; in the South, they tend to use white maize, whilst in the North, they tend to prefer yellow. Some of the most popular cornbread recipes in the US include:

• Yankee Cornbread
  A Northern version made with yellow cornmeal or a combination of yellow cornmeal and whole kernel sweet corn. It has a moist, cake-like texture.
• Johnnycakes or Johnny Cakes
  An unleavened cornmeal pancake from the state of Rhode Island.
• Hoe Cakes
  A New England cornbread similar to Johnnycakes that was traditionally cooked on a garden hoe over an open fire.
• Corn Pone
  A thick, chewy cornbread prepared without eggs and baked or fried in butter, margarine, lard or bacon grease. Corn-pone is a staple of Southern US cuisine.
• Virginia Spoon Bread or Spoonbread
  A sweet, moist cornmeal dish prevalent in the South. It has such a soft consistency that it may be eaten with a spoon.
• Hushpuppies (or Hush Puppies)
  A Southern US deep-fried cornmeal dumpling served with fried fish and other seafood.