We Tried Ina Garten’s Cornbread—Here's What We Thought
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Southern Living staffers taste and review the Barefoot Contessa's most Southern recipes.
Ina Garten isn’t from the South, but we consider her an honorary Southerner. Beloved throughout the world for her warm style of hospitality and crowd-pleasing comfort food, Ina is the type of host we all aspire to be like. Not to mention that many of her most popular recipes are heavily influenced by the South—although sometimes her signature twists, like smoked salmon deviled eggs topped with caviar or pimiento cheese made with cream cheese, might raise the eyebrows of some Southerners, including our staff. Here’s what we really think about Ina’s most Southern recipes—with love, of course.
The recipe: Sour Cream Cornbread
What Ina Says About The Cornbread
In her 2014 cookbook Make It Ahead, she writes: “This all-American quick bread is usually served with dinner. To make it ahead, I bake it in loaves, and then slice, toast, and slather it with butter and jam for breakfast. Bob's Red Mill cornmeal is widely available and essential for this recipe.”
Our Cornbread
We’ve published dozens of cornbread recipes over the years, and no two are exactly alike. One of our most basic versions, Southern Skillet Cornbread, starts with bacon drippings for a decidedly smoky, savory flavor throughout. No sugar in this recipe! The dry ingredients are 2 cups of self-rising cornmeal mix, which is a smart shortcut that saves a bit of time, although you do need to add extra baking soda. Add 2 eggs and 1½ cups buttermilk and bake in a preheated, buttered cast-iron skillet until golden brown and crisp around the edges.
Ina’s Cornbread
First things first, Ina is clear that this is a breakfast cornbread. Yes, I know. In the South, the words “breakfast” and “cornbread” don't typically coexist, aside from sweetened muffins or corn cakes. Sure, you could eat a wedge of cornbread with your morning coffee, but why would you miss out on enjoying it with greens, or chili, or crumbled in a glass with buttermilk as a snack? But let’s set that aside for now while we delve into the details.
The recipe (which makes a whopping two 9-by-13-inch pans) calls for ½ cup of sugar, and is served with strawberry jam and salted butter. Cornbread philosophies aside, her recipe is somewhat traditional. The dry ingredients—3 cups flour, 1 cup cornmeal, and 2 tablespoons baking powder—make for a fluffy and light crumb, even though she specifies medium-grind yellow cornmeal (from Bob’s Red Mill). Yes, there’s sugar in there, but it’s ¼ cup for each 9-by-13-inch pan, and this is breakfast, remember?
Her use of a baking pan might be the most controversial aspect of this recipe. A preheated cast-iron skillet is generally preferred in the South because it’s what gives cornbread a crisp, brown crust. In Ina’s recipe, the baking pan isn’t preheated (and the oven is at a lower temperature), so the cornbread is the same texture throughout.
Instead of the usual buttermilk, Ina substitutes sour cream for a stronger tang and richer flavor. And because this is a make-ahead recipe, Ina suggests baking the cornbread a day in advance, then slicing it, toasting it, and serving it with jam and butter. For breakfast, people. For breakfast.
Southern Living
What Tasters Said
Southern Living staffers had big feelings about this recipe, ranging from minor outrage to surprised appreciation:
“Jam on cornbread? I love Ina but this is 100% Yankee cornbread. That being said, the crumb is nice (a little dry) and I like the bits of cornmeal. Dinner cornbread this is not, but it makes me want to eat cornbread for breakfast!”
“I enjoy this because I like sweet cornbread. Sue me.”
“It’s on the sweet side, but it’s not creeping into cake territory. The cornmeal adds a little crunchiness throughout the otherwise tender crumb. Would I serve it with chili? No, it’s too sweet. Would I eat it for breakfast? Maybe?”
“Tasted a little tangier than the typical cornbread from the sour cream. Very good.”
“It’s a bit too light for me. I like my cornbread dense! I wouldn’t normally eat jam with cornbread but I did like it. I think it tastes good, I just don’t think it tastes like cornbread.”
“She suggested jam? I’m upset.”
“It needed the butter and jam.”
“If you’re going to make cornbread sweet, go ahead and go all in and make a cornbread muffin. This feels not sweet enough for a sweet cornbread to me.”
“I eat cornbread with butter and jam sometimes and love it, but her cornbread is a little too grainy for me.”
“Very tasty. No complaints.”
Final Thoughts
If you like sweet cornbread, give Ina’s recipe a try. It’s light and tender and has a nice texture from the cornmeal. Whether or not you eat it for breakfast, or with butter and jam, is your call.
Related: 13 Essential Ina Garten Recipes Everyone Should Master
For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on Southern Living.
