flipCorn Spoon Bread (Corn Pudding)
Corn Spoon Bread (Corn Pudding)
Why this dish? Every summer, Cold Spring Harbor hosted its famous symposium bringing together the world's greatest geneticists. Communal meals were part of the ritual, and a baked corn dish — like this classic American spoon bread — had its rightful place there, celebrating the house's study organism.
Halfway between a soufflé and cornmeal mush, this soft dish is served by the spoonful, golden from the oven and puffed with eggs. Comforting, generous, made for sharing at a large scientific table.
When summer brought our conferences, the house filled with minds from all over the world, and we had to feed everyone without fuss. I would make this spoon bread because it honors the plant we spent our days dissecting: the same cornmeal, but beaten with eggs until it rises in the oven. You serve it hot, you dip in the spoon, everyone helps themselves. Ideas circulated better, I believe, around a shared dish than around a protocol.
- •Cornmeal — one bowl (base)
- •Milk — generously (liquid)
- •Fresh eggs — a few (binder and leavening)
- •Butter — a good spoonful (fat)
- •Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Corn Spoon Bread (Corn Pudding)
Halfway between a soufflé and cornmeal mush, this soft dish is served by the spoonful, golden from the oven and puffed with eggs. Comforting, generous, made for sharing at a large scientific table.
Why this dish? Every summer, Cold Spring Harbor hosted its famous symposium bringing together the world's greatest geneticists. Communal meals were part of the ritual, and a baked corn dish — like this classic American spoon bread — had its rightful place there, celebrating the house's study organism.
When summer brought our conferences, the house filled with minds from all over the world, and we had to feed everyone without fuss. I would make this spoon bread because it honors the plant we spent our days dissecting: the same cornmeal, but beaten with eggs until it rises in the oven. You serve it hot, you dip in the spoon, everyone helps themselves. Ideas circulated better, I believe, around a shared dish than around a protocol.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cornmeal — one bowl (base)
- Milk — generously (liquid)
- Fresh eggs — a few (binder and leavening)
- Butter — a good spoonful (fat)
- Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Fine yellow cornmeal — 150 g (base)
- Whole milk — 500 ml (liquid)
- Eggs — 3, separated (binder and leavening)
- Butter — 40 g (fat)
- Baking powder — 1 tsp (leavening)
- Salt — 1 tsp (seasoning)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C and butter a baking dish.
- Heat the milk, sprinkle in the cornmeal while whisking, and cook gently for 4-5 minutes until a thick mush forms.
- Off the heat, stir in the butter, salt, then the egg yolks one by one. Let cool slightly, add the baking powder.
- Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold into the warm mush.
- Pour into the dish and bake for 30-35 minutes: the top should be golden and puffed.
- Serve immediately, by the spoonful, straight from the dish.
How it was made : Spoon bread is an old dish from the southern and eastern United States, born from the meeting of Native American corn porridges and European pastry techniques. Before commercial baking powder, only beaten egg whites provided lightness. It was an economical home dish made with pantry staples.
The contemporary twist : Fold a few fresh corn kernels and some aged cheddar into the batter for a melting heart and extra umami.
Barbara McClintock · Charactorium
