This fried cornmeal mush recipe is the perfect Midwest breakfast. Delicious firm cornmeal (or you might call it polenta) is lightly fried in butter and drizzled with maple syrup. It’s so incrediblysimple and totally delicious.
Have you ever heard of mush?
Or what about polenta?
It’s the same thing but where it’s different is in the way it’s prepared and the way it’s eaten.
Growing up in Ohio we always gently fried it in butter and served it with maple syrup for dipping or drizzling.
It was the perfect side dish for dinner, breakfast for dinner, or even a fast and easy dinner for one.
I have always loved it because it’s the perfect pairing of sweet and savory and can be ready in just 20 minutes.
Fried cornmeal mush is cornmeal made into a thick porridge, set up and cooled, sliced, and then lightly pan-fried in butter.
If you don’t like butter you can use bacon fat or your oil of choice.
It’s a very southern and midwest dish that takes me right back home with every single bite!
Looking for a different but similar Southern dish? Try these easy grit cakes!
How is mush different than polenta?
Polenta and cornmeal mush are the same thing but typically served in very different ways.
Oftentimes polenta is made into a thick porridge and then mixed with savory items like herbs, spices, and cheese. Then it’s usually served with roasted tomatoes or topped with cooked meats.
Mush is typically eaten in the fried sliced format and served with a sweet dipping sauce like maple syrup.
It is also common to fry up polenta like mush but instead of serving it with maple syrup, it is instead served with warmed marinara sauce.
Where can I find prepared polenta or mush?
If you’re looking for the preformed logs of polenta you can typically find them in 2 different areas of the grocery store.
The first area is over by the pasta, rice, and gnocchi aisle. It is typically shelf stable so you’ll find it in a plastic roll on the shelf.
If you don’t see it on the shelf it can also sometimes be found over by where you find fresh pasta or egg roll wrappers.
What do I serve with fried cornmeal?
Fried cornmeal mush can be served alone with maple syrup or as a piece to a full breakfast.
Growing up, we would often eat it served alongside sausage or bacon and a few fried eggs.
It’s a great substitute for potatoes, pancakes, French toast, or waffles.
I love serving it with sausage because I love that sweet and savory combination.
What does fried cornmeal taste like?
It tastes very mildly of corn as it’s just dried corn kernels that have been ground into a fine powder.
It’s slightly sweet (naturally from the corn) but overall very mild in flavor.
How do I store fried cornmeal mush?
If you don’t eat all your mush in one sitting it can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
I usually just reheat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to warm it back up.
Love this fried cornmeal mush recipe?
Why not try a few of my other tasty breakfast recipes?
Chorizo Cotija Guacamole Toast
Blackberry Lemon Dutch Baby
2 Ingredient Cinnamon Roll Wrapped Sausages
Cranberry Apple Yogurt Parfait
Fried Cornmeal Mush
Author: Brandy O’Neill – Nutmeg Nanny
This fried cornmeal mush recipe is the perfect Midwest breakfast. Delicious firm cornmeal (or you might call it polenta) is lightly fried in butter and drizzled with maple syrup. So incrediblysimple and totally delicious.
Mush is the same thick, cooked mixture as polenta but it can be made by using any grind of cornmeal. A mush of nearly baby-powder texture when raw can become the lightest silken liquid, with a weight just this side of a light sauce.
Aside from being delicious, corn mush is also a nutritious dish. Cornmeal is rich in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, making it a healthy addition to any diet. It is also gluten-free, making it an excellent alternative for those with gluten intolerance.
Call it cornmeal porridge, polenta, grits, cou cou, mamaliga, or l'escaoutoun; these cornmeal mushes are produced and consumed in hundreds of ways in their respective regions. Some are sweet, some are savory, and some are both.
According to the late Professor Don Yoder, the dean of Pennsylvania German folk-life studies, “mush” is an Americanism for “porridge” and the first documented use of the term is in1671.
Commercial mush, sold in bricks in supermarkets — and wonderful for breakfast — has a heavy texture and an assertive corn flavor. Homemade polenta has a creamier, more delicate texture and a noticeably sweeter flavor because of the longer cooking time. Italians say true polenta has a more interesting texture, too.
When it comes to mush, however—made just like grits but with their finer counterpart, cornmeal—it's another story. Mush can be cooked up and fried, but our recipe makes a soft breakfast porridge that has the creamy, beaded texture of cream of wheat and the bright, thrilling taste of heirloom corn.
Usage is especially common in the eastern and southeastern United States. It is customary in the midwestern United States to eat it with maple syrup or molasses. In Eastern Europe, milk is poured over the meal once served and cooled down, rather than being boiled in it.
The dietary fibre in cornmeal helps in improving bowel movements. Also, our stool becomes softened as water in the intestine gets absorbed due to dietary fibre. As a result, the stool passes smoothly due to water absorption. Thus, fibre-rich foods like cornmeal prevent constipation.
Ugali, a basic staple eaten across several African countries only differs in name and consistency (hard or soft). While in some English speaking countries cornmeal is also called posho, it is under different aliases with the most notable ones being fufu from West Africa and ugali as it is called in Kenya and Tanzania.
In Mexico, very finely ground cornmeal is referred to as corn flour. When fine cornmeal is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater (a process known as nixtamalization), it is called masa harina (or masa flour), which is used for making arepas, tamales, and tortillas.
Composition. Scrapple is typically made of hog offal, such as the head, heart, liver, and other trimmings, which are boiled with any bones attached (often the entire head), to make a broth. Once cooked, bones and fat are removed, the meat is reserved, and (dry) cornmeal is boiled in the broth to make a mush.
Cornmeal is low in sodium and fat, thus, it's a great alternative breakfast for people who have diabetes or other health conditions. Cornmeal is low in cholesterol which is great news. It means you can eat cornmeal mush almost every day! Cornmeal contains lots of B vitamins, thiamine, manganese, folate, and selenium.
Packages labeled polenta mean that the grind of the corn is appropriate to make the polenta dish, but you can substitute regular medium or coarsely-ground cornmeal instead. Don't use finely ground cornmeal or corn flour which have too fine of a consistency and will give the finished dish a pasty texture.
Polenta is basically cornmeal mush, and it can be made with any kind of cornmeal, ground coarse, medium or fine. (You don't need bags marked “polenta.”) As with most ingredients, though, the better the cornmeal you start with, the better your result in the kitchen.
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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