Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour.^[1] In the United States, very finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour.^[1] However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in the United Kingdom.

History[link]

The exact origins of cornmeal maize are uncertain. Some assert a Native American provenance for corn cultivation, whereas others indicate that it was likely introduced to Europe during the Arab occupation of Spain. In Italy, the traditional name for corn (granturco) connotes an Eastern, Turkish point of origin.^[2]

Types[link]

There are different types of cornmeal.

Steel ground yellow cornmeal, which is common mostly in the United States, has the husk and germ of the maize kernel almost completely removed. It is conserved almost indefinitely if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.^[3]

Stone-ground cornmeal retains some of the hull and germ, lending a little more flavor and nutrition to recipes. It is more perishable, but will store longer if refrigerated. However, it too can have a shelf life of many months if kept in a reasonably cool place.

White cornmeal (mielie-meal), made from white corn, is more common in parts of Africa. It is also popular in the Southern United States for making cornbread.^[4]

Blue cornmeal is light blue or violet in color. It ground from whole blue corn and has a sweet flavor. The cornmeal consists of dried corn kernels that have been ground into a fine or medium texture.

Regional usages[link]

Equatorial Africa[link]

Southern Africa's Nshima cornmeal (top right corner), served with three relishes.

• Nshima or bwali - Zambia
• Nsima - Malawi
• Nomadi - Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Sadza - Zimbabwe
• Ugali - Great Lakes (sima and posho in Uganda)
• Mielie-meal or mealie pap - Southern Africa
• Recipes that may use cornmeal as an additional ingredient are fufu (foufou) in Central and West Africa.

Indian Ocean[link]

• Poudine maïs - Mauritius

Horn of Africa[link]

Bag of traditional Somali soor (cornmeal), a staple of Somalian cuisine.

• Sorr - Somalia
• Cornmeal is also often used as an additional ingredient in the preparation of injera or lahoh, flatbread that is traditionally eaten in the countries of the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia) and nearby Yemen.

Europe[link]

• G'omi, tchvishtari, mchadi (Georgian: ღომი) - Georgia (g'omi is similar to polenta, tshvishtari - cheese cornbread, mtchadi - cornbread)
• Kachamak (качамак) - Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia
• Mălai - Romania (the cornmeal itself; prepared as mămăligă)
• Farina di granturco - Italy (not the same as farina, which is made from wheat)
• Polenta - southern Europe, especially Italy
• Arapash or harapash - Albania (similar to the Romanian style but often combined with lamb organs, or/and feta cheese

South Asia[link]

• Makki di roti - a traditional Punjabi bread often eaten with saag in Punjab province of northern India and eastern Pakistan

East Asia[link]

• Wo tou (窩頭 nest head) - Shaped like a hollow cone, this cornbread looks like a bird's nest, for which it is named. It is commonly eaten in northern China, and may contain dried jujubes and other flavoring agents.
• Tie Bing (貼餅 sticking bread) - This product can either be fluffy like a mantou or more flatbread-like. It is traditionally stuck around the outer rim of a large wok while meat or fish is being cooked. Generally, an alkalizing agent such as baking soda is added to increase the nutrient value. It is also found in northern China.
• Corn congee (棒子麵粥) - A porridge made from plain cornmeal. It is normally thinner than grits or polenta and is often eaten with Chinese pickles.

Mesoamerica and South America[link]

Grindstones inside Mingus Mill, in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Corn is placed in a hopper (top right) which slowly feeds it into the grindstone (center). The grindstone grinds the corn into cornmeal, and empties it into a bucket (lower left). The grindstones are turned by the mill's water-powered turbine.

• Masa - nixtamalized corn used for making tortillas, arepas and tamales in Mexico, Central America, and South America
• Fubá - Brazil
• Polenta - a typical dish in many South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay

Caribbean[link]

• Cou-cou is part of the national dish of Barbados, "cou-cou and flying fish".
• Funchi is a cornmeal mush cooked and cooled into a stiff pudding, sometimes eaten with saltfish and/or pepperpot, consumed on the island of Curaçao and part of the national dish of Antigua and Barbuda.

North America[link]

• Made into bread, as in cornbread, spoonbread, jonnycakes, hushpuppies, or corn fritters
• As a porridge, such as cornmeal mush, which is often then sliced and grilled
• Cheese curl-type snack foods, such as Cheezies and Cheetos
• In corn chips such as Fritos, but not corn tortillas or tortilla chips, which are made from nixtamalized maize flour
• As breading for fried or baked foods, such as fried fish
• As a batter for a fried food, such as corndogs
• As a release agent to prevent breads and pizza from sticking to their pans when baking
• As a breakfast cereal ingredient

References[link]

v t e Maize (corn) Varieties Baby · Blue · Field · Flint · MON 810 · MON 863 · Quality Protein Maize · Shoepeg · Sweet · Transgenic maize · Waxy · Bolivia varieties · Ecuador varieties · Italian varieties · Sweetcorn varieties Parts Cob · Kernels · Stover Processing Amylomaize · Corn construction · Maize milling · Nixtamalization Pathology BBCH-scale · Corn allergy · Maize streak virus Corn-based products Raw materials Cornmeal · Mielie-meal · Nshima · Oil · Samp · Starch · Syrup Beverages Atole · Champurrado · Chicha · Colada morada · Steep liquor · Tejuino · Tesgüino Dishes Bread · Conkies · Cookie · Corn flakes · Corn on the cob · Cou-cou · Fufu · Grits · Hominy · Mazamorra · Mush · Pap · Piki · Polenta · Popcorn · Pudding corn · Sadza · Shawnee cake Corn syrup Glucose syrup · High-fructose corn syrup (Health effects · Public relations) · High maltose corn syrup Non-food Biofuel · Cornstalk fiddle

Jeff Austin (born in Arlington Heights, Illinois^[1]) is a mandolinist and singer best known for being a part of the Yonder Mountain String Band.

Although Austin was born in Arlington Heights, he grew up in Elk Grove, Illinois and attended Rolling Meadows High School.^[1] Austin attended the University of Cincinnati, but soon made his way to Urbana, Illinois, where he met future banjoist Dave Johnston. Receiving a request from Johnston to perform in his band The Bluegrassholes, Austin picked up the mandolin for the first time. After some time, Austin moved to Nederland, Colorado;^[2] Johnston, after seeking improvement in his playing ability, also moved to Nederland. While attending a club called the Verve, Austin met Adam Aijala and Ben Kaufmann, with whom he and Johnston would form the Yonder Mountain String Band.^[2]

Side Projects[link]

In February 2006, Austin recorded Rex (Live at the Fillmore), a live album under the band name Grateful Grass featuring fellow musicians Keller Williams and Keith Moseley (The String Cheese Incident). Available only for digital download, the album features non-traditional bluegrass versions of songs by the Grateful Dead with 100% of the proceeds going to the Rex Foundation.^[3]

Austin has recently joined forces with Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's Mcgee to form a group called 30db. They are putting out a new album called "One Man Show" on May 11, 2010 as well as having a small 7 show tour in May 2010 to promote the new album. Joining them on tour will be Cody Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars, Nick Forster from the bluegrass band Hot Rize, and Boulder based Eric Thorin.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Yonder Mountain String Band Official Homepage

Mary Ann Esposito is an American chef and television host of Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, which started in 1989 and is the longest-running television cooking program in America.^[1][2] Esposito has published over a dozen cookbooks^[1].

Personal life[link]

Mary Ann Esposito was raised in Buffalo, New York.^[2] Her mother was a dietician.^[3] Her grandmothers, both professional chefs, moved to the United States from Italy in the 1890s. Her paternal grandmother owned a butcher shop in Fairport, New York and her maternal grandmother lived in Buffalo, where she owned a boarding home. The latter grandmother was from Naples, and continued the traditions of her Italian household within the boarding home. The boarding home was the only house in the neighborhood that had a bathtub, and on Friday nights she would offer neighbors a bath and dinner for a quarter. While her grandmothers provided traditional Italian food, Esposito desired to eat standard foods like other children: Wonderbread and iceberg lettuce.^[2]

Esposito, who never intended on pursuing a career in cooking, learned to cook from her family. Her grandmothers made bread every day, with Esposito helping to make upwards of 20 loaves of bread a day, canning vegetables and fruits, and helping to prepare ingredients for meals. Eventually, Esposito attended college, where she would graduate with a teaching degree and become an elementary school teacher. In 1979, her mother sent her a pasta maker, and despite a lack of interest in cooking as an adult, Esposito taught herself how to make pasta dough. The following year, she and her husband Guy^[1][2] visited Italy for the first time, visiting his cousins. While in Italy, Esposito started attending a cooking class. She began learning the history of Italian cooking, region by region, and traveling to the country twice a year for cooking lessons. At the University of New Hampshire she took classes to learn how to speak Italian. By 1985 she had joined the history master's program at the university, writing her thesis about Italian Renaissance cooking.^[2]

Career[link]

Esposito started teaching cooking through the University of New Hampshire's Division of Continuing Education. In the mid-1980's she submitted a proposal for a cooking show to New Hampshire Public Television. The show was delayed production because of the small size of the television station, however, upon moving to a larger station, a pilot was filmed. The pilot was a test to not only gauge viewer reception, but, to also see how Esposito would be on camera. On the hottest day of the year in the region, the television crew came to Esposito's home in Durham, New Hampshire and the pilot was filmed. Upon airing, the pilot received great reception and the longest running television cooking show was born.^[2]

Esposito has published over a dozen cooking books about Italian cooking and entertaining. Her 1997 book, What You Knead, about breadmaking, was awarded best in category by the International Cookbook Revue and was named one of Food and Wine Magazine's of 1997.^[4] She makes over 40 public appearances a year nationally^[2] and has appeared on the Today Show, Regis and Kathie Lee, QVC, the Food Network, Martha Stewart Living Radio, and other programs.^[4] She contributed to the Huffington Post^[5] and New Hampshire Home.^[6]

Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito[link]

Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, is a 30-minute cooking show produced for PBS by Esposito's own Mary Esposito Productions, and taped at New Hampshire Public Teleivsion. The show features Esposito's recipes and cooking tips, and visits from guest chefs. She also explores the history of Italian cooking and food.^[2] Through the show, Esposito seeks to help her viewers learn about new recipes that are "doable, authentic, and good."^[3]

When deciding what to feature on the show, Esposito has four standards: she must like to eat the food, the ingredients should be easy to find, the recipe should be something unique and new to the viewer, and should be manageable by the kitchen staff. Every episode has 20 volunteers who work on the show. An entire season of shows, generally about 32 episodes, can be filmed within two weeks during the summer, with two to three shows being filmed a day. All of food is made from scratch in the studio, with each dish being prepared in numerous batches and at different recipe stages. This allows Esposito to execute an entire recipe in a matter of minutes that might take hours to complete. All of the recipes are planned by Esponite and the kitchen staff. Volunteers gather all the pertinent ingredients from local markets and going to Boston for specialty foods if unavailable locally. Recipes are prepared the day of the show. Ciao Italia is not scripted. The television studio used for filming is loosely based on Esposito's home kitchen. The view out the window of the set is painted to appear as the view of the Oyster River, which is seen from her home kitchen. To prepare for shows, Esposito researches and tests recipes outside the studio.^[2]

Recognitions[link]

A scholarship foundation named after and maintained by Esposito awards scholarships for students seeking financial aid to study culinary arts.^[7] Esposito was awarded an honorary degree from St. Anselm College.^[4] She has received the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Culinary and Cultural Arts of Italy by the Order Sons of Italy in America. She is in the Hall of Fame for the Italian Trade Commission.^[4]

Publications[link]

• Celebrations Italian Style: Recipes and Menus for Special Occasions and Seasons of the Year. Hearst Books: New York (1995). ISBN 0-688-13038-0
• Ciao Italia. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1991). ISBN 0-688-10317-0
• Ciao Italia--Bringing Italy Home. ISBN 0-312-28058-0
• Ciao Italia Family Classics: More than 200 Treasured Recipes from 3 Generations of Italian Cooks. St. Martin's Press: New York (2011). ISBN 0-312-57121-6
• Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen. St. Martin's Press: New York (2009). ISBN 0-312-37769-X
• Ciao Italia in Tuscany: Traditional Recipes from One of Italy's Most Famous Regions. St. Martin's Press: New York (2003). ISBN 0-312-32174-0
• Ciao Italia in Umbria: Recipes and Reflections from the Heart of Italy. St. Martin's Press: New York (2002). ISBN 0-312-30329-7
• Ciao Italia Pronto!: 30-Minute Recipes from an Italian Kitchen. St. Martin's Press: New York (2005). ISBN 0-312-33908-9
• Ciao Italia Slow and Easy: Casseroles, Braises, Lasagne, and Stews from an Italian Kitchen. St. Martin's Press: New York (2007). ISBN 0-312-36292-7
• Mangia Pasta!: Easy-To-Make Recipes for Company and Every Day. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1998). ISBN 0-688-16189-8
• Nella Cucina: More Italian Cooking from the Host of Ciao Italia. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1993). ISBN 0-688-12151-9
• What You Knead. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1997). ISBN 0-688-15010-1

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Annie B. Copps (2008). "Dinner with Guy and Mary Ann Esposito". New England is Delicious. Yankee. http://www.yankeemagazine.com/blogs/foodblog/maryannesposito. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Margaret Anne Paine. "A Taste of Italy". Features. University of New Hampshire. http://unhmagazine.unh.edu/sp00/maryannsp00.html. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "An Interview with Mary Ann Esposito of Ciao Italia". Proud Italian Cook. 2010. http://prouditaliancook.blogspot.com/2010/01/interview-with-mary-ann-esposito-of.html. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Loraine Pavich (2010). "Exclusive Interview: Celebrity Chef Mary Ann Esposito – Host of ‘Ciao Italia’". News & Events. Italia Living. http://www.italialiving.com/articles/food-wine/an-interview-with-celebrity-chef-mary-ann-esposito/. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
5. ^ "Mary Ann Esposito". Huffington Post. 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-ann-esposito. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
6. ^ Mary Ann Esposito (2010). "Home Cooking with Mary Ann Esposito". New Hampshire Home. http://www.nhhomemagazine.com/home/945184-421/home-cooking-with-mary-ann-esposito-homemade.html. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
7. ^ "JWU Announces Winner of First Mary Ann Esposito Foundation Scholarship". News & Events. Johnson & Wales University. http://www.jwu.edu/content.aspx?id=37558. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 

External links[link]

• Official website