It is a tasty and economical food that can be used in a variety of ways. Yellow cornmeal is the most common and is readily available at the supermarket. White and blue cornmeal usually requires a trip to the whole foods market. All three varieties are interchangeable in recipes, although they differ slightly in taste and nutritional value. Blue cornmeal costs more because of a longer growing season and lower yields.
Yellow cornmeal has more vitamins than the white.
Cornmeal, as its name implies, is ground from dried corn kernels. Besides having a choice of color, you also have a choice between fine, medium and coarse grind. Most typical is steel-ground cornmeal, produced by a modern process that results in a highly refined meal. Because cornmeal ground this way includes the germ, it also has a shorter shelf life. Try to buy cornmeal from a busy store that has a quick turnover so the meal doesn't sit on the shelf or in the bulk bin and get rancid or infested with insects.