The morning call., 1892-01-24
INDIAN CORN.
Several Ways IN Which Il May Be PREPARED
for Human Food

Many people In this country cherish the
cOncejt that the use Of Indian corn for hui
man food is chiefly confined to the United
States, YET, says the New York Sun Of re-
cent date, if they were to see the immense,
the Incompatible fields of maize which oc-
cuDy all the land in Southern Hungary, in
Seryia, in Bulgaria and in Roumana, they
would confess that they had never beEeld
such extensive plantations of maize in all
North America We are also proud of our
ways of cooking this grain, and whoever
has had the good fortune to taste that adj
mirable sort OF bread which they call pone
in Southern Maryland, Virginia and North
Carolina will agree that the culinary artists
Of those regions know how 10 make from
cOrnmeal what the Lynchburg News justly
describes as zone Of the most delicious and
substantial dishes IN the world"
Nevertheless a dish equally delicious and
equally delicate is made Of cOTnmeal in
Italy and is in universal use there. Its CON-
mon name ls polenta, and II our friend at
Lynchburg should chance to partake OF 1t at
Milan or at Naples he would admit ii de-
serves quite as much praise as in his enthu-
siaSm he bestOws upon the NirgnIan pOnes.
For the information Of our readers we
have obtained recipes for the making OF pO-
lenta from two Italian culinary artists, and
here is one Of them kindly furnished by
SignOr BrignOli OF the Fifth Avenue:
1.-The water must be boiling Put in salt
enough to flavor aud add Indian meal
slowly, taking care that it contains no
humps. Let the whole become quite thick
and stir 1t constantly to prevent burning.
1t must boil at least fifteen minutes"
This Is simple enough, but the product is
pretty sure to be good, and the reader will
notice that it is not 50 very different from a
Yankee hasty pudding.
SignOr MOrellO Of Twenty-ninth street.
hot 81
in making pOlenta and this is the way:
" The meal should be of the yellow kind.
Put the wheaton -four into boiling water
stirring 1t thoroughly, and then put in an
equal quantity Of yellow corumeal. Care
must be taken to prevent Jumps from form
ing The p0lenta should be thick and fairly
firm. A sauce frequently made for it is Of
finely chopped onions boiled in olive oil.
Tomato sauce may also be used. In serving
game, and especially birds. slices Of polenta
soaked in gravy are sometimes employed in
stead OF toast as a garnish. Polenta may
also sometimes be fried In slices like hon.
my"
Now we come to the recipes Of the REL
del CuOch," standard Italian book, which
reveals thousand secrets OF the art Of arts,
that is to say, the art of cooking:
Make fry Of olive oil and onions: add
to it tomato juice or preserved tomatoes
Salt as much water as you find necessary,
and when hot, pour it upon the FRY. Con-
tinue to heat 1t until it bos, and then drop
in cOrnmeal, letting ii fall little by little
while you stir 1t with ladle, so that it may
not form Jumps. For q quart OF water a
quarter Of pound of meal will suffice. As
soon as the p0lenta Is cooked dish il I'D and
serve with grated cheese"
AS our readers will observe, this is rather
complex form OF the dish In question, but
here is one that is simplicity Itself:
"POlenta is also made by boiling yellow
cOrnmeal with sailed water merely, that is
to say. without the chopped onions fried In
oil, but in that case 1t must be seasoned
with butter and grated cheese before taking
it off the fire."
FROM the same instructive manual we
take another recipe which provides for a
kind Of polenta that is more highly sea-
saned and adapted, perhaps, for more dis
tinguished occasions:
Put two ounces Of yellow meal TO boil
In three quarts or milk with little pinch of
salt When the p0lenta is half cooked re-
move it from the fire and add six yolks IF
eggs we'll beaten, with pinch oil powdered
cinnamon. Add beside an ounce of butter
and half an ounce Of powdered crackers.
Work the whole into a paste and finish
cooking in a buttered stamp with fire above
and below. AS soon as the surface has
taken on handsome golden color serve IL
| on the table"
We presume that with these various
recipes our housekeeping and artistic read
ers will find themselves enabled to furnish a
| new and most excellent preparation of corn
meal. If they succeed as well with 1t as the
| cooks we have sometimes CHANGED upon in
| beautiful Italy they will thank us for the
| Information we have now supplied