Short answer: Either, as long as it's stone-ground cornmeal. Longer answer: Many Southern cooks insist on using only white cornmeal based on tradition. It has a slightly more subtle corn flavor than yellow cornmeal. But, it's pretty difficult to find a stone-ground white cornmeal here in California, so I stick with yellow. I did order this white cornmeal online and it worked great in this recipe if you're a stickler for tradition.