This recipe was featured on our social media series, "Flavors of the Mountain Past."
Cornbread is a delicious staple of the South, but have you heard of corn pone? Unlike cornbread, corn pone is made with only cornmeal, salt and/or sugar, water, and sometimes a cooking fat like butter or bacon grease. It’s usually pan-fried or bake-fried in a cast iron skillet so it develops a crispy crust and a tender center.
European settlers in Southern Appalachia borrowed many farming techniques from the local Native American population. Corn, one of "The Three Sisters," was no exception. Corn pone was a popular food here and in the rest of the South until the late 1880s when people started including wheat flour in their recipes.
Cover image: Corn pone (Credit: Ted Major, Wiki Commons).
