Making Corn Meal Fritters on a Cold Sunny Day in the woods

[amn1240]

Had a go at making Corn Meal Fritters (Johnny Cakes, Hoe Cakes) in the wood. Didnt work perfectly, but was fun anyway.

[video=youtube;_G6q8OL-IqQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G6q8OL-IqQ[/video]

 

[santaman2000]

Good job. The flour is added to get a slight rise (baking powder has no effect on corn meal) Adding an egg to the recipe will bind better but that takes away from the simplicity.

 

[Toddy]

I have to pretty much eat gluten free these days. Corn meal has become a pantry staple, but Himself bought me a bag of Masa Harina last week, and it's a revelation. The lime treatment changes the corn and allows it to form a dough without egg, without the addition of any other flour. It's brilliant

To stop food sticking in a thin pot, buy a sheet of the oven liner/baking tray liner from one of the poundstores (it's the same stuff as the expensive ones in places like Sainsbury's or Lakeland) and cut it to fit the bottom. Lay it inside and cook on top of the liner. No burnt on or stuck food, and it's easy to turn things over. Also makes cleaning up after frying a lot easier since it doesn't need much oil.

Nice looking day out there Peaceful, birdsong, nice bit of the world, fresh air….all good Thank you for sharing

cheers,
Toddy

 

[amn1240]

Good job. The flour is added to get a slight rise (baking powder has no effect on corn meal) Adding an egg to the recipe will bind better but that takes away from the simplicity.

Thanks santaman, like the idea of the egg. Might give that a go

 

[amn1240]

I have to pretty much eat gluten free these days. Corn meal has become a pantry staple, but Himself bought me a bag of Masa Harina last week, and it's a revelation. The lime treatment changes the corn and allows it to form a dough without egg, without the addition of any other flour. It's brilliant

To stop food sticking in a thin pot, buy a sheet of the oven liner/baking tray liner from one of the poundstores (it's the same stuff as the expensive ones in places like Sainsbury's or Lakeland) and cut it to fit the bottom. Lay it inside and cook on top of the liner. No burnt on or stuck food, and it's easy to turn things over. Also makes cleaning up after frying a lot easier since it doesn't need much oil.

Nice looking day out there Peaceful, birdsong, nice bit of the world, fresh air….all good Thank you for sharing

cheers,
Toddy

Thanks Toddy. The oven liner is something Ill have to try. There was alot of soaking and scrubbing of the pan when i got home

"You are never too old for a happy childhood. Muddy is a state of happiness" - Im nicking this by the way.

 

[santaman2000]

I have to pretty much eat gluten free these days. Corn meal has become a pantry staple, but Himself bought me a bag of Masa Harina last week, and it's a revelation. The lime treatment changes the corn and allows it to form a dough without egg, without the addition of any other flour. It's brilliant .....

Hmm. I hadn't thought of Masa Haina. Of course you couldn't sub it for corn meal in the johnny cakes though;they're basically a griddled cornbread and the texture wouldn't be right. But there are definitely some possibilities there.

Oh, and I'm sure you remember we go GF in my family too (my daughter's Celiac)

 

[santaman2000]

amn1240: Did you ever look up why they were called "hoe-cakes?"

 

[amn1240]

amn1240: Did you ever look up why they were called "hoe-cakes?"

According to Wikipedia they were cooked on a type of iron pan called a hoe.

 

[santaman2000]

According to Wikipedia they were cooked on a type of iron pan called a hoe.

Well Wiki's partly right. LOL. It wasn't a pan; it was an actual garden hoe. The field hands invented them cooking on said hoes over a fire for lunch.

 

[Macaroon]

@ amn1240; Thanks for the post, and I have a suggestion for you................try using powdered egg in the mix, keeps the simplicity and works a treat. And a question....what was that handy little lighter with the extendable
neck that you used to light your Trangia?

 

[amn1240]

@ amn1240; Thanks for the post, and I have a suggestion for you................try using powdered egg in the mix, keeps the simplicity and works a treat. And a question....what was that handy little lighter with the extendable
neck that you used to light your Trangia?

That was the SOTO Pocket Torch XT. Ive done a review video if your interested:

[video=youtube;9gkVhHsOnwI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gkVhHsOnwI[/video]

 

[Macaroon]

Yeah great, thanks a lot

Good little find, that; I could see one of those being a "get out of jail free" item in some circumstances.

 

[Toddy]

Thing with the masa harina is that it's a flour….and it mixes well with cornmeal, and it kind of holds it all together Make the dough and let it sit for a little before you make it into 'cakes'.

M

 

[Macaroon]

I'd not heard of masa harina until reading this; it sounds really interesting from what I've read; I think I'll get some and have a play

 

[Toddy]

Three things; firstly it's difficult to find in the UK and postage doubles the cost, and it's already expensive here Small delicatessens seem to be the best bet….Himself found one shop in Glasgow, and that was it.
Secondly, it has a definite 'smell'. Something to do with the lime washing process, but if it's too strong it can smell almost like patchouli, and it takes a little getting used to. It's not bad, it's not offputting, just seems a bit odd and rather strange to us. Not at all like our floury, or oaty smelling breads.
Thirdly, fresh tortillas only take a couple of minutes to make and they're very good The girdle/bakestone/frying pan needs fairly hot to cook them well.

M

 

[santaman2000]

Thing with the masa harina is that it's a flour….and it mixes well with cornmeal, and it kind of holds it all together Make the dough and let it sit for a little before you make it into 'cakes'.

M

Yeah, it's really a type of corn flour and as such it keeps the recipe pure corn. I might try it in my cornbread recipes instead of the other GF flours. That said, cornbread batter doesn't usually "sit" before cooking; might be a good idea with the hoe-cakes though.

I'd not heard of masa harina until reading this; it sounds really interesting from what I've read; I think I'll get some and have a play

It's a native American corn flour that was traditionally used to make tortillas. Still is actually. An interesting fact about it is that said tortillas can actually be broken down back to Masa and reused. At least some tortillas can; not all modern tortillas are made from masa to begin with.

 

[Macaroon]

Thanks for all the info.

 

[santaman2000]

Three things; firstly it's difficult to find in the UK and postage doubles the cost, and it's already expensive here Small delicatessens seem to be the best bet….Himself found one shop in Glasgow, and that was it.
Secondly, it has a definite 'smell'. Something to do with the lime washing process, but if it's too strong it can smell almost like patchouli, and it takes a little getting used to. It's not bad, it's not offputting, just seems a bit odd and rather strange to us. Not at all like our floury, or oaty smelling breads.
Thirdly, fresh tortillas only take a couple of minutes to make and they're very good The girdle/bakestone/frying pan needs fairly hot to cook them well.

M

I suppose you could make your own masa as well. Well, actually I know you could. Just not sure how involved the process is. Obviously the native peoples made it with only stone tools.

 

[Toddy]

It's basically an alkalining process; it can be done with ashes at it's most basic. But, and it's a huge but, it not only changes the chemistry of the corn and makes it become a dough instead of a porridge type meal, but in doing so it actually allows for a much better edibility/digestive factor too. It makes it a much better food.
I read someone's suggestion a while back that they thought that it was the health of the children that made folks do the lime processing, but I think that that most likely came after the process was developed that made cornmeal into into a dough. It makes it into a very useful flour that way. Flatbreads are a world wide food in a myriad of forms.

Sorry amn1240, we really have taken your thread OT.

M

 

[Macaroon]

Threads wandering off course can sometimes be a very good thing, and here's a case in point, eh? I didn't know any of this earlier today and now I'm off on another little food adventure