A reminder that the over reliance on corn as a staple crop caused much malnutrition in the US, particularly the south, as well as in some parts of Europe and Africa throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and even the 20th century and into the modern day in some poorer parts of the world. Specifically, it was a lack of Vitamin B3 (Niacin), which caused a condition known as Pellagra. It effected millions, and resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands. This is because a process known as "nixtamalization" is needed to break down indigestible starches in the corn, making them possible for our body to process. This also frees protein and essential nutrients, like niacin, that are bound up in those starches, and would normally pass right through your body if the corn isn't processed properly. Yes, this even applies to corn meal and corn starch. To nixtamalize corn, you need to boil the corn in an alkaline water solution, such as limewater, ash water, or lye water. Then let it soak in the solution for several hours. This not only makes many of the corn's nutrients more bioavailable, it also improves the flavor and, depending on what alkaline substance you use, increases the calcium, potassium, or sodium content of the corn. This process was originally practiced thousands of years ago by the Native Americans that were living in the area of modern day Guatemala, and, by the time of European colonization, was in wide use by natives that used maize as a staple crop. Nixtamalized corn in combination with beans was a nearly complete diet, and provides most of what people needed to survive. When the Europeans arrived, they started to grow corn, but did not adopt the nixtamalization process, not knowing why it was necessary. It did thrive, however, in Central America, and that is where most corn nixtamalization happens to this day. The malnutrition caused by over reliance on un-nixtamalized corn was what eventually led to the prevalence of enriched bread, enriched flour, and enriched foods in general, within America. I doubt anybody is going to read my long-winded comment on this 9 year old video, but I still wanted to share this knowledge of food history, and the little known tragedy of Pellagra, which effected as many or more people than Scurvy.
"did not adopt the nixtamalization process." Not quite. Europeans in the 18th century English colonies WOULD have generally nixtamalized their corn. The main reason is because doing so makes it easier to grind the corn into flour, requiring less force in the mill and even making hand grinding feasible. As a result Pellagra did not become a real epidemic problem until the late 19th century, when the introduction of new powerful corn mills rendered it profitable to skip the alkali processing before milling. Families that had always lived on a corn diet suddenly found themselves getting sick without understanding their diet had become less nutritious.
@@mcRydes Remember these were people living on very meager diets already, even with the properly treated corn. In the modern day world, that's usually not a problem. Those other nutrients can be had in your other foods or..........as in this video you can combine different types of flour. Basically, eat your veggies like your mother told you to and you'll be fine. :)
As someone with a lifelong interest in history , I've never understood why people focus on big battles and overlook this kind of awesome stuff. People of the past (thankfully) spent more time making bread than war!
We did a video series on the War of 1812 but we focused on the 'mundane' activities of the impact on the community, women and children and the Quakers who were pacifists. One episode was on food and a family eating the local fare with a voice over
@@updownstate Here is one on US Prisoners captured in Oshawa th-cam.com/video/r3jAbjeLsSA/w-d-xo.html. Interesting the prisoner was imprisoned at a POW camp in Oshawa Harbour and was cold and he was lent by a British Soldier a Redcoat uniform. The US navy sailed into the harbour and was shot by a US sailor. We have located buckshot and canon balls in the harbour. Very little interest in this local history.
I grew up eating cornbread baked with slices of aged white cheddar baked inside. When served I would cut the piece in half and melt a chunk of butter on it and then pour it in a health dose of maple syrup, the contrast of savoury and sweet is delicious. I am having it for breakfast tomorrow morning, I highly recommend!
Yes, it seems as though we do have a time machine of sorts available to us today. If you want to see and sometimes to understand our past and possibly future all we have to do is travel the world to find people living as though it were 200 years ago, 100 years ago and maybe 10 years from today. All hiding in the crooks and crannies of today's world.
My grandfather grew up on a cotton farm in Arkansas during the early 20th century. He always talked about hoe cakes with molasses as a favorite meal. He made them for me as a kid, on his hoe, around the camp fire. Thanks for the nostalgia and an awesome channel. Subscribed!
I love that we get a history lesson along with a recipe and you don’t talk down to us. You are a gem here on TH-cam. Thank you for taking time out of your day to share something with us ❤️
It's not just the quality of these videos that keeps me here, though that in itself is amazing and I'd love to watch you on TV. What really gets my attention is that you're warm and welcoming and you make me feel like I'm at home.
I've been watching these at silly times in the morning when I'm struck with insomnia for some reason. They're strangely addictive. As a British person, I find the colonies and their differences very interesting.
The colonies were influenced by Indians and Africans in their food ways. When I went to England, it amazed me how different ..biscuits to you are cookies to us,when we say biscuits we mean bread.
Our culture in America,although based upon the British, developed into something unique to us.We learned to "make do" because of scarcity or cost(more coffee drinking because of the Tea Tax) or as the video said wheat being shipped back to Europe. I return the compliment by watching videos about life in the U.K.Cheers.
I had a cousin visit from Poland on a work visa back in 1989. He was appalled when he was served corn, asking why we were serving "animal feed"! It took some explaining to get him to understand that, in the U.S., we also use corn for human consumption. :-)
Englishman: In England we use oats to feed horses, in Scotland you use oats to feed men. Scotsman: Yes sir, that is why they are the best horses and the best men in the world.
That is hilarious. Its especially ironic considering that maize saved Europe from widespread starvation and lead to population increase. Corn is the best.
That's so funny - my 92 year-old landlady is from Poland, has lived in the US for almost 70 years, and would never dream of eating corn, 'animal feed' as she's called it.
The introduction of corn jnto Africa created a great increase in the population. Corn is still Africa's biggest crop. The introduction of potatoes into northern Europe created a great increase in the population. Potatoes are still a major European crop. Russia and China grow huge amounts of corn, potatoes, sunflowers.
You have a gift for presenting the history of your subject in a way that is as engaging as it is informative; that is truly rare, and I am thankful for the time you take to do it as well as you do. Cheers!
I happened upon your channel during a cornbread search. While I might prefer a moister cornbread recipe, I see me watching MANY of your videos on 18th C. cooking. If I find a Christmas video, I may just faint. Thank you!
Wow, I ate like that growing up here in the south. wonderful to know how it was handed down through the generations. I still make beans and corn bread even now. thank you for the video.
+frugalnanny This recipe is very similar to the cornbread I grew up eating in the South. My family recipe has an egg and no molasses, however. My preference is a 2:1 ratio of corn to wheat, but some use less wheat, or even all corn.
@@5roundsrapid263, Yep then you put it in a cast iron skillet. While I do love the "Jiffy" yellow corn mix. I miss with all my being the unsweet dry white cornbread my grandmother made for us. Served hot with butter it was the perfect accompaniment to fried potatoes. That's how we do it in Georgia.
I learned from my mom how to make 'Hot water cornbread' by pouring hot water over the cornmeal mixing and then frying it in an iron skillit. Not much difference but the molasses,milk and butter add a fabulous touch. I think I will try it.
Most any "history" I've read in school always has a wealthy spin... it's like we learned a little about these time periods from the "well to do" point of view. Thank you so much for sharing the commoners life. It's so much more real. 💚
Educational and fascinating as always. And I didn’t even have to pay or go to a museum. Thank you for sharing your love and passion for the 18th century. You are making an impact and reaching people all over the world. The channel is so warm and welcoming.
Englishmen were comically fearful of and slow to try out every New World food because they thought it was dangerous, and yet they took to tobacco like fish to water. Kind of ironic
Too true. Smoked like chimneys, but thought that tomatoes were poisonous. The Scots-Irish, on the other hand, were no such snobs about food -- too poor to be picky! Not only did we adopt and adapt native ways of cooking and farming, we intermarried. I'm part Cherokee myself, and the cooking habits passed down in my family show it. Ever pushing the frontier farther westward, through the forests and over the Appalachian Mountains, we were the one group suspected and feared most by the British soldiers.
Be careful. When you're boasting that your people's food is better than English food, that's not exactly high praise. The English somehow conquered a quarter of the planet without ever learning to feed themselves. The only British cuisine today that's actually edible was stolen from India and Pakistan.
In Australia, we cook pumpkin all the time as a savoury vegetable and my mother-in-law, who migrated here from the UK in the 60's, always used to call it sheep's fodder lol. My favourite is baked pumpkin as part of a roast dinner although I love it boiled, steamed or made into a soup.
Apart from the great English contribution to world cuisine - bacon and eggs! Even poor labourers would have a small garden, in which they kept a pig and a couple of chickens. Using both, with the addition of a couple of other ingredients such as mushrooms (and later those 'poisonous' tomatoes) we gave rise to 'The Full English Breakfast', known and loved worldwide.
I binge watch your Channel. And I posted on a couple of things and I must say that I just get a pure joy out of watching you. I like the music you chose to play in your videos as well. It makes me very happy
I found a store that sells cornmeal here and tried something similar but I used an egg as a binder instead of wheat flour. Ingredients - Cornmeal, butter, water, an egg, onion flakes, garlic flakes, salt, pepper and mustard powder.
My old grandmother still makes ho cake! lmao I cracked up when you called them that. I make them as well, very tasty with jam and butter, piece of country ham, and a sunny side egg! Glass of coconut milk... Oh man, thanks for this recipe! You took me back to grandmas.
I tried making this today using ground up and sifted popcorn kernels. It actually turned out quite good. There's a bit of work to grind the kernels, but worth it since finding non-gmo corn meal is hard to find where I'm at.
I know that it may not be your intent but your videos can be a great source of knowledge for someone preparing for a societal collapse. We are so dependent on technology and it is good to know the ways of our ancestors for both historical and possible practical reasons.
im so happy to have found these wonderful videos. i have decided that this year all of my holiday meals will be colonial recipes. i will be making my corn bread just as you have done and i cant wait for my family to try it.
When I was in culinary school, I did a study on corn bread. I noticed that alot of people complained that old cornbread recipes didn't work. It turns out that someone, sorry I can't give them credit because I can't remember their names, figured out that the reason was that in the old times, corn meal contained the entire kernel. germ and everything. Unfortunately, that opens cornmeal up to spoiling. In modern times, our cornmeal is different. It's bereft of anything that could allow it to spoil. Consequently, the recipes don't work. If you have a recipe from your great grandmother and you want to try it, go to a mill and get fresh ground corn meal. It will work fine. Just don't try to store this corn meal for a long time, as it will likely go rancid.
I love how you give history, good and bad, without putting too much emotional attachment into it. I dont mean to say you lack emotion. I mean to say you speak of history as a historian rather than someone overly attached to it. This helps us, the viewer, listen closer to the history and put it in context without getting bogged down in our own emotions or biases. Keep up the good work. Fascinating!
If you get a chance to readdress your corn meal breads, try mixing in some regular cooked corn or sliced hot peppers, like jalapenos or other favorite. Mixing in cooked vegetables like this can moisten and soften the bread for immediate eating. My little daughter says thank you for the hot chocolate recipes as well!
Wow, this is so intriguing. My grandmother taught me to make my cornbread at a very young age, im 28 & still make it the same way she did in the same cast iron skillet. No measurements just eye balling it, about 2 pound of cornmeal white or yellow, around a cup of flour for better texture, 1 egg, 3/4 of a carton of buttermilk & keep splashing in regular milk a little at a time till the consistency is right. About a 1/2 cup of corn oil pre heated & brought to temperature in the skillet on the eye of the stove, pour the mix into the skillet, let it fry for about a minute on the eye, pop it in to the oven preheated at 375 for about 40 minute's. Takes a little longer because its a large recipe, just incredible Jon so similar & just puts a big smile on my face. Great video bud, God Bless you friend!
The term 'corn' also referred to large granules of salt- hence corned beef, which has nothing to do with maize, but is salted beef. It is interesting to note how what is considered good to eat, or not, is dictated by what is essentially 'food snobbery' Goat meat and milk are other examples. Beef and dairy cows require more land to keep than a small flock of goats, so most any peasant or poor rural person could keep and eat goats, and their milk. Still the most widely consumed meat in the world, the rising demand in America is largely due to immigrant populations. Yet this food is part of the heritage of most everyone with ancestors from Europe, much of Africa, the near and middle east, and much of Asia.
Jefferdaughter Along the same lines, remember that books were only for the relatively well-to-do people, until recent times. Cooking was one of the last things to be recorded in books, because the 'help' who did the cooking, or women in the family, had never been taught to read (or were actively discouraged from learning). Also, cooking was something learned as a matter of course. A book on how to cook would be like a book on how to get dressed or tie your shoelaces.
Mom was born and raised on the family farm in Mississsippi. She subsequently moved off to college met my father had me and never went back to the farm. To my luck I was raised and taught farm cooking and one of the dishes was corn bread from scratch, It was delicious. Even today now that my mother is gone, she would be happy that I continue to cook it today for my family and they love it. She would love your show by the way.
I love all your cooking videos! These are great not just for the period reenactor but for emergency preparation. Recipes and techniques that can be made and done without benefit of modern appliances are of great value!
Dear Mr. Townsend, I noticed that you often wear gauntlet type gloves around the cooking hearth. Did housewives and other cooks wear such gloves when cooking too, or were they more likely to use a fabric potholder, or rag to handle hot items with? Personally, I'd rather use the gloves as I use oven mitts today. I'm just wondering how common leather gloves were for cooking back in the time you represent.
Omg, Johnny Cake! My mother had a handed down recipe that we don't know how old it was, for Johnny Cake. So good. To bad the recipe was lost, due to a problem with the storage of some of my moms stuff. Got wet.
Thanks for the recipe! I would be interested in hearing more about the varieties of corn available at the time. I've read that in Mexico they have dozens of traditional varieties of corn in many colors. Here in the US we don't see many varieties. I wonder what was available in the 18th century, how it looked and tasted.
These videos are great to watch for crafts to try on rainy days with my girlfriend, we cook all kinds of stuff together because of these videos and its almost all really good.
I truly hope I find something in life that I enjoy as much as this man enjoys sharing his love for the 18th century. You have my subscription Townsends!
idk why but this guy is just so sweet and seeing him so passionate about all of this is so cute and wholesome. This is gonna be my favorite channel for awhile i think.
Great cooking ideas! Just want to mention that scalding milk is only necessary for using raw milk. The heat provides and enzyme change. So if a person is using store bought cooked milk, no need to scald.
Hi and thank you very much from a new subscriber in region Abruzzi, Centre Italy. In this Region a kind of cornbread called "Pizza gialla", Yellow Pizza that is, is still made and sold by bakers. A more "sophisticated" recipe includes an accompaniment of spontaneous herbs, oil, sweet dried peppers and other flavourings like garlic to become known as "Pizza e foje", "Pizza and leaves" literally.
It is videos like this very one that I think will have lasting and historical power. Today is March 27th, 2021. I see you published this video back in May of 2012. Excellent
Um that's my moms recipe minus the molasses and she uses butter milk my wife also makes it that way but we use cast iron skillet been eating it my whole life.
Sidney Pendergrass I suspect the most common candy was candy apples, or toffee apples. It’s very few ingredients, and relatively cheap (plus apples, molasses, etc. could be stored for a long while.
I've found my calling! I love this channel. I'm legally blind, and can't find the email address to ask for a catalog. Could someone reply with it? Stoked that this is made in Indiana.
![ALLY - OH MY! [ REACTION ] 'Amarin Nitibhon' #ALLY_OHMY #ALLY #allynitibhon #แอลลี่](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nX9qpHjVfbQ/mqdefault.jpg)
A reminder that the over reliance on corn as a staple crop caused much malnutrition in the US, particularly the south, as well as in some parts of Europe and Africa throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and even the 20th century and into the modern day in some poorer parts of the world. Specifically, it was a lack of Vitamin B3 (Niacin), which caused a condition known as Pellagra. It effected millions, and resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands.
This is because a process known as "nixtamalization" is needed to break down indigestible starches in the corn, making them possible for our body to process. This also frees protein and essential nutrients, like niacin, that are bound up in those starches, and would normally pass right through your body if the corn isn't processed properly. Yes, this even applies to corn meal and corn starch.
To nixtamalize corn, you need to boil the corn in an alkaline water solution, such as limewater, ash water, or lye water. Then let it soak in the solution for several hours. This not only makes many of the corn's nutrients more bioavailable, it also improves the flavor and, depending on what alkaline substance you use, increases the calcium, potassium, or sodium content of the corn.
This process was originally practiced thousands of years ago by the Native Americans that were living in the area of modern day Guatemala, and, by the time of European colonization, was in wide use by natives that used maize as a staple crop. Nixtamalized corn in combination with beans was a nearly complete diet, and provides most of what people needed to survive. When the Europeans arrived, they started to grow corn, but did not adopt the nixtamalization process, not knowing why it was necessary. It did thrive, however, in Central America, and that is where most corn nixtamalization happens to this day.
The malnutrition caused by over reliance on un-nixtamalized corn was what eventually led to the prevalence of enriched bread, enriched flour, and enriched foods in general, within America.
I doubt anybody is going to read my long-winded comment on this 9 year old video, but I still wanted to share this knowledge of food history, and the little known tragedy of Pellagra, which effected as many or more people than Scurvy.
lye water? I've never heard of this. rabbit hole
Such as in hominy?
"did not adopt the nixtamalization process." Not quite. Europeans in the 18th century English colonies WOULD have generally nixtamalized their corn. The main reason is because doing so makes it easier to grind the corn into flour, requiring less force in the mill and even making hand grinding feasible. As a result Pellagra did not become a real epidemic problem until the late 19th century, when the introduction of new powerful corn mills rendered it profitable to skip the alkali processing before milling. Families that had always lived on a corn diet suddenly found themselves getting sick without understanding their diet had become less nutritious.
Dude who the funk is going to read such a book of a comment?
@@mcRydes Remember these were people living on very meager diets already, even with the properly treated corn. In the modern day world, that's usually not a problem. Those other nutrients can be had in your other foods or..........as in this video you can combine different types of flour. Basically, eat your veggies like your mother told you to and you'll be fine. :)
As someone with a lifelong interest in history , I've never understood why people focus on big battles and overlook this kind of awesome stuff. People of the past (thankfully) spent more time making bread than war!
We did a video series on the War of 1812 but we focused on the 'mundane' activities of the impact on the community, women and children and the Quakers who were pacifists. One episode was on food and a family eating the local fare with a voice over
Well unlike the ottomans. french, and Brits, well yes bread was made more.
@@gcmcknight Where can we see your series? I'm very interested.
@@updownstate Here is one on US Prisoners captured in Oshawa th-cam.com/video/r3jAbjeLsSA/w-d-xo.html.
Interesting the prisoner was imprisoned at a POW camp in Oshawa Harbour and was cold and he was lent by a British Soldier a Redcoat uniform. The US navy sailed into the harbour and was shot by a US sailor. We have located buckshot and canon balls in the harbour. Very little interest in this local history.
I don't know why the other videos are not showing up but i will repost them.
This guy is warm and inviting. Perfect host!
I agree.
Hear hear.
He has that PBS appeal. Don't think that is an insult. I love watching this kind of stuff.
+JudgmentDay78 I wish this was on PBS when I was a kid.
He does remind me of those shows I really liked like The Woodwright's Shop.
Dude... you make content that's better than most network T.V. shows. Keep up the good work. I subbed immediately to your channel.
Thanks!~
You have the worst name in TH-cam history.
ferociousgumby why??
look smegma up
BESTPOTATOSALLAD Baaaa!!
These videos make me happy.
Thanks!
They make me hungry.
These videos make me happy that I live in the 21st century.
s o d o Me too, I can't get enough of them.
Love watching your videos 👌
I grew up eating cornbread baked with slices of aged white cheddar baked inside.
When served I would cut the piece in half and melt a chunk of butter on it and then pour it in a health dose of maple syrup, the contrast of savoury and sweet is delicious. I am having it for breakfast tomorrow morning, I highly recommend!
Now that sounds like something to try!
How much do you weigh? Just kidding. . .
I was with you until the maple syrup. I don't care for sweet/savory. I would add an over easy fried egg!
What is your cornbread recipe?
That sounds really tasty!
This channel is underrated.
He's got a million subs. Hardly underrated. ;-)
2 years had passed since that comment :) I'm glad he got the subscribers.
Extremely.
@@joannebailey8277 should be a billion.
Yes, it seems as though we do have a time machine of sorts available to us today. If you want to see and sometimes to understand our past and possibly future all we have to do is travel the world to find people living as though it were 200 years ago, 100 years ago and maybe 10 years from today. All hiding in the crooks and crannies of today's world.
"The future is already here, its just unevenly spread." Don't know where i got it anymore.
Here, here!
My grandfather grew up on a cotton farm in Arkansas during the early 20th century. He always talked about hoe cakes with molasses as a favorite meal. He made them for me as a kid, on his hoe, around the camp fire. Thanks for the nostalgia and an awesome channel. Subscribed!
Dude, that's how I was Taught to make cornbread. I was raised in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. And it's delicious.
Mike Gray I was gonna comment something similar. Growing up in Georgia and north Florida, this is how I saw everyone making it.
The equipment is better but a lot of these 18-19th century dishes are still alive and well in the American South East.
Mike Gray
Same here, but in the Cookson Hills of Oklahoma.
Still a favorite in Texas.
Mok214 yes I'm from OK too!
Great presenter. Unique content. You've earned yourself a subscriber. Keep it up mate!
Thanks!
Oliver Christopher Gomez
I love that we get a history lesson along with a recipe and you don’t talk down to us. You are a gem here on TH-cam. Thank you for taking time out of your day to share something with us ❤️
It's not just the quality of these videos that keeps me here, though that in itself is amazing and I'd love to watch you on TV.
What really gets my attention is that you're warm and welcoming and you make me feel like I'm at home.
I've been watching these at silly times in the morning when I'm struck with insomnia for some reason. They're strangely addictive.
As a British person, I find the colonies and their differences very interesting.
imtheotherdave same
Same here 😊
The colonies were influenced by Indians and Africans in their food ways. When I went to England, it amazed me how different ..biscuits to you are cookies to us,when we say biscuits we mean bread.
Our culture in America,although based upon the British, developed into something unique to us.We learned to "make do" because of scarcity or cost(more coffee drinking because of the Tea Tax) or as the video said wheat being shipped back to Europe. I return the compliment by watching videos about life in the U.K.Cheers.
Lots of American food (like chili con carne, cornbread, etc.) is a fusion of European and Native American (or Mexican) cuisines.
can't believe this was 9 years ago. still one of the best contents in this platform
I never get tired of this show. Because the simple things in life are often the Best 👍👍👍 And I love the music 😀💕👍👍👍
Actually I make my cornbread from scratch. I dont use those modern mixes. I even have a cast iron skillet I bake it in.
Nate River You can't make half decent cornbread without a cast iron skillet!
@@anthonyvandyke1021 cast iron is a necessity. I keep a set of cast irons in my truck when I go camping... and another set in the kitchen.
That's the best way to cook cornbread! In a cast iron skillet!
Me too. I didn’t like cornbread much when I was growing up, but I love it now, and make it often, the same way my Gma made it.
How else would you make cornbread if not in a cast iron skillet? I just found this website and I'm totally amazed by it
I had a cousin visit from Poland on a work visa back in 1989. He was appalled when he was served corn, asking why we were serving "animal feed"! It took some explaining to get him to understand that, in the U.S., we also use corn for human consumption. :-)
Too funny.
The English once considered oats only fit for animal consumption, and ridiculed the Scots for eating oat cakes and oat porridge (oatmeal?).
Englishman: In England we use oats to feed horses, in Scotland you use oats to feed men.
Scotsman: Yes sir, that is why they are the best horses and the best men in the world.
That is hilarious. Its especially ironic considering that maize saved Europe from widespread starvation and lead to population increase. Corn is the best.
That's so funny - my 92 year-old landlady is from Poland, has lived in the US for almost 70 years, and would never dream of eating corn, 'animal feed' as she's called it.
The introduction of corn jnto Africa created a great increase in the population. Corn is still Africa's biggest crop.
The introduction of potatoes into northern Europe created a great increase in the population. Potatoes are still a major European crop.
Russia and China grow huge amounts of corn, potatoes, sunflowers.
You have a gift for presenting the history of your subject in a way that is as engaging as it is informative; that is truly rare, and I am thankful for the time you take to do it as well as you do.
Cheers!
I am thinking of making your fried chicken, baked beans and this corn bread have a proper 18th century meal.
TheStarTrekApologist Channel how did your 18th century meal work out? Was it as good as you imagined?
I'm definitely going to give the fried chicken a try - it looks and sounds delicious.
😂
Oh man.. can I come over and we can watch Star Trek (any of them love it all) and have dinner?
I'm lonely. 😔
Indian: We have this versatile crop, that can be used in-line
British: GIVE THIS TO THE PIGS, JAMES
Bahaha. How did they even come to that conclusion. It's delicous!
Eric Johnson Not as delicious as bacon.
@@TheSteelEcho666 But it's even more delicious _with_ bacon.
@@zemorph42 Ooh cornbread with bacon bits in it. 🤤 Maybe even grease the pan with bacon grease.
@@Pyraus IT LOOKS FUNNY
this guy is so wholesome, i just wanna give him a hug honestly. i always learn so much from these videos.
The love you have for this is palpable... great work!
For real, i love this series (18th century cooking). Right now its my favorite thing in youtube. Keep up the amazing work, i can’t wait to see more
dude, your videos are amazing. Really, really, really interesting. It's clear you have a passion for this subject and that's really cool :)
your* = possession
you're = you are
You caught me fair and square
Really enjoying this channel, keep it up. Love the mix of cooking and history, subscribed :)
+Richard Ewins Thanks for the comment - and - thanks for watching!
When my late husband, Dana and I were going through a tough time, we ate half cornmeal half flour pancakes. They were good and filling.
I happened upon your channel during a cornbread search. While I might prefer a moister cornbread recipe, I see me watching MANY of your videos on 18th C. cooking. If I find a Christmas video, I may just faint. Thank you!
+Maiasatara have you seen the holiday special? He made so many pies, it's a real feast!
Maiasatara oh he has plenty of Christmas time videos, ur gonna luv them.
This is one of your best videos. I love it when you get into the economic and historical rational for certain recipes.
I just love this channel, it keeps our heritage and spirit alive!
Seriously this is one of the most informative shows on youtube. Right up my alley.
Wow, I ate like that growing up here in the south. wonderful to know how it was handed down through the generations. I still make beans and corn bread even now. thank you for the video.
+frugalnanny This recipe is very similar to the cornbread I grew up eating in the South. My family recipe has an egg and no molasses, however. My preference is a 2:1 ratio of corn to wheat, but some use less wheat, or even all corn.
frugalnanny Me too my grandmas corn bread is very similar.
@@5roundsrapid263, Yep then you put it in a cast iron skillet. While I do love the "Jiffy" yellow corn mix. I miss with all my being the unsweet dry white cornbread my grandmother made for us. Served hot with butter it was the perfect accompaniment to fried potatoes. That's how we do it in Georgia.
Yeah, my grandma used to fry unsweetened corn dough on the stove. They were like a dense biscuit and they tasted great with butter.
Curiously enough, this are incredibly similar to a very popular dish in the northern countries of south america called "Arepas"
sacwchiri loooooove arepas!
I love that you are so happy about it. Makes me enjoy these even more. Came for old timey stuff, stayed for you, mister!
I learned from my mom how to make 'Hot water cornbread' by pouring hot water over the cornmeal mixing and then frying it in an iron skillit. Not much difference but the molasses,milk and butter add a fabulous touch. I think I will try it.
I’m from the UK. I have learned a lot about American history of diet and food that I would never have heard of, if not for these videos.
Townsends is probably one of my top favorite Channels on TH-cam. Straight passion for the historical value and preservation goes into every video. 🔥
Most any "history" I've read in school always has a wealthy spin... it's like we learned a little about these time periods from the "well to do" point of view.
Thank you so much for sharing the commoners life. It's so much more real.
💚
I love this series,its interesting,fun and informative.So happy creative and enjoyable people want to share their knowledge.
Educational and fascinating as always. And I didn’t even have to pay or go to a museum. Thank you for sharing your love and passion for the 18th century. You are making an impact and reaching people all over the world. The channel is so warm and welcoming.
once again another informative and educational show!!!!! thanks again for help keeping this part of our history alive...#1 fan
This guy gives me hope for the human race! always learning something new& a really postive person
Englishmen were comically fearful of and slow to try out every New World food because they thought it was dangerous, and yet they took to tobacco like fish to water. Kind of ironic
Too true. Smoked like chimneys, but thought that tomatoes were poisonous.
The Scots-Irish, on the other hand, were no such snobs about food -- too poor to be picky! Not only did we adopt and adapt native ways of cooking and farming, we intermarried. I'm part Cherokee myself, and the cooking habits passed down in my family show it.
Ever pushing the frontier farther westward, through the forests and over the Appalachian Mountains, we were the one group suspected and feared most by the British soldiers.
Be careful. When you're boasting that your people's food is better than English food, that's not exactly high praise. The English somehow conquered a quarter of the planet without ever learning to feed themselves. The only British cuisine today that's actually edible was stolen from India and Pakistan.
you cant claim peas
peas are a plant not a dish
In Australia, we cook pumpkin all the time as a savoury vegetable and my mother-in-law, who migrated here from the UK in the 60's, always used to call it sheep's fodder lol. My favourite is baked pumpkin as part of a roast dinner although I love it boiled, steamed or made into a soup.
Apart from the great English contribution to world cuisine - bacon and eggs! Even poor labourers would have a small garden, in which they kept a pig and a couple of chickens. Using both, with the addition of a couple of other ingredients such as mushrooms (and later those 'poisonous' tomatoes) we gave rise to 'The Full English Breakfast', known and loved worldwide.
I binge watch your Channel. And I posted on a couple of things and I must say that I just get a pure joy out of watching you. I like the music you chose to play in your videos as well. It makes me very happy
I found a store that sells cornmeal here and tried something similar but I used an egg as a binder instead of wheat flour.
Ingredients - Cornmeal, butter, water, an egg, onion flakes, garlic flakes, salt, pepper and mustard powder.
I love your commitment to keeping history alive
The cornbread was delicious. Bit odd without cracking an egg in the mix, though. Were eggs generally not used for this sort of thing?
The molasses would be the emulsifier and also gave it a flavor contrast..eggs may not have been available to the people cooking this
your dedication to historical cooking and life of the 18th century is commendable and interesting....
You should open a restaurant called Colonial Cooking
A whole chain of restaurants worldwide!!
Jon's enthusiasm is infectious. These videos both teach me and make me feel more cheerful.
My old grandmother still makes ho cake! lmao I cracked up when you called them that. I make them as well, very tasty with jam and butter, piece of country ham, and a sunny side egg! Glass of coconut milk... Oh man, thanks for this recipe! You took me back to grandmas.
Isn't it cool how food can do that to you?
corn bread patties.
This channel is so interesting, I respect the effort in aesthetics and kitchenware.
I tried making this today using ground up and sifted popcorn kernels. It actually turned out quite good. There's a bit of work to grind the kernels, but worth it since finding non-gmo corn meal is hard to find where I'm at.
I know that it may not be your intent but your videos can be a great source of knowledge for someone preparing for a societal collapse. We are so dependent on technology and it is good to know the ways of our ancestors for both historical and possible practical reasons.
im so happy to have found these wonderful videos. i have decided that this year all of my holiday meals will be colonial recipes. i will be making my corn bread just as you have done and i cant wait for my family to try it.
EmPi was it good?
I still watch this one from time to time. It is soothing.
When I was in culinary school, I did a study on corn bread. I noticed that alot of people complained that old cornbread recipes didn't work.
It turns out that someone, sorry I can't give them credit because I can't remember their names, figured out that the reason was that in the old times, corn meal contained the entire kernel. germ and everything. Unfortunately, that opens cornmeal up to spoiling. In modern times, our cornmeal is different. It's bereft of anything that could allow it to spoil. Consequently, the recipes don't work.
If you have a recipe from your great grandmother and you want to try it, go to a mill and get fresh ground corn meal. It will work fine. Just don't try to store this corn meal for a long time, as it will likely go rancid.
Same for many wheat breads.
I love how you give history, good and bad, without putting too much emotional attachment into it. I dont mean to say you lack emotion. I mean to say you speak of history as a historian rather than someone overly attached to it. This helps us, the viewer, listen closer to the history and put it in context without getting bogged down in our own emotions or biases.
Keep up the good work. Fascinating!
Beans and cornbread had a fight, beans knocked cornbread outta sight!
Sounds like you are a martyre to flatulence😂
Comforting sanity is what you bring to a lot of us. Thank you so very, very much❤️
If you get a chance to readdress your corn meal breads, try mixing in some regular cooked corn or sliced hot peppers, like jalapenos or other favorite. Mixing in cooked vegetables like this can moisten and soften the bread for immediate eating.
My little daughter says thank you for the hot chocolate recipes as well!
Arariel3 broccoli cheddar poblano!
Wow, this is so intriguing. My grandmother taught me to make my cornbread at a very young age, im 28 & still make it the same way she did in the same cast iron skillet.
No measurements just eye balling it, about 2 pound of cornmeal white or yellow, around a cup of flour for better texture, 1 egg, 3/4 of a carton of buttermilk & keep splashing in regular milk a little at a time till the consistency is right. About a 1/2 cup of corn oil pre heated & brought to temperature in the skillet on the eye of the stove, pour the mix into the skillet, let it fry for about a minute on the eye, pop it in to the oven preheated at 375 for about 40 minute's. Takes a little longer because its a large recipe, just incredible Jon so similar & just puts a big smile on my face. Great video bud, God Bless you friend!
I love the research that your show puts into the subjects. Your almost an opioid to Outlander Fans.
I just love the old days OMG. Thank you. The olden days Nothing like them.
The term 'corn' also referred to large granules of salt- hence corned beef, which has nothing to do with maize, but is salted beef. It is interesting to note how what is considered good to eat, or not, is dictated by what is essentially 'food snobbery' Goat meat and milk are other examples. Beef and dairy cows require more land to keep than a small flock of goats, so most any peasant or poor rural person could keep and eat goats, and their milk. Still the most widely consumed meat in the world, the rising demand in America is largely due to immigrant populations. Yet this food is part of the heritage of most everyone with ancestors from Europe, much of Africa, the near and middle east, and much of Asia.
Jefferdaughter Along the same lines, remember that books were only for the relatively well-to-do people, until recent times. Cooking was one of the last things to be recorded in books, because the 'help' who did the cooking, or women in the family, had never been taught to read (or were actively discouraged from learning). Also, cooking was something learned as a matter of course. A book on how to cook would be like a book on how to get dressed or tie your shoelaces.
I wonder if you could raise deer the same way you would a cow or a goat ?
fancy seeing you here.
Mom was born and raised on the family farm in Mississsippi. She subsequently moved off to college met my father had me and never went back to the farm. To my luck I was raised and taught farm cooking and one of the dishes was corn bread from scratch, It was delicious. Even today now that my mother is gone, she would be happy that I continue to cook it today for my family and they love it. She would love your show by the way.
Him: pulls out jiffy boxed cornbread
Me:* *gasp* * he doesn't live in the 19th century!
Yeah, that was kind of a shock.
Why does this channel make me so happy? It's like meditation and education all at the same time.
This sounds a lot like corn pone, something mentioned quite a lot in Huckleberry Finn.
Woke up from a bad dream last night and needed something to calm down to and this guy's voice did the trick thank you
We from Thamil nadu of India , use this for making porridge , dosa , ans idly and tastes great
I love all your cooking videos! These are great not just for the period reenactor but for emergency preparation. Recipes and techniques that can be made and done without benefit of modern appliances are of great value!
Dear Mr. Townsend, I noticed that you often wear gauntlet type gloves around the cooking hearth. Did housewives and other cooks wear such gloves when cooking too, or were they more likely to use a fabric potholder, or rag to handle hot items with? Personally, I'd rather use the gloves as I use oven mitts today.
I'm just wondering how common leather gloves were for cooking back in the time you represent.
I wish I had found this channel 10 years ago. I've always enjoyed history, especially early American history.
Can't get enough of that opening song
Watched a lot of your videos. Makes me wish sometimes I was born in 1859 instead of 1959. Thanks for what you do in keeping the past alive.
Omg, Johnny Cake! My mother had a handed down recipe that we don't know how old it was, for Johnny Cake. So good. To bad the recipe was lost, due to a problem with the storage of some of my moms stuff. Got wet.
As a retired cook of 31 years I enjoy these videos so much there is a lot we don't know about where our modern food comes from .
Thanks for the recipe! I would be interested in hearing more about the varieties of corn available at the time. I've read that in Mexico they have dozens of traditional varieties of corn in many colors. Here in the US we don't see many varieties. I wonder what was available in the 18th century, how it looked and tasted.
R.D. Dragon We have even more recipes using corn or maíz
These videos are great to watch for crafts to try on rainy days with my girlfriend, we cook all kinds of stuff together because of these videos and its almost all really good.
love cornbread anyway i can get it (or make it) but i hat that jiffy box stuff! !!.
I truly hope I find something in life that I enjoy as much as this man enjoys sharing his love for the 18th century. You have my subscription Townsends!
God bless you, Jon. I think this TH-cam is so valuable for preserving history. Thank you so much and God bless!
idk why but this guy is just so sweet and seeing him so passionate about all of this is so cute and wholesome. This is gonna be my favorite channel for awhile i think.
Great cooking ideas! Just want to mention that scalding milk is only necessary for using raw milk. The heat provides and enzyme change. So if a person is using store bought cooked milk, no need to scald.
Hi and thank you very much from a new subscriber in region Abruzzi, Centre Italy. In this Region a kind of cornbread called "Pizza gialla", Yellow Pizza that is, is still made and sold by bakers. A more "sophisticated" recipe includes an accompaniment of spontaneous herbs, oil, sweet dried peppers and other flavourings like garlic to become known as "Pizza e foje", "Pizza and leaves" literally.
You should do an episode on acorn bannock.
It is videos like this very one that I think will have lasting and historical power. Today is March 27th, 2021. I see you published this video back in May of 2012. Excellent
Most of your videos make me HUNGRY!!!!
I cannot Express my love for this channel and all the hard work that goes into what they provide
Um that's my moms recipe minus the molasses and she uses butter milk my wife also makes it that way but we use cast iron skillet been eating it my whole life.
These videos are what living history should be... thank you
Is there any recipes for 18th century candy?
Sidney Pendergrass i was thinking the same thing!
Sidney Pendergrass I suspect the most common candy was candy apples, or toffee apples. It’s very few ingredients, and relatively cheap (plus apples, molasses, etc. could be stored for a long while.
I am obsessed with this channel....informative and so relaxing.
I've found my calling! I love this channel. I'm legally blind, and can't find the email address to ask for a catalog. Could someone reply with it? Stoked that this is made in Indiana.
they have the website in the description box below the video. cant seem to link on my phone.
jas-townsend.com/?TH-cam&Description&MudOven1
Kerry Chan thank you! I'm visually impaired, so your help helped me souch!
I am LOVING the history + food direction of the new videos!
5:21 lmao
wait... what have I done here...
Reminds of Alton Brown. Love in depth history. We need more. Thank you.
We Southern errrr " Yankess" will keep our corn bread.
Yall cousins across the pond can have that other stuff.
These videos are so satisfying to watch.