Now I'm really hungry. I love polenta, and serve it often. I'm having a running battle with my favorite "Italian" store, because they only carry instant polenta. An abomination as far as I'm concerned. Fortunately, I can get a lovely coarse grind polenta at my local grocer, but I had to order it there too. Now my family and friends make sure the stock keeps moving, so they keep ordering. Thank you for a great lesson.

Yes, unfortunately many places only sell the instant or even the pre-made polenta. It's too bad really because that is what some people think polenta is and it's no wonder why they don't like it.

I say keep asking at the store, maybe if you ask enough times or if enough people ask they will stock it regularly.

Glad you liked the lesson Linda. Be sure to give the polenta on a board a try the next time you have a polenta craving, it's a fun one. Cheers!

This will definitely be on the table tonight. I can taste it as I think about it. I think some braised meat on it will be very nice. Thanks for the lesson.

An old Southern favorite is cornmeal mush which is allow to set up then sliced and fried. Is polenta, itself, ever handled this way?

Also, the Pennsylvania Dutch have a recipe called "scrapple"
in which meat is included with cooked cornmeal with the resulting mixture cooled, sliced, and then fried.

Here is a link to a scrapple recipe if you are interested:
http://teriskitchen.com/padutch/scrapple.html

Indeed polenta can be fried. You would just use a lower ratio of liquid to polenta (as per the lesson) and then continue one once the polenta is fully set.

Have a nice dinner Paul, sounds good. Cheers!

Hi Paul, I love scrapple, but I don't tell too many people, because they are used to seeing the stuff sold in stores and not something homemade. I've never tried "mush" with my coarse polenta, but, my husband is from the south, and I've made "eggs and grits" using my coarse grind yellow polenta. It was not well received at first, but he now agrees that the yellow grits really taste good. Going to try the mush recipe, after all, the maple trees are being tapped now, have to put some maple syrup to good use. Good grief, I'm hungry.

I just made some polenta and it's great! It was much easier then I thought. I will try some of it with my beef stew I prepared with the recipe from here. I think I'm getting fatter. Also the creme brulee was a hit.

I love the lesson and I am going to make at least one of the recipes this week and blog about it. But one serious question. What is the difference between polenta and grits?

Raised by southern US cooks, I've always loved coarse ground grits (aka corn meal) as a supporting character to main dishes, such as fire roasted pork loin with asiago cheese grits. I am using stone ground product from a mill, not that instant stuff they sell. I use various liquids (stock, broth, water) and different degrees of thickness.

From viewing this lesson,comparing ingredients and processes, I'm not sure I know the difference polenta and what I've been doing and considering as "grits". Is there a technical difference?

Traditionally, grits were made from hominy, which was a corn that was treated with an alkaline substance. This process, helped to release more nutrients so they could be better absorbed by the body. Nowadays, hominy grits can be hard to find (depending where you live).

Whether the corn is white or yellow, technically, you are cooking dried corn. A liquid needs to be added to allow the corn to rehydrate. There does seem to be quite a bit of debate about all of this though. I say, you are doing the right thing by seasoning and infusing flavor into the dish...whether it's grits or polenta. Nice work. Glad you liked the lesson. Cheers!

What container/technique works best for molding stiff polenta?

Many things! Entremet rings are often used and can be found in many kitchen stores. They also come in different shapes/sizes. Flexible moulds work well too. You can also pour it into a baking pan and cut it yourself...or make plastic rings by cutting the bottom off of a plastic (foodsafe) container. Cheers!

Being from Georgia, we have use "polenta" for generations, we have always called it "grits" though. We also eat it with just about everything from breakfast with eggs, to fried fish, or shrimp and gravy for dinner or supper. Do you think if it's marked grits or if it's marked corn meal, it's about the same?

There are many that say they are essentially the same thing (I am one of those people) but then there are those that completely disagree with that.

I once worked on a movie set (we were film caters in our past life) and one of the actors had "grits" flow up from down south as he said "you can't get the real thing anywhere else".

You may find this video from Alton Brown called "True Grits" interesting (the video may be a bit corny...no pun intended...but it's informative). Cheers!

Hi, I'm new here so forgive me if this question has been asked, I see in the lesson bags of corn flour. I would like to know if there is a difference between this and cornmeal and can they be used in the same manner? Thanks for the lesson.

Depending on where you live, cornflour can just mean finely ground cornmeal. For more information here is a great link on the differences. Cheers!

I loved this lesson. In the Southern United States, this is called corn meal mush and is made with either yellow or white corn meal. Many grocers here carry corn meal in different grinds because it is a staple in Mexican cooking also. (I am in Texas). This is wonderful served with a couple of poached or over easy eggs on top and some bacon, ham or sausage on the side. I have also made it thickly and fried it like a pancake. They are called hoe-cakes or Johnny cakes and with a little syrup, butter, or honey are fabulous. I used to make these for my kids a lot. I can't wait to try the polenta on the board. I think my family will love it.

I really enjoyed the first lesson on Polenta, and can't believe that I only missed 1 out of 22! Thanks for such an easy lesson to start with... now I just have to worry about how much harder the lessons get, lol!
Aly

Having never eaten Polenta I am uncertain what it should "feel" like in the mouth. I realize there could be many "depends" here, so I will restrict my question to my dish exclusively.

I used a coarse grind Polenta with a four-to-one liquid ratio (basically the "Soft Polenta" recipe). Nearing the end of the cooking time (about 20 min) I saw where it was pulling from the sides and that it had a very pleasant creamy feel on the tongue, but also a bit of a very soft sort of texture to it as well. I thought that it tasted wonderful with the home made stock and home grown herb (thyme) so I left it as is and added some Parmigiano Reggiano and unsalted butter to finish.

While I am really rather pleased with the result (and maybe that's all that matters), I am curious if I got the "texture" right.

It's really hard to say without tasting it. Most importantly, the polenta shouldn't be crunchy or "al dente". It should be cooked all the way through. Having said that, coarse polenta will always have a grainier texture than the finer grind. The most important thing (and that goes for everything in cooking)...is that if you enjoyed the texture and the dish, it had good flavor and it was well-seasoned, that's all that counts :-)

The next time you cook polenta, keep tasting it to understand how the texture changes during cooking. Hope this helps! Cheers!

I've always baked polenta. I use 1 cup corn meal 5 cups water and 1tsp salt, in a dutch oven, uncovered @ about 375F. I leave it for 40-45 min, then I whisk it once till smooth and return to oven for about 10 min.
All of the other flavors can be added just as you would on the stove. I sometimes stir in a cheese or something right before serving.

I don't have to watch it or stir it. I don't boil water first or anything, the cold water perfectly mixes with the meal with no lumps. Just let it set in the oven for 45min w/out touching it, and you're done. I'd only consider the stove for speed or couldn't/wouldn't use the oven (July.)

I forgot to mention you should let baked polenta set for 7-10 mins or so to thicken completely before serving.

Hi Paul, this is my first time to the website, I stumpled upon it looking for a pie reciepe. Any how, my husband likes to brag about cooking and has nevered cooked Polenta, so I will take the steps I learned and make this dish for breakfast!

Question, where do I find Polenta? The Polenta, I purchased in the store was ready packaged and they did not carry the ground.

Polenta or cornmeal is available in many grocery stores. For more information on what to look for you may want to check out this video called "Types of Cornmeal". Cheers!

I just came back from my weekly grocery shopping and looked everywhere , all i could find was the pre-made stuff in that tube thing and i couldn't even find cornmeal ( well their was some in a small box but not knowing the quality i didn't want to risk it ) ..... What i did notice when buying my quick oats was about 6 different brands of "corn grits", had i known what i know now , i would of picked up some. needless to say next time I'm near at part of town I'll be picking up some.
Thanks.