Underrated Eats: Cornbread and Corn Muffins
The Underrated Eats section we cover off on underappreciated foods and food joints. For those that like their food hot and their takes even hotter!
On todays edition of underrated eats we’re talking cornbread and corn muffins. We’ve already alluded to the brilliance of cornbread in our Boston Market blog, but cornbread needs it’s own callout. For whatever reason living on the west coast it’s almost impossible to find cornbread/muffins. As my girl Taylor Swift once said, “People say you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, but the truth is you just never thought you’d ever lose it.” So true Taylor, so true.
Cornbread has a long history originating as a Native American delicacy, and a staple of southern food. It can be enjoyed in many ways, personally here is my favorite ways to consume cornbread/muffins:
- Grilled Corn Muffin From a Diner – Some sentimentality on this one, but I had these growing up and I don’t think there is anything better. Perfectly heated, gold brown, buttery deliciousness, if I had a grilled corn muffin and diner coffee every morning to start my day, Buddy Book Club would be the biggest site on the internet.
- Southern BBQ Joint Cornbread – These can be hit or miss, but if a BBQ place is known for cornbread, don’t think, get it. They also don’t mess around, this type of cornbread will not need butter and it will be moist for days and so will you.
- Dunkin Donuts Corn Muffin Warmed with Butter – Unfortunately, Dunkin’s doesn’t carry corn muffins out here in California because I guess they hate Native Americans. But a Dunkin’ hot chocolate and warmed corn muffin is the best winter combo ever. Give it a try on a cold winter day and tell me I’m wrong.
- Sweet Cornbread/Muffin at a Bakery- Some corn muffins are made more desert style – they’re sweet almost like a cupcake, typically found at bakeries, while this may not be for every day consumption these are delicious in their own way.
- Homemade Corn Muffins/Bread – Honestly it’s rare to have good homemade corn bread, maybe that is the reason for the lack of popularity.
Lot to love about cornbread and the many styles places to get them, but here are a few other reasons they are under appreciated:
- Versatility – It’s great for breakfast, it’s a great snack, it’s a great side dish, it can be a desert. It’s filling. It goes great with bitter things (coffee), it goes with sweet things (hot chocolate/milk), it goes with spicy and salting things (BBQ) it’s an every down food item.
- So Much Better than Scones – Scones are just a stale, dehydrated cookie-biscuit-saltines, yet somehow they are everywhere instead of cornbread…Why?! (We actually discussed this on our Inheritance Game podcast). Big Scone must be great at lobbying. Replace scones with cornbread!
- It’s Healthy – it’s made of corn, which is a vegetable so yeah, it’s obviously healthy. That’s why I usually indulge and throw some butter on it, no need to suffer, you’re already getting great nutritional benefits. Don’t fact check me on that, let me live my life.
I think I’ve made a pretty convincing argument for why we need to see more cornbread in our lives. But before I leave you I need to address something. There is one mortal sin of cornbread, and that is putting actual corn in the cornbread.
This is gross. Whoever came up with this idea and has somehow spread it to a few crazy followers, shame on you. There is absolutely nothing worse than biting into a nice uniform piece of corn bread only to pop a piece of corn when you’re not expecting it. It’s an awful texture, gets stuck in your teeth, adds nothing in the way of flavor, and frankly and anyone that adds it cannot be trusted. You want to add honey, jalapenos, cheese, go ahead knock yourself out, they at least add a flavor and don’t disturb the texture, but don’t you dare add pieces of corn. It’d be like drinking apple juice with junks of apple in it, or having chunks of tomatoes in your ketchup (Heinz of course), or a baked potato in vodka (although I’m surprised us Irish haven’t done this). Either way, don’t do it.
