For lump free polenta, I bring a pot of water to almost boiling point (already salted) and start pouring the polenta in a stream (using a bowl with a beak) without piling, this is very important. And I whisk at the same time with the other hand. Once it starts boiling it will not form lumps anymore and I'll switch to a flat wooden spoon. I never follow the ratio of polenta and water on the box because is never to my liking. I stop pouring before it gets too solid to for me. Also this is very personal.
My mom is from Bergamo and polenta there is bramata, the coarser version and thicker. I like it that way. If you go to Veneto is much finer and creamier, especially the white polenta. I don't like it as much. Just a matter of what you are use to. In the Como area, where my parents and sister live now it's always a mix of bramata and buckwheat. Very tasty, specially polenta taragna (cannot even think about calories there)
For example this lady here, Bruna, is from Chiavenna (land of bresaola), see how thick is her polenta?
Look instead at this polenta bianca from Veneto, so soft and runny. I'm not crazy for that but if you grill it and serve with some baccala' mantacato then I'm all happy
On 11/22/2015 at 1:29 PM, gfweb said:Thanks, AM, but I wonder if t hat is all there is involved. There wasn't even a hint of granularity. But having never made the fine grind, who am I to talk?
While we are at it, is instant polenta ever good? I've never used it either.
If you really had very good polenta, meaning done the right way and with good flour, the instant polenta is a pale comparison. But there are good and bad instant polenta. Valsugana brand is terrible for me. Moretti is passable. I cook it all the time, especially if I do with the idea of cooling and grilling or frying it afterwards, but if I'm eating it hot soft it's really so so.
