Creamy Polenta

[MelissaH]

Would the slow cooker do this trick, instead of the oven?

[gfweb]

So I got some fine ground polenta. It was of the instant variety. After 15 min it was like regular polenta as far as graininess, but finer grained.  So I cooked it an hour more... smoothed it out a little.

 

So I put in the blend tech and gave it a couple second zizz   =====>  Completely smooth and creamy.  Zizz too long and it got glutinous.

[SylviaLovegren]

Why does everyone mix their cornmeal.grits into hot water?  Is there a reason?  I always mix the corn with cold water -- no lumps -- then bring slowly to a boil, adding additional liquid as needed.   It's so easy that way and you never get lumps.  Maybe I should do a side by side taste test to see if there's a difference in taste or texture.  

[Taveren]

Butter

Also, wtf is "zizz"?

Edited November 30, 2015 by Taveren (log)

[gfweb]

Zizz = puree in a high speed blender to remove the granularity.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Why does everyone mix their cornmeal.grits into hot water?  Is there a reason?  I always mix the corn with cold water -- no lumps -- then bring slowly to a boil, adding additional liquid as needed.   It's so easy that way and you never get lumps.  Maybe I should do a side by side taste test to see if there's a difference in taste or texture.  

 

Everyone does it into boiling water, because that's what the instructions on the package and every recipe I've ever read say. I'm definitely trying your cold water method next time I cook up some of this 4 pound batch of grits I'm working through because it lumps worse than anything I've ever experienced. Thanks for this idea!

 

Edit: It makes sense to me, because when you make a slurry of cold water with corn starch to stir in to thicken a sauce, it works great and never lumps.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[slkinsey]

Like kayb, I also cook grits and not polenta.

 

I think the difference is the milled corn we use has been nixtamalized, which releases more nutrients from the grain.

Grits are not nixtamalized. That is a misapprehension deriving from the custom in some regions to refer to them as "homimy grits." But this usage of homimy does not refer to nixtamalized corn.

To test he hypothesis that this effect comes from using super-fine cornmeal, I would recommend putting it in a high-power blender like a VitaPrep before cooking, not after. The VitaPrep should be able to turn it into a powder-fine texture.

[mkayahara]

To test he hypothesis that this effect comes from using super-fine cornmeal, I would recommend putting it in a high-power blender like a VitaPrep before cooking, not after. The VitaPrep should be able to turn it into a powder-fine texture.

Or just buy cornflour, which is already powder-fine. (The American kind, not the UK version of "cornflour" which, as I understand, is the same as "cornstarch" in the US.)

[LindaK]

Everyone does it into boiling water, because that's what the instructions on the package and every recipe I've ever read say. I'm definitely trying your cold water method next time I cook up some of this 4 pound batch of grits I'm working through because it lumps worse than anything I've ever experienced. Thanks for this idea!

 

Edit: It makes sense to me, because when you make a slurry of cold water with corn starch to stir in to thicken a sauce, it works great and never lumps.

 

One of the reasons I like the Paula Wolfert oven method is that there are never lumps, it's always very creamy.  The cornmeal is added to cold water.

 

I usually use medium grain cornmeal because I like some texture to the polenta. But I still want it toothsome, no grit or crunch.  The oven method lets me have it both ways.  I'm telling you, it's great..

 

 

Would the slow cooker do this trick, instead of the oven?

 

I don't see why not, the principle is the same--long, slow cooking. I've never used one so can't offer any advice on time or temperature.  It's worth trying.  Just oil the pan inside.  Start with cold water.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 11/27/2015 at 10:14 AM, SylviaLovegren said:

Why does everyone mix their cornmeal.grits into hot water?  Is there a reason?  I always mix the corn with cold water -- no lumps -- then bring slowly to a boil, adding additional liquid as needed.   It's so easy that way and you never get lumps.  Maybe I should do a side by side taste test to see if there's a difference in taste or texture.  

 

Hi Sylvia,

 

I'm late getting back to you here, but I have made grits three times since your post here. The first time was on autopilot I guess, because I stirred my lump-prone grits into boiling water as I've been doing for over 40 years. As I was fighting with and smashing the lumps, I remembered your post, so the next couple times I made grits, I used your cold water method. Why oh, why, do all the packages and grandma lore say to stir them into boiling water?!

 

Both times I have made grits with the batch of grits that wants so badly to lump by stirring them into cold water, there were no lumps in sight. Totally stress-free. Thank you so much for recommending this, and also thanks to @LindaKfor seconding the method. An old dog has definitely learned a new trick.   

[Franci]

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.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Franci (log)

[AlaMoi]

I add to hot-to-boiling for grits and polenta.

 

it's all in the whisk . . .  get the liquid in motion, add in, whisk continuous until it's floating about on its own. 

switch to a spoon/paddle as it thickens.

/magic off

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Well I did the boiling water method for 40+ years as I was taught, and pouring in the thin stream while whisking was always enough until I got hold of this 4 pound batch of grits that lump anyway. The lumps can be mashed out, but I have more fun stuff to do in the kitchen than fight with lumps. They don't lump at all when added to cold water, so I am a convert to the cold water method. There is no difference in the end product, so I figure, why not do it the easy way?

[AlaMoi]

I think the best way is the way it works best for you in your kitchen . . . (g)

[Shel_B]

Last night, I made polenta using a new technique and was quite pleased with the result. Over the years, I've tried several different techniques and a variety of cornmeal products, and I may have finally found a combination that works for me. The intent was to shorten the cooking time in the morning and make the resultant polenta softer and smoother.

For over a dozen years, Bob's Red Mill medium-grind organic cornmeal has been my (mostly) go-to product for muffins, cornbread, Johnny cakes, and porridge. I've also used it for polenta, but the results were not to my liking. My biggest complaint was that the polenta was a little too roughly textured, and some grains were not hydrated sufficiently. Those characteristics were fine for uses other than polenta, but I wanted the polenta to be a little smoother, softer, and “creamier.”

 

A few years ago I started using a corn muffin recipe that called for soaking the cornmeal in heated milk, and for several years I’ve been making steel-cut oats by soaking them overnight in water that had been boiled to shorten the cooking time in the morning.

 

Taking a cue from these techniques, I made last night's polenta by putting the cornmeal into a thick, heavy pot (to retain heat) and adding boiling water to it. The water:cornmeal ratio was 5:1 compared to my more usual 3 or 4 to 1 ratio. The mixture was stirred well to eliminate clumping, which was minimal, while the hob was turned on to keep the temperature up. Once the mixture came back up to boiling temp, the heat was turned off, the pot was covered, and left to sit on the now slowly cooling hob overnight for about six hours.

 

In the morning, the mixture was reheated and stirred for about 25 minutes to reach the desired texture, less than half the time it usually took to make polenta, The polenta still had some texture to it, but was soft throughout and had a creamier mouth feel compared to previous techniques.

 

Overall, the result was satisfying and quite close to the intended result ... almost exactly what I was looking for. When making it again, I may increase the water:cornmeal ratio slightly and/or increase the overnight soaking time. Shorter cooking time, better texture, more corn flavor than with other brands and techniques.

Edited February 13 by Shel_B (log)

[Rickbern]

And they say there’s nothing new under the sun…

 

good idea, worth trying 

[Katie Meadow]

https://www.thekitchn.com/polenta-versus-grits-whats-the-difference-187807

 

This is an in-depth dive into grits vs polenta. I'm sure this information is already here on eG somewhere, but it's worth repeating.

Bob's red mill medium grihnd cornmeal is a fantastic product; I use it all the time to make cornbread or to add it to baked goods that include cornmeal.  My preferred type of cornmeal pudding/mush is American made grits. The good stuff is stone ground and made specifically from cornmeal sold as grits. There are a number of mills that will ship to you. This is not instant grits, by any means. You can get white grits or yellow grits and they taste a little different. 

 

Cornmeal in the Americas is typically made from "dent" corn while cornmeal made in Italy  used for polenta is made from "flint" corn. Italian polenta is often made from finely ground corn.  I'm sure that excellent corm meal mush can be made from just about any kind of corn and with various grinds. But my suggestion for a a baseline polenta would be to actually by an Italian product, fine ground if you are looking for a silkier texture.  To my knowledge most Italian polenta is made from yellow corn, but that's the extent of my info when it comes to Italian grown flint corn. Needless to say there's a wealth of information on line about the difference between grits and polenta, and not all of it simple--or correct. I'm no expert but I do love most things corn.

 

@Shel_B I'm glad you have come up with something that pleases you, but it  does sound like a rather complicatied method.

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

@Shel_B I'm glad you have come up with something that pleases you, but it  does sound like a rather complicatied method.

 

It doesn't seem at all complicated to me. The short version is to put cornmeal in the pot, pour boiling water over it, stir to eliminate lumps, cover the pot, come back several hours later and continue cooking and stirring until desired results are obtained. Perhaps my wordiness made it seem complicated.

 

It's the same method many people use for cooking steel-cut oats, a technique that I learned from America's Test Kitchen.

Edited Thursday at 08:01 PM by Shel_B (log)

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

On 11/27/2015 at 9:14 AM, SylviaLovegren said:

Why does everyone mix their cornmeal.grits into hot water?  Is there a reason?  I always mix the corn with cold water -- no lumps -- then bring slowly to a boil, adding additional liquid as needed.   It's so easy that way and you never get lumps.  Maybe I should do a side by side taste test to see if there's a difference in taste or texture.  

I'm with you. I've always started my polenta in cold water (or what other liquid you want to use) and proceeded from there. I don't recall where I first heard about the cold-water method, but it makes sense. Why struggle with slowly adding polenta to boiling water and stirring madly to avoid lumps. We like the results and it's a lot simpler.