Boiled Corn Bread

[Paul C. Daiute]

As you may have noted in my post on Mass Bay Colonies Rations, Indian meal was issued to New Englanders. So how was it cooked? One way is to make a corn bread from it and this can be baked or boiled. To make boiled corn bread you need: 1 cup of Indian meal, 3/4 cup of boiling water, 1/4 cup of cranberries. Mix the cranberries if desired of these may be omitted with the corn meal and 1/4 cup of boilng water, form the resulting dough into a small round loaf. The loaf is then dropped into a kettle of boiling water and left there for at least an hour or until the loaf comes to float. Although not documented because I have flour in my rations I have added some flour to the corn meal. I've also raisins or currants to the bread or have not used any berries at all. This bread can be treated like an ash cake as well, the bread is just buried under ashes with a fire over it till done.---------As long as we are dealing with Indian meal here is another recipe that was very handy in the 18th century. Journey Cakes. Journey Cakes needed: 1 pint milk, 3 pints Indian meal 1/2 pint of whole wheat four (stone ground). To make scald your milk and add to the flour and corn meal, bake before the fire. Another way is to scald with milk 2/3rds of the indian meal or wet the 2/3 of with boiling water add salt, molasses, and some fat or shortening into the flour and meal and bake that before the fire. The journey or Johny cake can be made prior to going out and carried for many days. For those interested in documented recipes for the 18th century read:"The first American Cookbook" by Amelia Simmons, it's a facsimile, "The King's Bread Rising I and II by Dennis & Carol Farmer, "Plimouth Pantation 1627 Recipes" by Paula Marcoux, "The Williamsburg Art Of Cookery", by Mrs Helen Bullock, and look for recipes by Hanna Glass. Regards to all, Paul