"Sky" wrote
> Kate Connally wrote:

>> heard the song and dance about how true southern cornbread (and
>> hushpuppies, etc.) does not contain sugar.

> Without having read anyone else's reponse regarding this thread, all I
> can say is what a person (particularly the cook!!! <G>) likes is what
> matters most, eh! Seems some folks like cornbread with a bit of sugar
> and others do not. I'd guess neither is incorrect ;> Corn bread tends
> to be an infrequent item at my dinner table, so I'm far from expert :P

Not to worry Sky. The confusion is because there are several 'types' of
'cornbread'. Sometimes the terms can be confusing because what they are
called in one area, may be a different item in another area. I'm pretty
much mountain areas from VA to SC. A person from Mississippi would possibly
have a very different answer.

Here's what I grew up with for names:

Cornbread- this is made with bacon grease and often with 'crackin's' from
fried pork skin. This is not done with sugar to enough amount to taste it,
but a little is added to smooth the flavor. Frequently uses 1 TB sugar, 2
TS salt, and a variable amount of baking powder. Then fat, milk (or water
sometimes) and about 4 cups of corn meal. May use up to 1/2 cup bacon fat
(1/2 of that is stirred in, the rest in the bottom of the cast iron skillet
and you add the batter on top and bake the whole thing). I'd say 1/4 cup
bacon fat is more common (split in 1/2 as above). There a good chance the
ones saying cornbread isn't sweet, are more used to a product like this.
Often served hot and in a bowl with milk poured over it.

Johnnycakes or Cornpone- these two can actually swap names about and only
cornpone expressly has to be made with cornmeal. Where I came from, I could
easily see this being confused with 'sweet cornbread' for that's what it is
in my relation. Often served with syrup and a fair amount of sweetner in
the baking process as well. The cheater method of the south is to use
'Jiffy Mix' 'corn muffins'. Go to other areas of the south and you'll see
something closer to the cornbread above but with a bit more sugar (or
molasis) and served with a sweet glaze. Often also cooked in a 'cornpone
cast iron pan' where you have little corn shaped depressions. Flipped out
of the pan the one side will look like little corn cobs and you'd drizzle
sweentner on them and serve.

'Corn Cake'- a rare term when used this way as far as I know away from the
mountains (SC to VA) but you can hear it even here in Norfolk with the older
generation. This is definately by definition a 'sweet cornbread'. It may
or may not be glazed and it may incorporate a portion of white or cake
flour. A very old bread from when white flour was expensive and cornmeal
was the standard. Fine ground Cornmeal would be used to stretch the
precious white flour to make something much more 'cake like'. Black Strap
Molasis and/or Sourghum (sp?) would be threaded through it and then drizzled
on top almost like icing (though thinner).

So you see Sky, no one here is really 'right or wrong'. What Kate saw,
would to me be either a corn cake made with sugar, or possibly a johnnycake.
The lack of a corncob shape would have me probably not call it cornpone but
of course, I wouldn't get upset if another did. So yes, southerners do
indeed make 'breads' of cornmeal that are sweet. We just generally have
another name for the sweet ones!