Mixed Review: Thanksgiving Cornbread
Thanksgiving is more than a little overwhelming. There's a turkey to roast, potatoes to mash, and pies to bake, not to mention hors d'oeuvres, first courses (green salad with cranberry dressing or butternut squash soup?), sauces, and condiments.
And while you'll never catch me scooping cranberry sauce from a can, or dipping my drumstick into bottled gravy, I will confess to baking last-minute cornbread from a box. Incredibly cheap, impossibly easy, and ready in minutes, cornbread mixes are a decent option when you're short on time yet still want to serve fresh-from-the-oven bread with your holiday meal.
With so many cornbread mixes on the market, I decided to limit my taste test to the three least expensive, most basic brands. With each, the yield was enough for an 8x8-inch pan of cornbread.
- Hodgson Mill, Whole Grain Cornmeal and Wheat Four Cornbread and Muffin Mix ($1.69)
- Jiffy, Corn Muffin Mix (40 cents)
- Key Food (supermarket generic), Quality Easy Corn Muffin Mix (45 cents)
Hodgson Mill
This mix looked very much like oat bran: pale brown with flakes of whole grains in various shapes and sizes. In order to make basic cornbread (the box also provides instructions for a Mexican version with minced onion, cheddar cheese, and jalapeño) I simply added 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, an egg, and 3/4 cup of milk. I stirred everything together with a fork, noting that the batter looked very runny. Indeed, this cornbread turned out gummy, spongy, and extremely thin. It also lacked the familiar sweetness I was hoping for, and any corn flavor was overpowered by the intense taste of bran. While this was certainly the healthiest version I tried, a food's fiber content isn't really something I'm concerned about at Thanksgiving.
Jiffy
According to the box, this was a recipient of an "American Academy of Taste Gold Medal Award." The mix poured out of the box the color of dandelions and smelling of sugar, just as I remembered. It needed only an egg and 1/3 a cup of milk—1/2 a cup less than the Hodgson Mill, despite the fact there was an ounce more of mix (8.5 ounces to Hodgson's 7.5 ounces). This cornbread baked up puffy and even with buttery brown edges and grainy, toothsome crumbs.
Key Food
The last version I tried was Key Food, the supermarket generic. For all appearances, this mix was very similar to Jiffy's, but even brighter yellow in color. The additions—one egg, 1/3 milk—were also identical. Yet ultimately it baked unevenly, darkening too quickly at the edges, and the taste was much too sugary. A careful reading of the nutrition facts revealed that the Key Food mix, which weighs in at 7.5 ounces, contains 8 grams of sugar. The slightly heftier Jiffy mix has only 7 grams of sugar.
Conclusions
While you can't judge a book by its cover, maybe you can judge a baking mix by its box: Jiffy's declares itself "America's Favorite," and it certainly was my top choice out of the three I tested.
I would recommend it as a solid, if not sensational, addition to your holiday bread basket. And if you find yourself with an extra minute or two, take a cue from Jeremy Jackson, the author of one of my favorite cookbooks, The Cornbread Book, and try one of these toss-ins: 1 cup of fresh corn kernels; 1 clove of minced garlic; 1'2 cup of diced sun-dried tomatoes; 1/4 to 1 cup of poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, or sesame seeds; 1/4 to 1 cup of walnuts or pecans; 1 cup of chopped dried figs; or 1/4 cup minced fresh herbs.
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29 Comments:
I think Martha White's sweet cornbread is one of the best out there. I find Jiffy to be dry, crumbly and sort of bland. When I do use Jiffy, I add a can of creamed corn to it to sweeten and moisten it up.
juliebugsmama at 2:14PM on 11/21/08
i've always been a jiffy girl, hands down.
glad to see the test went that way too!
gastronomeg at 2:16PM on 11/21/08
Check out this easy & very unique version from my friend's blog-- it is from the eastern shore of Maryland, and is more like dense, moist cake, than the crumbly box stuff! Here's the link
shalomblack at 2:29PM on 11/21/08
When I want to EAT cornbread, I make it from scratch. When I want to use cornbread (e.g. in a stuffing) Jiffy is the way to go. Takes no time, tastes almost as good as homemade.
Their factory tour is also really cool.
Figlet at 2:30PM on 11/21/08
My Texas grandmother always used Jiffy and its' a sin not to bake cornbread in a cast iron pan! It creates the best flavor.
Tahitinova at 2:36PM on 11/21/08
I'm a Jiffy supporter as well. It's sweet, fluffy, and oh so easy. Although I agree the box doesn't say "I'm the best one on the shelf," I love the unapologetically blandness of it.
peachypear at 2:47PM on 11/21/08
Are y'all kidding here? From scratch skillet cornbread takes perhaps 5 minutes longer to prepare.. and is vastly superior in every way.
awtane at 3:10PM on 11/21/08
mmmm...doesn't this get us into the question f how sweet cornbread should or shouldn't be?
lemons at 4:02PM on 11/21/08
Betty Crocker's cornbread, which comes in a pouch rather than a box, is my top choice. Cornmeal is listed first in the ingredients, flour is second, and it has a cornier "than Kansas in August" taste. But Jiffy has always my second choice.
Lately, however, I've been premixing the dry ingredients for my favorite cornbread recipe and storing it.
MMinNYC at 4:11PM on 11/21/08
Jiffy plus a can of creamed corn is in my cornbread routine!
Alynn27 at 4:16PM on 11/21/08
Well, it's in a bag, not a box, but Marie Callendar's mix would be the winner if it were included.
That said, I don't understand the need for mix when it's nearly just as simple to make it from scratch.
Tactful_Cactus at 4:49PM on 11/21/08
Shameless Plug Alert: As Jiffy is a Michigan-made product, I use it as the base in the batter for my Michigan Corndogs. As I've mentioned before, if you grill the hot dogs before making the corndogs with them, maybe you'll actually like the darn things. Right Ed?
LunaPierCook at 5:06PM on 11/21/08
Doesn't Jiffy Mix have partially hydrogenated oil/lard (transfats) in it? The last time I read the label it did. In that case, I'll pass. Cornbread from scratch is the only way to go. It doesn't take that much longer.
Tesia at 5:23PM on 11/21/08
@Tesia, http://www.jiffymix.com/mixes/m_corn.html lists the lard while the Nutrition Facts lists the 0% trans fat ... which of course doesn't actually mean 0%. Still, if everyone actually ate healthy the majority of food companies and restaurants would fold right up.
I do love from-scratch cornbread though, that's fer certain. ;-)
LunaPierCook at 6:52PM on 11/21/08
I love Jeremy Jone's book and and also Alton Brown's Creamed Corn Cornbread (bonus, it's gluten-free!). You can mix up the dry ingredients for your fav cornbread and store them in airtight containers so they are ready to use when you want to make cornbread. So much better and just as fast as a packaged mix.
PattiA at 9:14PM on 11/21/08
@Tesia & LunaPierCook: Lard doesn't necessarily have trans fat unless it's hydrogenated. (Although, being the highly processed boxed food that it is, one would assume it would be hydrogenated...)
Tactful_Cactus at 9:29PM on 11/21/08
I've been using the recipe on the Quaker corn meal box for as long as I can remember, and it's never let me down. I usually make it in muffin form, the leftovers are better that way.
jboylan at 9:38PM on 11/21/08
People, this is a column about mixes. Yes, it would be better from scratch, but that's not the point.
I like Jiffy best of the bunch, and I rarely doctor it up, except maybe with corn kernels. Unlike other quickbreads, which I like loaded with fruit and nuts, I like my cornbread pretty simple.
piccola at 10:59PM on 11/21/08
I've tried Jiffy and Hodgson Mills cornbread mix, but I have to say, I'd vote for Martha White. It just seems a little less dry to me.
Tally at 1:15AM on 11/22/08
@tactful_cactus, from the page I'd linked to, the ingredient list under the image of the box reads, "contains one or more of the following: lard, hydrogenated lard, partially hydrogenated lard".
BTW, if anyone is ever in the area of Celsea, Michigan, the (one-and-only) Jiffy plant still gives tours. The reception area has a kitchen where you're given fresh samples of whatever they've decided to make. Then after the tour of the production lines, they used to give kids one box and adults two boxes of whatever selections they happened to deliver to the exit area. (I don't know if they still do the freebies ... haven't been there in about 10 years.)
LunaPierCook at 7:34AM on 11/22/08
"The Baldpate Inn" Cornbread recipe from the Colorado restaurant is the only way to go.
pbelardo at 10:50AM on 11/22/08
thank you piccola. you took the words right out of my mouth.
gastronomeg at 3:08PM on 11/22/08
I add extra butter to the Jiffy mix, making it much moister and yummy.
jumpyfroggy at 9:36PM on 11/22/08
I'm a Jiffy gal, though I've recently found a recipe that goes together nearly as quickly and bakes in the same amount of time. But there's still Jiffy in my pantry.
IndyGal at 10:33AM on 11/24/08
I have to say that I agree on the Martha White as far as mixes go. I'm form the South and Cornbread is not supposed to be sweet or freakishly yellow... especially if you are using it to make dressing.
lgault at 10:45AM on 11/24/08
Jiffy's is good...and I'm sure cheaper than my favorite, but it just wouldn't be right if I didn't send a shot out to Marie Calendar's cornbread mix. It's sweet and the crumbs stick together, instead of crumbling away like Jiffy. It brings back memories of eating nothing but cornbread and chili when my family would go to Marie Calendar's when I was a kid. The honey tastes like it already has honey in it...no other toppings are needed but a little butter!
Teahlo at 2:02PM on 11/24/08
May I respectfully suggest making Real Southern Cornbread? No white flour, no sugar. Stone ground cornmeal, an egg, some fat, baking powder and soda and any kind of buttermilk.
This is delicious--the recipe is over 200 years old. Our foremother made it daily. You will need an overproof cast iron skillet. Any old Southern Cookbook should have it.
Google "real southern cornbread" for starters. You can bake it a day or two ahead for stuffing. It's great with chili or stew--hearty food and you'll come to love the lack of sugar. Eeeww! Who wants sweet stuffing in a bird?
BostonBeans at 1:58PM on 11/26/08
@piccola, you are so right, sorry, we lose our way sometimes. As far as mixes go, it's Jiffy all the way. My first MIL was (is) as southern as they come and she wouldn't use anything else. Still the very sweetest woman I know.
Instead of milk I use buttermilk and I add just a little bit more. I also add a teeny bit of sugar. I like it sweet.
@BostonBeans, First of all; Boston? My husband is from there, what do you know about Real Southern Cornbread?
Second of all, you're right.
BUT, sweetness is a matter of taste. For the table I like it sweeet (not a typo), but for stuffing no sugar.
Always buttermilk.
Always shortening or lard, not oil.
Not butter, it's not biscuits. (Which, BTW, would be 1/2 shortening 1/2 butter)
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 10:55PM on 11/27/08
Jiffy is a great thing to have around in case of emergencies. I also love it in my favorite Thanksgiving side, corn pudding http://tinyurl.com/ygprkfc
I use cornbread in my dressing as well, but with other breads in the mix and lots of good stuff, so I make a very simpe recipe and leave it out for a few days to dry up. But for eatin' - it's real southern cornbread in a cast iron skillet cooked with bacon grease all the way!
TheRunawaySpoon at 4:17PM on 11/09/09