Can you substitute polenta for cornmeal

When looking for a suitable ingredient replacement, it's always best to start with those that originate from the same plant. Flavor and textural changes will usually result in mildly different finishing qualities, but the overall end result will be very similar.

Corn Grits are the coarser equivalent of white cornmeal. Stemming from the same parts of the corn plant, grits will contribute an identical flavor. The difference will come in texture. Grits will offer a grainier consistency to dishes, which can be both an attractive and unattractive quality depending on your preference.

I recommend using a smaller proportion of grits since the grain size is slightly bigger. For dishes that require a liquid consistency, grits will create a slightly thicker, but still liquid, porridge. If you wish to match the consistency of cornmeal exactly, you can actually reduce your grits to a similar size with a blender , food processor or grinder. While mimicking cornmeal more closely, proper blend time will take some trial and error.

In cases where you don't have the quantity of cornmeal a recipe asks for, you can also use a ratio of cornmeal to grits. Similar to corn grits, polenta is made by grinding up corn kernels. The difference being that polenta comes from yellow corn instead of white, and is also a little coarser. The flavor will be a little sweeter and the final dish will have a yellower hue to it. While Polenta is a suitable cornmeal substitute, it is more practical to grind the product down to something similar to cornmeal.

This will require less guesswork when converting from cornmeal to polenta quantities. If your recipe calls for "fine" cornmeal , you can usually substitute it weight for weight with corn flour. The texture is practically identical so texturally, it will create a similar product. If you're sticking with corn products, I highly recommend sticking with particle sizes that are either bigger or match that of the cornmeal your recipe requires.

You can make it work with smaller grain size, the texture of the end result will just be a little harder to predict. Flour has far more surface area than its courser constituents. This can contribute a more intense corn flavor into the recipe. It will also lead to faster cooking times.

You can actually go as far as to cut the baking time in half with certain dishes. Yes, a totally ludicrous way to add corn back into the recipe, but suitable nonetheless. Put some corn chips into a food processor and continually grind until a particle size of cornmeal is reached.

Add it to the recipe as if it were cornmeal. Most corn chips are salted heavily which will definitely contribute to the flavor of your recipe. Make sure the the corn chips have zero added salt if this will be undesirable in your recipe. For those who are allergic to corn or simply don't have corn ingredients on-hand, there are some suitable replacements. Non-corn substitutes will not contribute the corn flavor, but can resolve the texture problem.

A unique flour made by grinding durum wheat kernels into a fine powder. This flour turns out to be a little coarser than typical wheat flour and more closely resembles the texture of corn meal. I recommend using a slightly larger quantity of semolina than the original recipe asks for. This will help create a thicker texture, similar to that of cornmeal.

Ground Flaxseed resembles the texture of cornmeal relatively well, but the flavor is pretty different. Flax is far more bitter due to the protective nature of plant seeds. Some argue that ground flaxseed is a healthier alternative to cornmeal because of its nutrient dense innards. Several people have found ways to make ground flaxseed cornbread that has apparently been worth making a second time.

Wheat flour is both a finer material and completely different flavored cornmeal substitute. Texture will be smoother less gritty and flavor will resemble more of a malty flavor.

Fortunately, the flavor of wheat flour can be subtle so you can cover this malt flavor with other ingredients if undesired. You may have to dabble with the sugar and salt content to create a flavor you're happy with. Again, both a finer consistency and completely different flavor than cornmeal.

Texture may be slightly stickier and flavor will be sweet but hard to distinguish. I encourage you to experiment with this and get back to me. Cornmeal is ground up corn, whereas semolina is ground up durum wheat.

They can be swapped for one another but will contribute completely different flavors. If you find yourself coming up short when searching for cornmeal in the back of your pantry, it's understandable that the cornbread may not happen. Luckily, there are some shortcuts you can take when you're out of cornmeal. If you want to make cornbread without cornmeal, which is not an impossible feat to pull off, you'll need to get a little clever with the ingredients. Food Network recommends that for their no-cornmeal cornbread, you use all-purpose flour combined with a mixture of corn kernels, sour cream, and sugar to deliver a tasty corn flavor.

Obviously, there are many uses for cornmeal besides baking cornbread, and as such, there are plenty of substitutes for it, depending on what you're making. Because cornmeal is simply ground corn, it's great for recipes that call for a little more texture than traditional flour. It's also milled differently from cornmeal, which yields a different, fuller mouthfeel. In a pinch, sure, use that medium or coarse-ground cornmeal for polenta.

But when possible, try to seek out the cornmeal that's labeled "polenta," as this is most likely to be the real stuff, the otto file —the stuff that will yield a bowl of porridge with a rich yellow-orange hue and a specific, addictive sweetness. Look for polenta from respected mills domestically and in Italy.

Roberts likes Mulino Marino , a mill in Northern Italy whose polenta is made from the eight-row flint variety. And, of course, he also recommends his own company's polenta, which also uses this heirloom corn. Traditionally polenta is cooked in water.

But it can also be made with stock or milk for added creaminess and flavor. Be sure to season with salt. Toward the end of the cooking process, it's common to stir butter or olive oil in to the polenta for luxe creaminess. It's also common to add cheese, like Parmesan. Then, your polenta can be topped with any number of things.

Ragout is typical, but it's also delicious served with mushrooms, roasted vegetables, or with a protein like fish.