1. Description

2. Etymology

3. Cooking time

4. See also

5. References

6. Further reading

Polenta ({{IPA-it|poˈlɛnta}}^[2][3]) is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be served as a hot porridge, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled.

Description

The variety of cereal used is usually yellow maize, but often buckwheat, white maize, or mixtures thereof may be used. Coarse grinds make a firm, coarse polenta; finer grinds make a creamy, soft polenta.^[4] Polenta is a staple of Northern Italian, Swiss, Slovenian and Croatian (where it is called palenta) cuisines (and, to a lesser extent, the Central Italian one, e.g. Tuscany)^[1] and its consumption was traditionally associated with lower classes, as in times past cornmeal mush was an essential food in their everyday nutrition.^[5]

As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush (known as puls or pulmentum in Latin) that were commonly eaten since Roman times. Before the introduction of corn (maize) from America in the 16th century,^[6] polenta was made from starchy ingredients like farro (wheat), chestnut flour, millet, spelt (wheat), and chickpeas.^[7]

Etymology

Latin polenta covered any hulled and crushed grain, especially barley-meal, and is derived from the Latin pollen for "fine flour", which shares a root with pulvis, meaning "dust".^[8]

Cooking time

Polenta takes a long time to cook, simmering in four to five times its volume of watery liquid for about 45 minutes with near-constant stirring; this is necessary for even gelatinization of the starch. Some alternative cooking techniques have been invented to speed up the process, or to not require constant supervision. Quick-cooking (pre-cooked, instant) polenta is widely used and is prepared in just a few minutes; it is considered inferior to polenta made from unprocessed cornmeal and is best eaten after being baked or fried.^[4]

In his book Heat, Bill Buford talks about his experiences as a line cook in Mario Batali's Italian restaurant Babbo. Buford details the differences in taste between instant polenta and slow-cooked polenta, and describes a method of preparation that takes up to three hours, but does not require constant stirring: "polenta, for most of its cooking, is left unattended.... If you don't have to stir it all the time, you can cook it for hours—what does it matter, as long as you're nearby?"^[9] Cook's Illustrated magazine has described a method using a microwave oven that reduces cooking time to 12 minutes and requires only a single stirring. In March 2010, it presented a stovetop, near-stir-less method that uses a pinch of baking soda (an alkali), which replicates the traditional effect.^[10][11][12] Kyle Phillips suggested making it in a polenta maker or in a slow cooker.^[13]

See also

• Ga'at
• Grits
• Farina (food)
• Hasty pudding
• List of maize dishes
• List of porridges
• Mămăligă
• Masa
• Mush
• Nshima
• Pap
• Pudding corn
• Sadza
• Ugali
• Upma
• Žganci

References

Further reading

• Brandolini, Giorgio V., Storia e gastronomia del mais e della patata nella Bergamasca, Orizzonte Terra, Bergamo, 2007. 32 pages.
• Eynard, W., La Cucina Valdese, Claudiana, 2006.

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