Grandma's handwritten recipe card said 'bake until done' with no temp or time

I finally asked my aunt about it and she said grandma just knew by feel, but I'm trying to recreate her cornbread for a family dinner next week and I keep overbaking it. Has anyone else dealt with figuring out a temp from a vague family recipe?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendyprice27d ago

Write it at 325 for about 25 minutes and check it with a toothpick. Honestly I used to think you had to follow recipes exactly or they'd be a disaster, but after dealing with my own grandma's vague instructions I realized she was just describing what worked for her oven and pans. Ngl once I started treating those old recipes like a starting point rather than a strict rule book things got way easier. Tbh your aunt's right that grandma could feel when it was ready, but we weren't raised with that intuition so we gotta use tools like timers and toothpicks. Just start low and slow, write down what works, and soon enough you'll have your own version of her cornbread that tastes just right.

fiona98527d ago

Bet check what kind of cornmeal she used too. My grandma's cornbread recipe was a total mystery til I realized she was using stone ground cornmeal that had way more moisture than the standard stuff from the store. That changed everything because the coarser grind soaks up liquid different and takes longer to set. Your aunt's advice about feel is good but maybe ask what brand of cornmeal she remembers seeing in grandma's pantry. That single swap got my cornbread to actually turn out golden instead of burnt on the bottom and raw in the middle.

theagibson27d ago

Grind up some of that stone ground cornmeal in a food processor til it's closer to fine, that fixed my texture issues. I also started adding a splash of buttermilk to mimic the moisture difference, helps the bottom not burn before the middle sets. Took me three tries but now I keep a bag of that coarse ground stuff in the freezer just for cornbread.