In America, cornbread in its many forms is traditional. It's always been there, and it may remind us of our childhood. Corn, after all, originated in the Americas, and we produce an awful lot of it. But in Ireland, cornmeal, which became known as yellowmeal, was something no one ate before the famine. During the Great Irish Famine, sometimes called the Potato Famine, more than a million people died, and another million left Ireland for good. The British goivernment tried to alleviate the hunger by importing maize from the US. American cornmeal was nutritious, delicious, and plentiful, but the Irish had never eaten anything like it.
The Irish considered this rough, grainy yellowmeal to be fairly indigestible, but having no choice, they developed their own recipes for cornbread. During the famine, it was made into simple griddle bread. This bread was thin, crisp, and best eaten hot. The end of the famine meant that yellowmeal could be combined with wheat flour, eggs, and other ingredients, and made into a more elaborate (and digestible) cornbread. Get the story of yellowmeal and a recipe for Irish griddle cakes at BBC World's Table.
(Image credit: Kate Ryan)