Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no?

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (stricken_detective)

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:21:26 GMT

Sorry, I am a Yankee. No sugar in any of these things. Except I saw someone said brown sugar in baked beans & if I ate baked beans, that is how I would want them.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (salindgren)

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:03:56 GMT

Well, I guess I'll have to try cornbread from scratch, I'm the only one eating the stuff, so I just buy the $.59 Jiffy boxes, which DO have sugar in there, right before the lard. I load up the batter with so much (roasted serranos, onion, garlic, cumin, etc), that I think the sugar is overwhelmed. I add two eggs instead of one, and a little more milk than the box calls for, too.
Beans? My Mom had a great baked bean recipe with brown sugar and molasses. Lots on bacon on top.
As for iced tea... well, I'm from Texas, and we don't do that sweet tea thing. Let me tell you, it can be a real shock when you visit an area where it comes to the table already sweet, and you blithely add what you think is the only sugar involved. Woof. The Japanese places here in Los Angeles bring you a "simple sugar" syrup with your iced tea. Does not need much stirring. Here's what I'm doing: I throw a gallon sized bag (from Smart & Final) in a pitcher with hot water from the tap. I kick the bag around after an hour or so. In two or three hours, I get the stuff brewed to about where I want it, with minimal bitterness. Then I stir in a couple teaspoons of "Zulka" brand unrefined Mexican sugar ($2 for 4 lbs), at room temperature. It dissolves just fine. I go through the whole pitcher in 24 hours, so I don't bother to refrigerate the stuff.
As for true Southerners... Eh... Being from Texas, I feel a little left out sometimes. Texas joining the CSA somehow doesn't seem to count. Yet I think Texas was pretty important as a supplier of food, and other items in the War of Northern Agression. It's a complicated subject. H.L. Mencken considered Maryland part of the South. Certainly we need to look at Louisiana as part of the South, but again, I think a lot of folks look askance at New Orleans, and its culture, you know? Like the folks there are the sinful poor relations of the South. I guess Oklahoma and Arkansas are back of the bus Southerners, too. But Texas is so big that it's all over (literally) the map. El Paso? Not the South. Dallas? Kinda the South. Brownsville? TOO FAR SOUTH. Ha.
-Scott Lindgren

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (Pennagirl)

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:39:35 GMT

I from SOUTHERN PA (4 miles from the Mason Dixon line)...married to a Chicagoan whose parents are from near Hazard, KY.

Here's our consensus...
CORNBREAD - NOT IN THE BATTER (its not dessert). I use honey on top if I wish. For breakfast (cold crumbled in the bowl) with milk and white table sugar.

TEA - Hot and cold, yes to sugar or Splenda. If I can I get sweet tea (darn hard to do living in Minnesota).

BEANS - Green beans - no; pinto - no; navy bean soup - sort of I use King Syrup.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (roossy90)

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 21:32:00 GMT

Beans = Brown Sugar in my recipe
Cornbread = Sugar in my recipe
Ice Tea = No sugar for me please!

Coming from Florida, I am an odd critter here in South Carolina.
I had a mother from Texas and a father from Virginia...Everyone but me liked their tea sweet, including my brother.. I was the odd woman out at home.
At least most places offer both choices for Tea anymore.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (pcdiva)

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:59:05 GMT

baked beans - brown sugar or maple syrup
cornbread - white cornmeal no sugar if Mom's recipe, but I'll eat it just about any way I can get it, yellow and cake like, hushpuppies have to have a smidge of sugar and onions, yellow and no sugar, corn dogs you name it!
iced tea needs to be sweetened with sugar while hot. But when counting calories, Equal & Splenda are God sends!
Other peas and beans, cook with pork, but no sugar served over white, unsweetened cornbread with chopped raw Vidailia onion to garnish

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (mollydingle)

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:24:41 GMT

Speaking as the Yankee Oppressor, I like a dash of sweetness in my yellow cornbread, maple syrup in my baked beans, my iced tea w/o sugar and my hot tea with a scant spoonful.
In my defense, I was the only six-year old in my class drawing pictures of Stonewall Jackson.
P. S. Sorry 'bout Atlanta. Why the HELL did you rebuild?

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (shortchef)

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:04:33 GMT

Yes to all three. I was born in Virginia, my parents in Tennessee. My mother made the white, non-sweet cornbread. That was okay until I tasted some real sweet cornpone--dense, rich and fattening, but worth every calorie. Having been raised on Campbell's pork and beans I guess I expect them to be sweet, I always add a little brown sugar to my own, and sweet tea is something I can't get enough of.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (PCC)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:42:10 GMT

I just love going back to eastern KY and having the waitress say,

"SWEETENED OR UNSWEETENED TEA?"

and I reply,

"SWEETENED TEA, PLEASE!"

As to cornbread, they don't even ask. It's unsweetened, white.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (CajunKing)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:03:36 GMT

Cornbread - No sugar, but yes on honey
Beans - No white sugar, but yes on brown or moleasses
Tea - Before being a Diabetic, Hell yes on sugar, now no sugar I will add Sweet & low

As to my heritage, Yankee by birth, Southerner by the grace of God.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (Barney)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 15:38:00 GMT

Definately no sugar in my white cornmeal or pintos! Just finished cooking a pot (complete with fatback and couple pieces of bacon) and a pone of cornbread! Going to feast on that shortly along with the fresh turnips I cooked yesterday...Just a plain ole KY country gal transplanted in VA. Barney

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (BunglingBill)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:56:48 GMT

quote:

And if history had followed that course, the rest of the country wouldn't have had George Dub-ya to pick on....

Grillmeister, although I have lived in many different places, I was born and raised (well, at least mostly raised ... for twelve years) in Texas.

So, I STILL consider my blood to be Texas blood.

AND, as such, I get really rankled when someone speaks bad about Texas or about Texans.

For your info, George Dub-ya is about as much "Texan" as I am a "Martian"!

Dub-ya and his "parents" MIGRATED to the wonderful State of Texas from points up NAWTH! ... WAY up nawth!

My rant has absolutely NOTHING to do with anything . . . other than my personal disdain for the cowboy wannabe.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (skylar0ne)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 13:45:56 GMT

Born and raised in North Carolina. No sugar in the white cornbread, no sugar in the pintos- but plenty of onion cut up on the side, sugar added to the tea while still hot.

As for the beans, we use either veggie oil or a little bit of bacon fat to season then now. But when I was growing up, (in the 50s), everybody I knew back then seasoned pintos and green beans with fatback. Did other people do this too, or was my family just extremely redneck, lol?

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (Grillmeister)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:25:23 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Grillmeister

Cornbread: yes, brown sugar.
Iced Tea: no, sweet n' low (sugar IS poison ya know)

Oh, and I'm not a Southerner...I'm a TEXAN!!! The Civil War did nothing for Texas but but push back the frontier and impoverish its citizens. Since the Texas Secession Convention was so hell-bent on leaving the Union, they would have been better served by re-establishing Texas independence. But alas, they ignored Sam Houston's position and joined the Confederacy. So much for the alternative history. And yes, my ancestors fought for the South.

And if history had followed that course, the rest of the country wouldn't have had George Dub-ya to pick on....

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (Grillmeister)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:21:15 GMT

Cornbread: yes, brown sugar.
Iced Tea: no, sweet n' low (sugar IS poison ya know)

Oh, and I'm not a Southerner...I'm a TEXAN!!! The Civil War did nothing for Texas but but push back the frontier and impoverish its citizens. Since the Texas Secession Convention was so hell-bent on leaving the Union, they would have been better served by re-establishing Texas independence. But alas, they ignored Sam Houston's position and joined the Confederacy. So much for the alternative history. And yes, my ancestors fought for the South.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (Adjudicator)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 11:19:48 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by speechpeach

I have lived in Georgia all of my 49 years, and this Georgia peach never adds sugar to cornbread, I like white cornmeal. I have yet to add it to beans when cooking them (bsked bean-another story), and as far as iced tea goes, I love it a bit sweet, not cloyingly so, with a slice of lemon and prefer Lipton regular or decaffinated orange pekoe.

Your handle is interesting. Are U a speech therapist, perhaps?

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (speechpeach)

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:46:38 GMT

I have lived in Georgia all of my 49 years, and this Georgia peach never adds sugar to cornbread, I like white cornmeal. I have yet to add it to beans when cooking them (bsked bean-another story), and as far as iced tea goes, I love it a bit sweet, not cloyingly so, with a slice of lemon and prefer Lipton regular or decaffinated orange pekoe.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:16:16 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by BhamBabe

And they didn't like sugar in their cornbread :-)

Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a great one, BhamBabe!

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:06:02 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by C Turner Joy

And you, sir, made me laugh. Thanks.
As far as the beans go, I just don't think I've ever thought about sugar in them. Not that it sounds bad now that I consider it. Depends on the beans, I guess.
I like my cornbread like I like my women: yellow and coarse.

Ha ha ha ha! Very good, now we're getting somewhere. I'll mark up another one on the Yellow Cornmeal militia, and uh, try a spoon of sugar in your next batch of beans or peas. It sure does smooth out the flavor.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:58:10 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by iqdiva

Dickestep,down here in south east Alabama,when we use our home made sugar cane syrup in cooking,we call it long sweetenin'.In the fall , when the sugar cane is harvested and ground,we drink the fresh cane juice,chilled, and children chew pieces of sweet sugar cane.The cane juice is then boiled in large vats to make our syrup.

That's interesting, Iqdiva. We had a big Sugar Refinery near here in Sugarland, Texas for years. I think I heard it's shut down now, though. I've never drunk the pure juice but when I was a kid there was one man in the neighborhood who had a grove of cane and would give stalks to us kids for halloween and such. We sure liked whittling and chewing it.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (BhamBabe)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:47:35 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by iqdiva

and children chew pieces of sweet sugar cane.

I haven't had that in years!

As to the other little debate, being from the south didn't make you Confederate. Read about the Free State of Winston in Alabama. If the State said they could leave, this county said it could leave from the State. And they weren't just Union sympathizers, they were Union Soldiers. And they didn't like sugar in their cornbread :-)

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (C Turner Joy)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:34:06 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by dickestep

C Turner Joy, you're just no fun, for us who wanted Kentucky to hold with the South! You're not a sweet bean sympathizer, either, but at least you like your cornbread whether it's sweet or not. This is a partial victory in the Great Sugar- No Sugar Debate. Oh, do you side with the white or yellow cornmeal factions?

And you, sir, made me laugh. Thanks.

As far as the beans go, I just don't think I've ever thought about sugar in them. Not that it sounds bad now that I consider it. Depends on the beans, I guess.

I like my cornbread like I like my women: yellow and coarse.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (iqdiva)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:32:03 GMT

Dickestep,down here in south east Alabama,when we use our home made sugar cane syrup in cooking,we call it long sweetenin'.In the fall , when the sugar cane is harvested and ground,we drink the fresh cane juice,chilled, and children chew pieces of sweet sugar cane.The cane juice is then boiled in large vats to make our syrup.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:19:32 GMT

C Turner Joy, you're just no fun, for us who wanted Kentucky to hold with the South! You're not a sweet bean sympathizer, either, but at least you like your cornbread whether it's sweet or not. This is a partial victory in the Great Sugar- No Sugar Debate. Oh, do you side with the white or yellow cornmeal factions?

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (C Turner Joy)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:52:23 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by dickestep

quote:
Originally posted by C Turner Joy

quote:
Originally posted by dickestep
Kentucky was a Confederate state, for sure.

Kentucky was not a Confederate state.

Kentucky was not a Confederate state? Don't tell any of the Kentucky Colonels that!

I have to imagine that the Colonels are somewhat past caring. That aside...

"Kentucky did not secede; for a time, it declared itself neutral. However, the Confederates broke the neutrality by seizing Columbus, Kentucky in September 1861. That turned opinion against the Confederacy, and the state reaffirmed its loyal status, while trying to maintain slavery. During a brief invasion by Confederate forces, Confederate sympathizers organized a secession convention, inaugurated a governor, and gained recognition from the Confederacy. The rebel government soon went into exile and never controlled the state."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War

And:

"According to official records, over 75,000 Kentuckians fought for the Union during the Civil War. This figure does not include the estimated 12,000 men who saw active service with Kentucky's state forces, nor the hundreds who belonged to irregular units such as self-styled "Home Guards" or "Independent Scouts."

http://www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/civilwar.htm

http://www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/kyconfedcongress.htm

Oh, and I like cornbread either sweet or not, can't stand tea, and never considered sugar in beans.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:30:52 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by fabulousoyster

Southern New Yorker.

Cornbread with sugar and maybe even vanilla.
Beans latin style, no sugar.

I drink many different types of tea, but if you mean Lipton orange pekoe, I'll take it sweet with or without milk, does'nt matter.
Iced tea sweet.
With lemon only if I'm not feeling well.

You're a Southern New Yorker. I like that! Cornbread with sugar, too! Yee haw!

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:28:05 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by enginecapt

Forgot the other questions:
1. A little sugar in beans and black eyes. Sweet tea sugared when hot. I've been drinking that with lots of fresh lemon ever since I can remember
2. No, I consider myself a true, native born, beach culture Southern Californian, albeit one who was raised within walking distance of two true Southern Grandmothers. Plus I was raised by two Southern Californians who were in turn raised by Southern mothers. In fact, my Mom was born in Alabama, but came out here an an infant. Something had to have worn off onto me, and I do think some things did. For instance, when I started kindergarten I was the only kid in class saying "yes mamm" and "no mamm" to the teacher. And I do mean the only one.
And I eat rice instead of potatoes. I could go on.......

Sugar in your beans and black eyes. Sweet tea sugared when hot. I'll go with that, too, when I can get it. I still say "Yes, Ma'am" to women folk less than half my age.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:23:31 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Jim in NC

While not a Confederate state, culturally Kentucky is a Southern state.

Yep.

December 10, 1861 • Kentucky becomes the 13th state admitted to the Confederacy with its capital at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and George W. Johnson acting as governor.
http://www.answers.com/topic/timeline-of-kentucky-in-the-civil-war

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:18:19 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by southern_belle

Born and raised in TN. Yellow cornmeal and NO sugar in my mama's recipe for cornbread, plenty of sugar in that sweet tea, and no sugar in my beans. Only some kind of pork, and bacon grease in the cornbread. "American by birth, Southern by the Grace of God"

Yellow cornmeal? You use that yellow cornmeal like my Mama who was raised camping out under the cotton wagons? Well, hush my mouth, Child! Hee hee hee!

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:13:34 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by iqdiva

As an 11th generation Alabamian ,I must say :
1.Cornbread with no sugar and definitely bacon grease,I prefer hoecakes.
2.White Acre peas and greens of all kinds with bacon grease.And,I use a trick from Reconstruction days when folks didn't have white sugar,a dash of home made sugar cane syrup (not sorghum or molasses)in vegetables.
3.Tea with sugar,always !

You use sugar cane syrup in vegetables. I've done that a lot, too, when needed.

RE: Cornbread, beans, and tea. Sugar or no? (dickestep)

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:55:45 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by C Turner Joy

quote:
Originally posted by dickestep
Kentucky was a Confederate state, for sure.

Kentucky was not a Confederate state.

Kentucky was not a Confederate state? Don't tell any of the Kentucky Colonels that! That would have shocked the bejesus out of the men who wrote up the Ordinance of Secession of Kentucky in 1861. They may have tried to be neutral, but the Confederate Army had a Kentucky Division.
http://www.csawardept.com/documents/secession/KY/index.html