Did anyone grow up with Mush?

Made of basically cornmeal, water, and salt and then fried.  I loved this when I was growing up.

carlton pierre


Made of basically cornmeal, water, and salt and then fried.  I loved this when I was growing up.

Absolutely! Every Saturday morning!

I loved it, whether fried with homemade pancake syrup at breakfast, or with some vegetables later on in the day, hey, that's probably some fancy 'haute' thing today.

Nothing went to waste in our house and as a kid, I found inventive combinations
To have a snack, mush was good, hot or cold.

I loved it, whether fried with homemade pancake syrup at breakfast, or with some vegetables later on in the day, hey, that's probably some fancy 'haute' thing today.

Nothing went to waste in our house and as a kid, I found inventive combinations
To have a snack, mush was good, hot or cold.

Is there a difference between mush and polenta?

carlton pierre


Is there a difference between mush and polenta?

Not much! Polenta sounds more exotic is about it!!!

Mush is a poor man's Scrapple!

POLENTA!!! lots of it---killer with "little birds" in a tomato sauce!
 
 

Foodbme


Mush is a poor man's Scrapple!

Not exactly ... but mush is a good substitute for grits and cooks the same.   The corn meal is just a finer grind.
 
Scrapple is a mixture of meats held together with corn meal mush as a binder. Slice, then fry. The recipe varied with each family.  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/scrapple/
or http://davescupboard.blogspot.com/2008/08/scrapple-recipes.html

The only difference that I know is that when I was growing up was that mush was white, and now polenta is yellow !

carlton pierre


Is there a difference between mush and polenta?

Polenta is Italian for corn meal or grits.  But Italian made polenta should be made of 'flint' (hard) type of corn.   ... Southern corn meal & grits is made from 'dent' (softer) corn.  ... The color would depend on if it was made from 'white' or 'yellow' corn.

I remember mush always being a creamy white rectangle, since Mother let it set in a rectangular glass Pyrex dish.  I don't remember using syrup on it, since I was never a big syrup person, but if there was syrup used it would have been pure maple syrup.  Since this would have been around World War II time, pure maple syrup was probably rationed.

My dad made mush and scrapple. We would slice it, fry it and
99% of the time put a syrup on it.
The syrup was made of carmelized sugar, water and
flavoring I think was called Mapleine.
We probably couldn't afford "Real" Maple Syrup.
mike

I am a huge mush fan. Dust it in flour, fry it in bacon fat, cover in syrup! Real is best, but the Mrs. Butterworth will do.

fishtaco


I am a huge mush fan. Dust it in flour, fry it in bacon fat, cover in syrup! Real is best, but the Mrs. Butterworth will do.

 
What you are describing is basically 'cornbread'.    The only way that I've seen mush served is like grits. Boiled with some water & butter (some folks use milk), then served as a thick glop (like mash potatoes).   Being cooked wet and the fine grind of the cornmeal is where it get's its name 'mush'. It is mushy.   .... Baked or dried out to a loaf or thick cake is CornBread.

Sometimes, when we had them, my Dad would put pork cracklins in the white mush. After it solidified, then would Slice and dredge in flour, as above, and fry.
Somehow during this, the cracklins stayed somewhat crispy, and not soggy.
Very tasty, and good memories.

Never had the mush, but if there was leftover cornbread, that would get sliced, fried in butter and served with syrup.

No way was it "Corn Bread"  the wet thick mush was
put in a loaf pan in the refrigerator until it congealed.
You could then take it from the frig, slice it and fry it.
In the 50's and 60's  you could buy it pre-made in the
store or meat market. It was wrapped like a brick of
cheese.
Mike
 
 

We ate mush for breakfast back in the 40's and 50's . It was dipped in flour before frying to get a nice crust. Served with syrup.
Both Mom and Dad claimed they had eaten mush as children in South Jersey and Philadelphia. Today I like it with a tomato gravy
for dinner. Have never tried the packaged mush.

Mother would cut a slice or slab off and just fry it in some butter. Add some syrup and whatever you like and it was good. I bought some pre-made stuff awhile back and it wasnt bad, but nobody else in my family will eat it so some of it went to waste.

Dad made mush for us during the '60s. Love it!

mhill95


No way was it "Corn Bread"  the wet thick mush was
put in a loaf pan in the refrigerator until it congealed.
You could then take it from the frig, slice it and fry it.
In the 50's and 60's  you could buy it pre-made in the
store or meat market. It was wrapped like a brick of
cheese.
Mike
 

 
Exactly. Not cornbread in any way, shape of form. All the stores around here sell it. What is funny as mush it is like $1.40, as Polenta it is twice  that or more. And you can make the "gloopy" mush with the tube kind. Cook  it in milk and just break it up.

Just another grain porridge for us. Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, cornmeal mush...

So what is the difference between mush and Johnny Cakes?  Seems like the ingredients and cooking method are the same.

I grew up having fried mush with maple syrup  for breakfast when I spent the night with Grandpa & Grandma. I think my mother grew up eating cornmeal mush pretty much every day and had had her fill of it, so I don't remember  it being served at home at all. I still make it occasionally, but it just doesn't measure up to Grandmas. 

This is what my mother used.  Sliced, fried with maple syrup (Log Cabin in a can shaped like a cabin)
 
http://hometownprovisions.net/2010/10/featured-product-corn-meal-mush

Bob Evans has fried mush. It may not be on the menu, so just ask.

OH YUMMM  I love fried mush.
 
sliced about 1/2 in thick, fried in bacon grease, sprinkled with garlic powder, and a little square of cheese melted on top.
 
We had this about once a month growing up, on the Saturday my mom was off work.

I'm serving fried mush tomorrow morning with a little butter, dusted lightly with powdered sugar, some berries and syrup. Accompanied by breakfast sausage.
Nice change from french toast or pancakes.
 
mike