Corn flour is also known as Southern flour because it’s the key ingredient for so many Southern dishes. Here, from The Atlantic, comes a very interesting spotlight on corn flour, to which we all owe some gratitude whenever we enjoy a truly delicious Southern meal.

Image by Regina Charboneau

A Baker’s Well-Kept Secret: Corn Flour by Regina Charboneau

– Regina Charboneau is the owner of Twin Oaks Bed & Breakfast in Natchez, Mississippi. She is the author of Regina’s Table at Twin Oaks.

Every week I have the task to come up with some topic on Southern food to write about for TheAtlantic.com. It typically is easy because my life is centered on food, and most often Southern food. Last weekend, as I was taking corn flour out of my baking cabinet to dust fresh shrimp for a quick Sunday lunch of fried shrimp and cole slaw, I knew immediately that I should write about this well kept Southern secret—corn flour.

Everyone knows about corn meal, white or yellow, used for breading catfish and making corn bread. Somehow I think we have done a good job of keeping this silky flavorful flour more of a secret. In many Southern kitchens, this is the key ingredient that makes a homemade cake, Chess Pie, or a breading for shellfish or fish just a bit more special. Corn flour is also used often in Italian cooking. No matter how proud we Southerners are of our cuisine, we do realize that Italian cooking was around long before Southern cooking. Yes, we know it all began in 1492 when Columbus’s men discovered this new grain in Cuba. Native to the Americas, it was exported to Europe rather than being imported, as were other major grains.

It is difficult not to get into a long-winded article about corn and all the fabulous products that come from this heavenly grain. Don’t worry—I will condense my information…

For the complete article, click here. To try Regina’s cake recipe using this characteristic Southern flour, click here – you don’t want to miss this one, it’s a Pineapple-Pear Corn Flour Cake with Brown Sugar Sauce!