Recovering the Past: Gourdseed Corn and Real Cornbread

Gourdseed corn is a class of Southern dent corn that was commonly grown in North America prior to the arrival of colonists.  It traces its roots to Mexican teosinte (a wild plant from which corn developed) as do other corns, but it (and other Southern dent corns) developed distinctly from most corns such as flint and flour corns.  As the name implies, the kernel of gourdseed corn is longer, flatter, and skinnier than other dent corns.  It looks like a gourd seed.  In pre-colonial America, it also went by the name "tooth corn". 

Gourdseed corn was very common throughout the Southern colonies until the mid-1800s.  In the mid-1800s, the corn and cornmeal industry realized that they could replace these gourdseed corns (which were milled very fine and used to make wonderful breads and cakes without any leavening needed) with grittier dent corns, which needed baking powder (another product to sell...) to rise (Weaver 2008).  As time passed, gourdseed corn all but disappeared, being grown only by a few families throughout the South.  Southern Exposure Seed says that it was even thought extinct until some "Texas Gourdseed" (which actually originated in the Upper South) was found growing on a farm in Texas.  Southern Exposure Seed now offers two varieties, "Texas Gourdseed" and "Virginia Gourdseed" in their catalog.  They also continue to research and refine these varieties in hopes of truly rediscovering the original gourdseed corns.  

This season we grew "Virginia Gourdseed" corn.  It produced about 25-30 pounds of cornmeal from one 200' bed.  In comparison our heirloom, Southern dent corn (from the late 1800s) produces about 50 pounds per bed.  That said, this was not a typical season here climatically.  Although likely not cooler than it was 200 years ago, it was very cloudy and wet throughout the summer. Gourdseed corn reminds me a lot of "choclo" or Incan corn.  The ears are fat and stubby and stuffed with kernels.  The kernels are long and skinny.  The kernels are definitely softer than our dent corn and much softer than modern hybrids.  Ground, the meal is much more like flour.  The only downside is because it makes such a soft flour it requires more corn to make an equal amount of flour.

I have never been much of a corn person.  As a crop, modern corn varieties (without even entering into the GMO debate) drain soil fertility and need too much water to produce well.  In addition, they are bred for chemical agriculture, and thus have no built-in insect or disease resistance, meaning they also rely on chemical pesticides and fungicides.  They take too much and don't give enough back.  Modern corn is a fairly non-nutritious foodstuff that in my opinion isn't worth growing.  As a food, I have always found sweet corn entirely overrated.  I eat cornbread at holidays, but I have never really enjoyed it as a food.  Then, in 2009, we began growing heirloom corns, and I realized that corn had been mutilated.  We grow several varieties of heirloom corn every year.  Our favorite both in terms of production and eating quality is "Tennessee Red Cob".  It is incredibly drought resistant (we don't irrigate it), is very resistant to insect damage (tight ears), seems to be very disease resistant (we have never had any problems), and is very productive.  As a foodstuff, it makes the best cornbread I have ever had: moist, sweet, and incredibly flavorful. 

Last fall, about this time, we were discussing what seeds we would like to start saving on our farm.  It was a long conversation, too many wants for the amount of time and land that we have, but we kept coming back to heirloom corns.  See, first it was modern hybrids that almost did heirloom corn in, and now GMO corn threatens to make it extinct.  There are a handful of people out there working diligently to protect, hand-pollinate, and thus reproduce and save our heirloom corn varieties.  It is incredibly time-consuming, difficult work, and they all deserve our praise.  Because of our industrialized food system, industrialized agriculture, and GMOs, corn as a species is really endangered.  Growing heirloom corns, I have realized what corn is (or was).  It really is a wild crop (not so needy as modern hybrids make it seem).  It is supposed to have complex flavor (not just sugar sweet), and its meal is supposed to be fluffy, moist, and flavorful.  Corn should also be a nutritious grain, high in protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and minerals.  These corns make me want to grow and eat corn!  We will continue to grow and next season save "Virginia gourdseed" corn.  We hope you enjoy your "Virginia Gourdseed" cornmeal.  Here is a great gourdseed cornmeal recipe from Mother Earth News:

1 2⁄3 cups white gourdseed cornmeal, ground fine
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup rich milk (mix 2/3 cup milk with 1/3 cup cream) 

Sift together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a deep work bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until lemon-colored and frothy, then whisk in the buttermilk. Gently fold together the dry and liquid ingredients.

While preparing the batter, heat a 10-inch cast iron frying pan in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When the pan is thoroughly hot, remove it from the oven, melt the butter in it and coat the inside of the pan using a brush. Add the batter and spread it evenly, and then pour in the cup of rich milk (do not stir or disturb the batter underneath). The milk poured over the bread creates a cheeselike “skin” on top, which gives added flavor and considerable eye appeal.

Set the pan on a middle rack in the preheated oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake tests dry in the center. Serve immediately with homemade butter.

To do your part, seek out non-GMO, heirloom corn and cornmeal from your local farmers, local coops and groceries, or from Anson Mills.  We have corn available for milling most of the year.  

see "Gourdseed Corn" by William Woys Weaver (2008) at http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/gourdseed-corn.aspx

For those of you who plan to visit Asheville, our cornmeal is now featured at All Souls Pizza on Clingman Avenue in their gluten-free, polenta pizza!