Polenta
Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use dmy dates Template:Expand Italian Template:Infobox food
Polenta (Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPA)<ref>Template:DOP</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an Italian dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried or grilled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While it is commonly used in savory dishes, it can also be found in sweet preparations such as cakes, cookies, and puddings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The variety of cereal used is usually yellow maize, but often buckwheat, white maize or mixtures thereof may be used. Coarse grinds make a firm, coarse polenta; finer grinds make a soft, creamy polenta.<ref name="eatwell">Template:Cite web</ref> Polenta is a staple of both northern and, to a lesser extent, central Italian, Swiss Italian, southern French, Croatian, Slovenian, Romanian and, due to Italian migrants, Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argentinian cuisines. It is often mistaken for the Slovene-Croatian food named žganci.<ref name="Righi Parenti" /> Its consumption was traditionally associated with lower classes, as in times past cornmeal mush was an essential food in their everyday nutrition.<ref name="primiditalia">Template:Cite web</ref>
Etymology
Template:Expand section Polenta covered any hulled and crushed grain, especially barley-meal. It is derived from the Latin Template:Lang for 'fine flour', which shares a root with pulvis, meaning 'dust'.<ref name="OED">Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2006, s.v..</ref>
History
As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush (known as Template:Lang or Template:Lang in Latin) that were commonly eaten since Roman times. Before the introduction of corn (maize) from America in the 16th century,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> it was made from starchy ingredients such as farro, chestnut flour, millet, spelt, and chickpeas.<ref name="zeldes">Template:Cite web</ref>
Polenta was brought to the south of Brazil by Italian immigrants in the late 19th century and has become an important part of Italian-Brazilian culture and identity in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná.<ref name="Paraná Portal">Template:Cite web</ref> The fried version, though, has become popular even in other regions that did not receive Italian migration and is a popular snack and finger food in bars across the country.<ref name="Globo Rural">Template:Cite web</ref>
Cooking time
Polenta takes a long time to cook, simmering in four to five times its volume of watery liquid for about 45 minutes with near-constant stirring; this is necessary for even gelatinization of the starch. Some alternative cooking techniques have been invented to speed up the process or not require constant supervision. Quick-cooking (pre-cooked instant) polenta is widely used and is prepared in just a few minutes; it is considered inferior to polenta made from unprocessed cornmeal and is best eaten after being baked or fried.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Heat (2006)<ref name=Buford-2006/> Bill Buford details the differences in taste between instant polenta and slow-cooked polenta and describes a method of preparation that takes up to three hours but does not require constant stirring:
- "... polenta, for most of its cooking, is left unattended. If you don't have to stir it all the time, you can cook it for hours – what does it matter, as long as you're nearby?" — Template:Harvp<ref name=Buford-2006>Template:Cite book</ref>
In January 1998 Cook's Illustrated magazine described a preparation method using a microwave oven, that reduces cooking time to 12 minutes and requires only a single stir.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The March 2010 issue presented a nearly-unstirred stovetop method, which replicates the traditional method using a pinch of baking soda (an alkali).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
See also
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References
Further reading
- Brandolini, Giorgio V., Storia e gastronomia del mais e della patata nella Bergamasca, Orizzonte Terra, Bergamo, 2007. 32 pages.
- Eynard, W., La Cucina Valdese, Claudiana, 2006.
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