Flavors Mattered, but Not as Much as Textures
We didn’t give tasters any condiments for their cornbread—no butter, no honey, nothing. We did this to ensure consistency across all samples and to keep the tasters focused on the flavors of the cornbreads without any distractions. (We weren’t trying to be cruel, we’re just very methodical.)
Tasters observed that some of the cornbreads were more “subdued” in flavor, while others had a “prominent” corn taste. Our lowest-ranked cornmeal produced a cornbread that had a “very strong” corn flavor, with multiple tasters comparing it to a tortilla chip. Our winner, on the other hand, had a more neutral flavor, with some calling it “buttery.” We asked Dr. Hurburgh what might account for flavor differences, assuming the type of corn used might play a role. He explained that it’s difficult to determine the types of corn used to make cornmeals because most grind mills process commodity corn—a wide mixture of different farmers’ grains. However, some, including the manufacturer of our winning cornmeal, do use only one type of corn, which may impart a specific flavor profile.
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