The Acculturation of Corn
How the Melting Pot of the Americas
was and is Shaped by Native American
Food, as told through Cornbread and
Tamales
By: Charles Hine and Michael King
Native American Influence on Food
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Jerky
Akutaq, also called "Eskimo Ice Cream” (suggested as the origin for ice cream)
Sweet Potatoes
Tacos
Tamales
Tlacoyos (gordita)
Pozole
Mole
Guacamole
Salsa
Mezcal
Tortillas
Corn
– Corn has the largest influence; it became a staple for European settlers, replacing wheat
Mythology
• Mother Corn, Corn Woman, and the Corn
Goddess
– Also called First Mother
– Native American’s believed that corn tied them to
the earth
– “The connection between the physical and
spiritual worlds lay in the connection between
human beings and Mother Corn.”
– Several stories persist
• Penobscot Legend
– Born from the earth; she bore the first child
– When the people became numerous more food was needed
– First Mother told her husband that they only way to feed
them was for her to die at his hand
– She gave instructions of what to do with her body
– Corn grew from the spot where she was buried
– Other legends
• Some talk of a young or old woman who made food
from her body in various ways
– When she was discovered, the people where going to kill her,
she told them how to dispose of her body and corn grew from
her burial site
• The Aztecs had legends about a corn goddess usually
seen with two pairs of corn in her hands, associated
with the number seven
• A Few tribes that associate corn with a
goddess or a creation story
– Arikara
– Pawnee
– Cheyenne
– Mandan
– Hidasta
– Abnaki
– Cherokee
– Huron
A History of Cornbread
• “Cornbread-love, like all love, is universal and deeply individual.” –
Cornbread Gospels
• Native Americans have been using cornmeal for thousands of years
• European settlers were used to wheat as the staple crop
– European crops failed in the New World
• Native Americans introduced them to corn
– Showed them how to plant and harvest it
– Corn has no gluten, Europeans were unable to make cakes in the old ways
– Northern settlers always tried to cut the cornmeal with flour to make bread;
to this day northern cornbread has much more flour than its southern
counterparts
• They also introduced them to ground cornmeal and various ways of
cooking it
– Boiled porridge
– Cornbread/Corn pone
• The original cornbreads were more like corn
pone
• They were meant as a simple staple to sustain
people when supplies were low
• Corn pone
– 2 cups white corn meal
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 1/2 cups cold water
– Shortening (lard, oil, grease, or butter if available)
• Cornbread took on the flavoring of the local
people
– “The preexisting local Native American ways with
corn, along with regional climate variations and
economies, all shaped and flavored the regional
cornbreads baked by these new Americans.”
• Cornbread continued to be a staple, especially
for the poor and in times of hardship
• Pre-Civil War
– Cornmeal was far cheaper than wheat
– Used to feed slaves
– Water, cornmeal, salt
• Cooked in leafs, and covered in coals
• Called ash cake
• Used after the Civil War in the South during
the recovery
Southern vs. Northern Cornbread
• Both have adopted aspects of the tribal
people within those regions
• Southern Cornbread: “tells a story of lack.”
– Denser, mostly cornmeal, no sugar, usually uses
white cornmeal
– Northern cornbread is the complete opposite
– The use of maple syrup in cornbreads from the
north was taught to the settlers by the Native
American tribes that used the sap
Truman Capote’s Family’s Cornbread
(Southern)
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1 tablespoon butter or bacon drippings
2 eggs
2 cups of buttermilk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups stone-ground white cornmeal
“Thirded” Colonial Cornbread (Northern)
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¾ cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
¾ cup whole-grain rye flour
¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter or mild vegetable oil
3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups milk
Cornbread Influences Today
• “No single food native to America has become more
essential to the survival of so many different
nationalities around the globe.” –Cornbread Gospels
– Pakistan has added cornbread as a staple
• Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Frederick
Douglass, and Henry David Thoreau all wrote
passionately about cornbread
• “Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as
Southern corn bread, and perhaps no bread in the
world is quite so bad as the Northern imitation of it.” –
Mark Twain
TAMALES
TAMALE HISTORY
• Can be traced back as far as 5000 BC to the Aztecs
• Tamalii from the Nahuatl language spoken by the
Aztecs.
• Maize or corn was a very important food for the
Aztecs. Maize was used to make everything from
cornmeal dough (Masa) to make tamales, drinks
and cornbread.
• They were prepared as a dish for ceremonies and
festivals. The priests would hand make tamales
and offer them as gifts to the Gods
History Cont.
• In Mayan creation myth from the book of
Popol Vuh Maize God is central to birth of the
sun and dawning of the world.
• Was used by the warriors because they were
easy to transport and easy to reheat
Making Tamales in Ancient Times
• Originally the Aztecs cooked the tamales by
burying them in hot ashes which made them
crispy and brown.
• They steamed the tamales in underground pits or
in uncovered pots. Using this method, the Aztecs
believed that the tamal stuck to the bottom of
the pot was good luck and would ward off danger
on the battleground.
How to make 10 dozen tamales
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30 lbs Masa
8 Pork Roast
10 Pkgs. Corn Husk
9 lbs of Lard
1 Gal can Olives
1 lb California Chile
5 Tbs Salt
Broth
3Tbs Baking Powder
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Combine ready made Masa, baking power, salt
in large bowl (electric mixer) mix broth/water
from cooking roast to moisten dough. In large
bowl mix lard until fluffy then add to Masa
until it looks spongy. (In a cupful of water roll a
small piece of maze in a ball put in cup until it
floats to top of cup this will let you know Masa
is ready to spread on corn husks). If maze does
not float to top add more water until ball of
Masa floats to top.
Prior to preparing tamales cook pork roast in
large container until meat is fully cooked and
ready to be shredded. Cook approximately 6-8
hours.
Meat Preparation
Combine cooked shredded meat with prepared
chilies until flavored add additional spices if
desired.
Preparing Tamales
Spread prepared Masa onto corn husks evenly
with spoon toward top of husk. Add desired
amount of meat filling to center of husk add a
few olives to each tamale. Fold each side of husk
together with end turned under tamale. Stand
tamale in a large container with open ends up.
Once container is full add water and top
container with open husks and a few towels to
keep steam in to help cooking. Cook tamales
approximately 3 hours or until Masa separates
from husk, this will indicate tamales are
completely cooked and ready to eat. (Makes
approximately 10 dozen per large container)
Different Forms of Tamales
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Pork
Chicken
Fish
Beef
Sweet
Chile
Cheese
Vegetables.
Modern Use of Tamales
• Christmas Time
• Thanksgivings
• Any celebration where families are
coming together
http://www.eastlosangeles.net/tamalefestival/
Why These Foods?
• Represents a heritage of Indian culture
• A passing of knowledge from one generation
to the next
• Reciprocity
• Sense of Community & Family Ties
• Its been passed down in my family for five
generations
Sources
• Dragonwagon, C. (2007). The Cornbread Gospels. New York:
Workman Publishing.
• http://www.progressotamale.com/tamale/history_of_tama
les.html
• http://www.epcc.edu/ftp/Homes/monicaw/borderlands/0
9_tamales.htm
• http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-society-family.html
• A Brief History of Mexico by Lynn Foster
• Maize in human nutrition article by Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
• http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0395E/T0395E00.htm
• Mark Twain: Corn-pone Opinions
• http://www.cooksrecipes.com/bread/corn-ponerecipe.html
• http://www.angelfire.com/va/goddesses/corn.ht
ml
• http://www.artsmia.org/sacredsymbols/preview-corn-goddess.html
• http://www.themystica.com/mythicalfolk/~articles/c/corn_mother.html
• http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-HtmlLegends/CornMother-Penobscot.html
• http://www.universalpreschool.com/howto/thanksgiving.asp