Colonial

A colonial-style recipe from before the days of molasses-sweetened nostalgia-food. This would have been made with the ubiquitous salt-beef available in barrels everywhere that there were cattle and salt. Most homes would have had salt pork (see Pork and Beans but commercial establishments and ships would have had access to beef. 

Note that sweetening with molasses would be "in-period" but I have seen no mention of it for this recipe. This recipe is rather no-nonsense,  but it is nourishing and not unpleasant. I would add dry mustard before adding any sweetening agent. The molasses does better in the Pork and Beans recipe. 

This classic favorite becomes extra-special when made with local stone-ground cornmeal. I got the recipe from Suzanne Cary Gruver's Cape cod Cook Book.

There are different kinds of cornbread. Many restaurants today make something that to my mind is too like a corn muffin; it's too sweet, soft and spongy, and hasn't much fresh corn flavor at all.

This recipe makes a cornbread to savor with a meal. It has substance and enough flavor to complement many dishes, especially those we make in the autumn and winter months.

There are still mills around New England where you can get fresh-milled cornmeal. I made this one with meal from Dexter's Grist Mill in Sandwich, MA.