Cornbread In Ukraine

[bleau]

My 16 year old daughter made a simple mixed pot of chili and a simple cornbread mix and sent pics to our Irina in Ukraine. She took pics of everything from start to finish of all ingredients and cooking both items. Irina went boinkers when she saw it and says she can get everything but the chili mix and the cornmeal she didn't understand. Any suggestion on how we explain this to her. My daughter is going to send her the chili mix Monday along with her class pics. Do they have cornmeal in Ukraine? I doubt very seriously we could send her a package of the cornmeal mix. Maybe we have a translation difference with her.
Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Bleau

[ML]

I can verify that cornmeal seems to be not known in Ukraine.

I asked about  it on previous trips and got blank looks.

Last few times I went, I took 4 boxes of Jiffy mix. 
Everyone liked it.

That said, it shouldn't really be that hard to duplicate in Ukraine if someone really wants to.

As I understand it, it just consists of ground corn (sweet corn I presume, rather than the type feed to farm animals) plus a few other standard staples, which should be doable.

[The Natural]

Corn, is that what you US people call maiz?

[Gylden]

Chili con carne and corn bread is one of my specialties! 
I have found it here in Norway and I am sure you can find it anywhere where you can buy middle eastern foods.
In the middle east it is a common ingredient. I don't remember what they call it, as we put it into a plastic box as soon as we open it, but the next time we are in the local store here I will copy it down and take a picture of it.
 
The wife says you can use polenta as well.
http://www.istrianet.org/istria/gastronomy/articles/polenta1.htm

OH, Natural, yes maiz is corn to americans, unless you are talking to a real "cornball"!

[bleau]

Thanks guys for your reply's. All three of my daughters had planned to go shopping this afternoon for Irina, her kids and 2 year old granddaughter.
When they got here my youngest daughter told them what she had done and they both said the stores here have prepackaged cornbread mix and it would go through customs without any problems and they would get her several different kinds.

ML they also said the Jiffy Mix was a good idea too and they would get her some of that as well especially the blueberry muffin mix. I Know she couldn't make Irina understand cornmeal and thought it may be us and not her.

Chili con carn is what my daughter made Natural and is her favorite.

I'll not go into their conversation about what can happen to your butt if you puts beans in the chili. I had to leave the room while those two were laughing and could see each other on their cams and me to. I think I had the only red face so I left the room pronto.

[acctBill]

bleau cornmeal is simply flour ground from corn (maize) instead of wheat or another type grain.  I know Russia grows corn don't know about Ukraine.

[SANDRO43]

We use cornmeal to make polenta , typically over a wood fire in a copper pot that must be stirred continuously :

Some recipes: http://italianfood.about.com/od/polentarecipes/Polenta_Recipes.htm.

[Doll]

bleau cornmeal is simply flour ground from corn (maize) instead of wheat or another type grain.  I know Russia grows corn don't know about Ukraine.

They do. I think there is cornmeal in the stores, she just doesn't use it.

[OlgaH]

Do they have cornmeal in Ukraine?

I googled cornflour in Ukrainian and there are many adds, so I guess they should have мука кукурудзяна aka кукурудзяне борошно in the stores.
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=%D0%BC%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%B0+%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B0+%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%BD%D0%BE&aq=&aqi=&aql=f&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=c47720ba43ce4197

[Gylden]

Corn meal and corn flour are different. If you want authentic cornbread you should use corn meal, it is of similar grain as sand, where as flour is very fine like dust.

[bleau]

I would like to thank everyone with your replies an input into this cornbread post. Even though we're not farmers and live on a small farm in the Blue Ride mountains we do know about corn and how it's milled to make cornbread. We have a neighbor that grinds his on corn for cornbread and to make "Grits" a southern favorite. When he grinds corn this year I will make photos so that the ones of you that have never seen this process will have a better understanding of cornmeal.
This has been an interesting thread for us and once again we thank you.
My daughter says thank you to everyone and she will certainly put your ideas into motion when she discusses cornbread again with Irina this week.

Have a safe and blessed week everyone

Bleau

[OlgaH]

Corn meal and corn flour are different. If you want authentic cornbread you should use corn meal, it is of similar grain as sand, where as flour is very fine like dust.

corn meal is corn flour in Ukraine/Russia but it is coarse-ground flour - борошно кукурудзяне крупного помелу.

[mendeleyev]

Man oh man, I love polenta!
 
Sandro, isn't that an Italian food?
 
Family friends introduced me to the joys of polenta at their dacha. It was served in a supposed Moldovan style with a beef stew poured on top. Wowsky!
 
MIL now makes it with a chicken stew like mixture.
 
 

[Muzh]

Hey Bleau, is that a picture of your lady? WOW. You lucky dog.

[SANDRO43]

Sandro, isn't that an Italian food?

Yes, it is. Traditionally,  polenta was the staple food of our poor mountain peasants, who'd eat it with at most some home-made cheese melting on top. With such a protein- and vitamin B3-poor diet, they often developed pellagra since they did not use 'nixtamalization' - i.e. treating the grain with lime, as done by the more experienced New World natives.

As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush (known as puls or pulmentum in Latin) or more commonly as gruel or porridge eaten in Roman times and after. Early forms of polenta were made with such starches as the grain farro and chestnut flour, both of which are still used in small quantity today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta


Polentone/a is still a mildly derogatory term used to prod slow people into some action - probably deriving from the fact that preparing polenta is a long, slow labour and that lento/a means slow in Italian . Now polenta is always accompanied by richer food.

[bleau]

Hey Bleau, is that a picture of your lady? WOW. You lucky dog.

Yep! That is my lady in Ukraine! 

[HiTech]

My last trip for New Year 2011 I also took a few boxes of Jiffy mix.

Alyona's parents opinion was that it was sweet like a cake vs a bread.

I also took bacon along with microwave pop corn, both were a huge hit.

HiTech

[bleau]

My last trip for New Year 2011 I also took a few boxes of Jiffy mix.

Alyona's parents opinion was that it was sweet like a cake vs a bread.

I also took bacon along with microwave pop corn, both were a huge hit.

HiTech

Thanks for the input HiTech. My youngest daughter sent her Jiffy Mix, a cornbread mix and a box of M/W popcorn and she really likes them and wants more.  What kind of Bacon did you take?

[BC]

Inlaws loved polenta, we do too.


Either the soupy kind (fresh made) along with osambuco or cooled/hardened sliced into thick strips and grilled - good with juicy/fatty meats.


Can also grill and at the end melt a piece of cheese over the top.

[HiTech]

Thanks for the input HiTech. My youngest daughter sent her Jiffy Mix, a cornbread mix and a box of M/W popcorn and she really likes them and wants more.  What kind of Bacon did you take?

Nothing Special, few packages of Oscar Mayer.

Other things that have been great hits are beef jerky (don't get very spicy) and  Skippy Super chunk,home made peanut brittle. Simple loaf of fresh sliced wheet bread.

HiTech

[ML]

I also took bacon along with microwave pop corn, both were a huge hit.

HiTech

I was always under impression that bacon needed to be kept continually refrigerated.

So WTF   

[HiTech]

Freeze it, rap in in cloths, will be cold when you get there. We also were traveling in Dec/Jan

HiTech

[OlgaH]

I was always under impression that bacon needed to be kept continually refrigerated.

So WTF   

ManLooking you know that cолоне свиняче сало (salted pork fat) is the hit of all seasons in Ukraine and in Russia I think too. But in Ukraine it is more a national dish. 

I like how the restaurant "Dikan'ka" called it "Його величність Сало" - "Its Majesty Fat"
http://www.dykanka.com.ua/items.php?class=32

So, it is just a few hours. What is the problem? 

[nicknick]

Freeze it, rap in in cloths, will be cold when you get there. We also were traveling in Dec/Jan

HiTech

I've also done the same thing bringing tvorog back from Russia to the UK and it was absolutely fine.

[SANDRO43]

cолоне свиняче сало (salted pork fat)

Our version of that is called lardo, its more prized version being lardo di Colonnata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lardo) from a small village near Carrara in Tuscany.