Hi!

I have searched the board..but it doesn't make it clear. Nigella has used Cornmeal in a couple of recipies in her new book, but can I find it in my town!

What is a good substitute..cos I really want to make a dish this weekend.

Is polenta any good..that is all I could work out using instead looking at the search engine.

Any help gratefully needed before I send TOH out to the shops.

Hi Brie have you got that healthfood shop Holland and ......
they do stock it in Darlington, but then so do morrisons, tesco and Sainsbury's.
Hope you find it, dont think there is an alternative, what were the recipes you were looking at?

Hi Brie, the last time this came up on here I think the final result was that polenta is the same as a coa-rse (to get it past the rude word checker) ground cornmeal, but you can get more finely ground polenta which is then closer to the US version.

While we are on about equivalents if you come across cornstarch in a US recipe then we call it cornflour.

In some parts of the US cornflour in a recipe is very very finely ground polenta to us.

Easy really ( )

Yes talking about alternatives does any one know one for curry leaves?

just leave them out Pam if you can't get them, they are often optional in a lot of recipes.

Thanks everyone...

It is a recipie for a cornbread topping to a chilli..so I may have to use polenta as have checked out tesco and sainsburys and even asked the assistants, but no go..so no idea what has happened here.

But I have got polenta.

Thankyou for the cornstarch thing too terry...i have cornflour..loads of it

Hi Brie, you will find cornmeal in Asda's or any Asian store. lizzie

Hi Brie
You can get Coxxxx Cormeal online from Natco at this address [link]

Cornmeal is Polenta and is made from maize. Semolina flour is made from durum wheat - the results wont be quite the same if you use semolina flour.

Thankyou spice boy

and thankyou lizzie

Hello -- after moving from the US to the UK about 6 years ago, had recently given up my search for cornmeal in UK shops. However, I have recently learned that ASDA does carry this, but I have yet to confirm this as I do not want to shop at ASDA/Walmart.

Here are the definitions of cornmeal and polenta that I thought I would share. Polenta is made from cornmeal.

cornmeal
Dried corn kernels that have been ground in one of three textures — fine, medium or coxxxx. There are two methods of grinding. The old-fashioned water-ground (also called stone-ground) method — so named because water power is used to turn the mill wheels — retains some of the hull and germ of the corn. Because of the fat in the germ, water-ground cornmeal is more nutritious, but won't keep as long and should be stored (up to 4 months) in the refrigerator. Water-ground cornmeal is available at health-food stores and some supermarkets. The newer style of milling is done by huge steel rollers that remove the husk and germ almost completely. The product can be stored almost indefinitely in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Water-ground or stone-ground cornmeal is usually so labeled; steel-ground cornmeal rarely carries any designation on the package. Cornmeal is either yellow, white or blue, depending on the type of corn used. Yellow cornmeal has slightly more vitamin A than white. Blue cornmeal is usually available only in specialty markets or the gourmet section of some supermarkets. However, there are an increasing number of blue-corn products available such as blue-cornmeal flakes and chips.

polenta
[poh-LEHN-tah]
A staple of northern Italy, polenta is a MUSH made from cornmeal. It can be eaten hot with a little butter or cooled until firm, cut into squares and fried. For added flavor, polenta is sometimes mixed with cheese such as PARMESAN or GORGONZOLA. It can be served as a first course or side dish and makes hearty breakfast fare.

source: [link]

I will be checking out some of the other sources listed here to finally start making cornbread and cornmean pancackes once again. Thanks!