Polenta

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Polenta covered any hulled and crushed grain, especially barley-meal. It is derived from the Latin pollen for 'fine flour', which shares a root with pulvis, meaning 'dust'.Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2006, [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/146807 s.v.].

As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush (known as {{lang|la|puls}} or {{lang|la|pulmentum}} in Latin) that were commonly eaten since Roman times. Before the introduction of corn (maize) from America in the 16th century,{{cite journal |url=https://repository.cimmyt.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10883/3026/89371.pdf |journal=Maydica |volume=51 |year=2006 |pages=281–291 |title=More on the Introduction of Temperate Maize into Europe: Large-Scale Bulk SSR Genotyping and New Historical Elements |first=P. |last=Dubreuil |display-authors=etal |hdl = 10883/3026 }} it was made from starchy ingredients such as farro, chestnut flour, millet, spelt, and chickpeas.{{cite web | last = Zeldes | first = Leah A. | title = Eat this! Polenta, a universal peasant food | work = Dining Chicago | publisher = Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. | date = 2010-11-03 | url = http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/11/03/eat-this-polenta-a-universal-peasant-food/ | access-date = 2011-05-18 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2010-12-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101230103443/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/11/03/eat-this-polenta-a-universal-peasant-food/ }}

Polenta was brought to the south of Brazil by Italian immigrants in the late 19th century and has become an important part of Italian-Brazilian culture and identity in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná.{{cite web | last = Sganzerla | first = Eduardo | title = Polenta, história e identidade cultural. Veja receitas | date = 2021-12-17 | url = https://paranaportal.uol.com.br/gente/a-historia-da-polenta-revistada-veja-receitas | access-date = 2023-08-03}} The fried version, though, has become popular even in other regions that did not receive Italian migration and is a popular snack and finger food in bars across the country.{{cite web| title = Como fazer polenta frita para petisco | date = 2022-11-24 | url = https://globorural.globo.com/vida-na-fazenda/receitas/noticia/2022/11/como-fazer-polenta-frita-para-petisco.ghtml | access-date = 2023-08-03}}

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File:Polenta in a bowl with soup broth.jpg

Polenta takes a long time to cook, simmering in four to five times its volume of watery liquid for about 45 minutes with near-constant stirring; this is necessary for even gelatinization of the starch. Some alternative cooking techniques have been invented to speed up the process or not require constant supervision. Quick-cooking (pre-cooked, instant) polenta is widely used and is prepared in just a few minutes; it is considered inferior to polenta made from unprocessed cornmeal and is best eaten after being baked or fried.{{cite web | last = Delaney | first = Alex | title = What is the Difference Between Grits and Polenta? | date = 2017-12-12 | url = https://www.bonappetit.com/story/difference-grits-polenta?srsltid=AfmBOoqwX2x4QrBvXVyD8Q5_1_ta9_xVFlub-mTMQiqnFFDfIhC3Q8Ad | access-date = 2024-10-04}} In his book Heat, Bill Buford talks about his experiences as a line cook in Mario Batali's Italian restaurant Babbo. Buford details the differences in taste between instant polenta and slow-cooked polenta and describes a method of preparation that takes up to three hours but does not require constant stirring: "polenta, for most of its cooking, is left unattended. ... If you don't have to stir it all the time, you can cook it for hours—what does it matter, as long as you're nearby?".{{cite book | last = Buford | first = Bill | title = Heat | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf | year = 2006 | location = New York | page = [https://archive.org/details/heatamateursadve00bufo_0/page/150 150] | isbn = 1-4000-4120-1 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/heatamateursadve00bufo_0/page/150 }} Cook's Illustrated magazine has described a method using a microwave oven that reduces cooking time to 12 minutes and requires only a single stirring.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} In March 2010, it presented a stovetop, near-stir-less method that uses a pinch of baking soda (an alkali), which replicates the traditional effect.{{cite journal | first1 = Christopher | last1 = Kimball | author-link = Christopher Kimball |last2=Yanagihara |first2=Dawn |date=January 1998 | title = The Microwave Chronicles | journal = Cook's Illustrated | page = 11}}{{cite journal | first = Christopher | last = Kimball | author-link = Christopher Kimball |date=March 2010 | title = Creamy Parmesan Polenta | journal = Cook's Illustrated}}

{{Commons category-inline|Polentas}}

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{{Portal|Italy|Food}}

• List of maize dishes
• List of porridges

{{Reflist}}

• Brandolini, Giorgio V., Storia e gastronomia del mais e della patata nella Bergamasca, Orizzonte Terra, Bergamo, 2007. 32 pages.
• Eynard, W., La Cucina Valdese, Claudiana, 2006.

{{Corn}}

{{Lombard cuisine}}

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Category:Cuisine of Lombardy

Category:Italian inventions

Category:Maize dishes

Category:Porridges