The earliest versions of spoonbread are believed to be of
Native American origin, and settlers in South Carolina commonly called it
Owendaw or
Awendaw in reference to the local Sewee tribe
town. Recipes similar to spoonbread began appearing after the end of the colonial period, although these are either sweetened for a dessert course (and typically called
Indian pudding), or incorporate wheat flour, as in
Mary Randolph’s 1824 cookbook
The Virginia House-Wife. The first printed recipe for recognizable spoonbread appeared in
The Carolina Housewife cookbook by Sarah Rutledge in 1847. Take about two teacups of
hommony, and while hot mix with it a very large spoonful of butter (good lard will do); beat four eggs very light and stir them into the hommony; next add about a pint of milk, gradually stirred in; and lastly, half a pint of corn meal. The batter should be the consistency of a rich boiled custard; if thicker, add a little more milk. Bake with a good deal of heat at the bottom of the oven, and not too much at the top, so as to allow it to rise. The pan in which it is baked ought to be a deep one, to allow space for rising. It has the appearance, when cooked, of a baked batter pudding, and when rich, and well mixed, it has almost the delicacy of a baked custard. Spoonbread spread widely during the 19th century. According to
The American Regional Cookbook, "Spoon bread is found throughout the South, in
Virginia where it may have originated, the Carolinas and Mississippi. It is also found on
Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts, where it is called Bannock". The elevated technique of separating the eggs to create a risen, soufflé-style of spoonbread originated with enslaved African American chefs trained in
French culinary method, such as
James Hemings. ==See also==