Well, I finally got around to making Rhode Island
johnnycakes with my authentic Rhode Island johnnycake
meal that I picked up in, where else, Rhode Island
last fall. I was waiting to replenish my supply of
maple syrup at the PA Maple Festival. So, I finally
got the syrup and finally got around to making the
johnnycakes.

I followed the direction on the bag of johnnycake
meal for "thin johnnycakes". This is basically adding
milk until you get the correct texture. I had no
idea what they meant by that but assumed that it had
to be pourable.

So, I heated some bacon fat in the skillet and pour in
batter to make 4 small cakes. They were not what I
would call thin - they were about 1/4 inch thick.
They browned nicely and I turned them and browned the
other side. I put them on the plate and topped each
one with butter and poured syrup over all.

I noticed that they were nicely crisp on the "first"
side. The center was dense and thick. The didn't
soak up the syrup like regular pancakes do. Also,
the butter didn't soak in. They were okay but not
something I would go looking for to make again.

I still have half a bag of meal left so I will perhaps
try one of the other versions printed on the bag.
There were "thick johnnycakes" and one or 2 other
types.

I was surprised when I opened the bag to find that
the meal was very finely ground, almost like regular
flour. I had assumed that it would be more like
cornmeal and gritty in texture.

Well, it was definitely an interesting experience.
Maybe the next time I'm in Rhode Island I will try
to find a place that serves good ones and see how
close mine came to what they're supposed to be like.

Kate
--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Kate Connally wrote:
> Well, I finally got around to making Rhode Island
> johnnycakes with my authentic Rhode Island johnnycake
> meal
(snippage)
> I noticed that they were nicely crisp on the "first"
> side. The center was dense and thick. The didn't
> soak up the syrup like regular pancakes do. Also,
> the butter didn't soak in.

Ah, but you were expecting them to be like "pancakes" and they aren't.

They were okay but not
> something I would go looking for to make again.
>
Okay Every once in a while I get a craving for them. I also call them
"griddle cakes".

> I still have half a bag of meal left so I will perhaps
> try one of the other versions printed on the bag.
> There were "thick johnnycakes" and one or 2 other
> types.
>
They still won't soak up butter and syrup.

> I was surprised when I opened the bag to find that
> the meal was very finely ground, almost like regular
> flour. I had assumed that it would be more like
> cornmeal and gritty in texture.
>
I have never tried "johnnycake meal". I use plain yellow cornmeal for mine.
But then, I'm not in Rhode Island, never have been, probably never will be!

> Well, it was definitely an interesting experience.
> Maybe the next time I'm in Rhode Island I will try
> to find a place that serves good ones and see how
> close mine came to what they're supposed to be like.
>
> Kate

I'm curious, what prompted you to buy the meal in the first place?

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
>
> Kate Connally wrote:
> > Well, I finally got around to making Rhode Island
> > johnnycakes with my authentic Rhode Island johnnycake
> > meal
> (snippage)
> > I noticed that they were nicely crisp on the "first"
> > side. The center was dense and thick. The didn't
> > soak up the syrup like regular pancakes do. Also,
> > the butter didn't soak in.
>
> Ah, but you were expecting them to be like "pancakes" and they aren't.

No, not really. I was thinking they'd be more like
cornmeal cakes - gritty and crispy. But in any case I
wasn't disappointed in them because they weren't what
I expected. I was disappointed in them because they
weren't that great. They were okay, but not great. Didn't
care for the texture. Flavor was not too exciting. Maybe
it's just something you have to get used to growing up.

> They were okay but not
> > something I would go looking for to make again.
> >
> Okay Every once in a while I get a craving for them. I also call them
> "griddle cakes".
>
> > I still have half a bag of meal left so I will perhaps
> > try one of the other versions printed on the bag.
> > There were "thick johnnycakes" and one or 2 other
> > types.
> >
> They still won't soak up butter and syrup.

Yeah, I figured that out when I went back and looked at the
"thick" johnnycake recipe. Just a much denser version of
the the "thin" ones and thus even less likely to soak up
and butter and syrup.

> > I was surprised when I opened the bag to find that
> > the meal was very finely ground, almost like regular
> > flour. I had assumed that it would be more like
> > cornmeal and gritty in texture.
> >
> I have never tried "johnnycake meal". I use plain yellow cornmeal for mine.
> But then, I'm not in Rhode Island, never have been, probably never will be!

Ah, well, there you go. We're not even talking about the
same thing! These are authentic traditional Rhode Island
style johnnycakes make with a meal ground from a special
variety of corn that is only grown in RI these days (as I
understand it).

I think there is another style of johnnycakes made more
in the south with regular cornmeal. What I didn't realize
when I bought this meal is that it is nothing like regular
cornmeal. I had heard about RI johnnycakes and just assumed
they were made with a gritty meal like regular corn meal -
just ground from their special variety of corn.

> > Well, it was definitely an interesting experience.
> > Maybe the next time I'm in Rhode Island I will try
> > to find a place that serves good ones and see how
> > close mine came to what they're supposed to be like.
> >
> > Kate
>
> I'm curious, what prompted you to buy the meal in the first place?

Well, people from Rhode Island are always singing the
praises of their johnnycakes so I wanted to try them.
Why not? I'm adventurous except when it comes to weird
organ meats, mollusks, fungi, weird new vegetables,
and raw fish. ;-)

Anyway, who knows, maybe by the time I finish the
bag the damn things will grow on me. :-)

Anyway, I'm going to search online to see if there
are other recipes that differ from the ones on the
bag. I wonder if you couldn't make a good "pancake"
using this meal and making it more like a regular
pancake with eggs and baking powder, etc. I might
give that a shot just for the hell of it.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Kate Connally wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> Kate Connally wrote:

> Anyway, I'm going to search online to see if there
> are other recipes that differ from the ones on the
> bag. I wonder if you couldn't make a good "pancake"
> using this meal and making it more like a regular
> pancake with eggs and baking powder, etc. I might
> give that a shot just for the hell of it.
>
> Kate

Can't hurt; the bag (or box) of meal is already paid for

Jill