Juneteenth

A Lifetime Love of My Grandma’s Hot Water Cornbread Connects Me to My Black Heritage

published Jun 17, 2024
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head on shot of a stack of five pieces of hot water cornbread on a marble surface.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Kelli Foster

I have a confession: I’ve never officially celebrated Juneteenth; it wasn’t a tradition in my home growing up. But my family did cook and enjoy delicious feasts. There are many foods that I enjoyed learning to cook like macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, pinto beans, and sweet potato pie. My absolute favorite food was and still is my grandma’s hot water cornbread. This dish has made a lasting impression on me and my life for the past 40 years, since the young age of 11.

Despite never having formal Juneteenth celebrations as a kid, when it became an official holiday in 2021, I was ecstatic that there was finally a holiday to commemorate the end of all the years of slavery that African Americans were forced to endure. Though Juneteenth only became a federal holiday within the past three years, it’s the oldest African American holiday in history, dating back to 1865. Early celebrations began in 1866, many of them centered around large, elaborate meals consisting of “red” foods and drinks like barbecue, watermelon, strawberries, baked beans, sodas, and more. It was believed that red was a robust color that signifies sacrifice, the bloodshed of slaves, resilience, and joy.

Thankfully, I wasn’t around to experience slavery, segregated schools, and the social injustices that Black Americans experienced in history, but I have family members who were. According to my grandmother, who taught me how to cook when I was a preteen, cooking soul food and having big family dinners and special meals was a way that Black people bonded while celebrating various events. So, in a way, when I cook soul food, it’s like I’m celebrating my ancestors.

Before I saw my grandmother prepare hot water cornbread for the first time, I had never thought about how it was made. I had eaten it before and thought it was tasty, but it held no special significance in my life. One day I just happened to be in the kitchen while Grandma was making this dish, and I was in awe. I couldn’t figure out why she was pouring water from the teakettle into a bowl of cornmeal and then pan-frying it. When she removed the crispy mounds of fried cornmeal from the pan, my stomach growled, and this dish became something bigger for me.

From that moment on, I always made it a point to be in the kitchen whenever Grandma was cooking — ensuring that I stayed out of her way. In the beginning, we never talked much, and Grandma would hum as she prepared batches of fried green tomatoes, pinto beans, and, of course, hot water cornbread. The only time I left the kitchen while Grandma was cooking was when she prepared chitterlings; they weren’t very appealing to me. One day, after weeks of watching Grandma cook, I asked her if she would teach me. She happily agreed, and my unofficial culinary classes began.

Credit: Design: The Kitchn

When many people think of cornbread, they imagine a cornmeal dish that is baked in the oven in a cake, muffin, or loaf pan. While oven-baked cornbread is tasty, hot water cornbread is different — and a lot more delicious than the traditional kind. Hot water cornbread is cooked in a frying pan instead of baked in the oven. It’s called “hot water” cornbread because boiling water is used to cook the cornbread batter before you form it into patties and fry it. 

I don’t cook hot water cornbread often anymore because, for some strange reason, my children and husband prefer conventional baked cornbread with sugar added to the batter. But when I was a kid, we enjoyed hot water cornbread at least a few times a month. It was a must whenever we had pinto beans or collard greens, but I often found myself enjoying these crispy croquettes as a stand-alone meal. Cooking hot water cornbread is a form of self-expression for me, as it helps me express how important food and family are.

I also can’t forget how enjoyable it was to cook alongside my grandmother. This time spent in the kitchen together bonded us. There was something about that precious, one-on-one time that I got to spend with Grandma that made our time together so memorable. Every time I make hot water cornbread, I feel as if I’m honoring her by doing so. She passed away many years ago, but whenever I cook this dish, it’s as if she’s looking down on me, smiling as she reminisces about the time we spent together.

Even though cornbread isn’t a red food, it was an important part of early Juneteenth celebrations. I will continue to prepare and enjoy hot water cornbread because not only is it delicious, but it reminds me of the good old days when I was a girl growing up in Detroit. Learning to prepare hot water cornbread (and other home-cooked dishes) has made me the woman I am today — a woman who is strong and who appreciates the importance of spending quality time with family. I will never forget what those days in the kitchen with Grandma have taught me, and I will cherish the memories for the rest of my life.

This is part of Family Legends, celebrating Juneteenth favorites that are sure to leave a lasting impression.