Here's What Sets Cornbread Apart From Corn Pone

There's nothing like a piece of buttered cornbread straight from the oven, and who hasn't enjoyed a warm golden slice served alongside a bowl of savory chili? While the first documented recipe for cornbread as we know it today dates back to 1796, versions of the Southern staple can be traced to Mesoamerican, Native American, and African cultures. One of those early versions is cornbread's lesser-known cousin, corn pone. It's a delicious dish that made our list of breakfast foods that should make a return, but the fact that it's often served for breakfast is just one way it is distinct from cornbread.

A typical cornbread recipe, like this one for cast-iron cornbread, includes an egg, butter, sugar, buttermilk, white flour, and baking powder. The mixture is then baked, resulting in a moist and crumbly bread ready to be topped with cheese or butter. The baking powder gives the batter its lift. Like cornbread, the basic recipe for corn pone calls for cornmeal, but that's where the similarities end. Corn pone contains no milk, eggs, or baking powder. The simple ingredients — cornmeal, salt, water, and fat such as bacon grease — and its cooking method, produce something very different from cornbread.

Instead of being baked in the oven like cornbread, thick corn pone dough is molded into a pancake shape and then fried in a skillet. The minimal ingredients and lack of a leavening agent, such as baking powder, result in a dense, flat corn cake, usually served with a drizzle of honey or a pat of butter. Of course, we're not going to judge if you can't decide between the two and top them with sweet and rich honey butter.

The name corn pone is thought to be related to the Native American word for the dish. It is believed to specifically belong to the language of the Algonquin people, who were observed cooking it by settlers. The Algonquin word for bread — ponap — was changed into pone by the English, and from then on, corn pone was associated with a mixture of cornmeal, water, and fat.

While the differences between cornbread and corn pone are undeniable, one thing remains the same. Both dishes, whether made savory with cheese or sweet with honey, are Southern specialties people will continue to enjoy for years to come.