I have been eating cornbread and milk since I was old enough to eat it. I absolutely love it! It is just one of those things that makes me feel good. I guess you could call it a comfort food. The cornbread has to come from an iron skillet and it has to have some of the crunchy sides in it as well. I like a little salt and pepper in mine. My dad also loved it. He often mixed his with half sweet milk and half buttermilk with salt and pepper. I have heard of some people putting chopped onion in it. My brother in law would put some fried taters in his which I never understood but hey, whatever works for you. Cornbread and milk is one of my favorite snacks or a meal in it self.
—Ron Banks
Granny and Pap often ate a glass of cornbread and milk for an evening snack. Granny still enjoys it.
When I was growing up Granny always made either cornbread or biscuits for our meals. In those days I was always hoping for biscuits. It wasn’t that I disliked cornbread I just liked biscuits better. Today I like cornbread a little bit better than biscuits. They say your tastes changes as you age and mine certainly has in various ways.
Granny loves to use buttermilk with her cornbread snack. I prefer sweet milk, but The Deer Hunter likes buttermilk too.
Over the years I’ve heard of folks adding different things to their glass of cornbread and milk. Onion, salt, and pepper are the most common things, but I’ve heard folks say they like to add honey, bacon, and even black walnuts. And thanks to Ron I know at least one person likes to add fried taters.
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Corn bread with sweet milk, Not a fan of buttermilk to drink.
Tipper,
The obituary (with details) should run in the local newspaper and air on the Murphy radio station, but I just wanted to let you know directly.
The service will begin at 1pm, but we will begin receiving family and friends at 12pm. Although the actual service will be at 1pm, there will be an hour of visitation prior to the service beginning at noon.
I just wanted to confirm the time all else is the same as previously announced, Red Marble Church this Saturday the 24th.
Hawkeye was a dear of ours. I knew him through my dad. When I was just a little girl living in Topton and my Daddy would talk to him on the CB Radio. In recent years he made some parts for us at our place of employment and my husband would visit him often to pick up parts or just to talk a while. We are sorry that we can not make it to his services, as we are out of town. Our heart felt condolences to all the family. Hawkeye was a good man and friend that will be greatly missed
I am not particular about my cornbread, except do not want it sweet. When we get older, we sometimes develop strange habits just ’cause we can. Sometimes, not often, if I have time, I fry my cornbread in a small cast iron frying pan. When it is totally brown and crusty I flip it. Then I take a sharp knife and shave off carefully the crust. I continue with this same process of flipping and shaving until I have my favorite of all food which is cornbread crusts piled up like a layer cake. Then I pour my milk over it in a small soup bowl and eat my delicious concoction. It is time consuming, so rarely do I indulge. I think of our dear Miss Cindy each time I connect with your blog, and I know that the Lord is in charge. So glad you have Hospice in, as they receive very specialized training to take care of you and yours like a guardian angel. May the Lord give comfort to all of you during this difficult time.
Everybody in my family likes cornbread and milk but I never have cared for it. I love cornbread and I love milk but not together. I sometimes feel a little guilty for developing a taste for jiffy mix cornbread haha. People say ehh that ain’t real cornbread… but hey in my opinion it’s good stuff. Now that I’m thinkin about it that put me in the mood for a bowl of chili beans and cornbread and here it is 80 degrees out. That’s ok I’ll just crank the ac down and pretend it’s chili weather!
Oh yes this is my type of subject: One of the most majestic meals is iron skillet buttermilk made cornbread, gritty thick crust, I love to crumble it in my old empty, large A&W root beer, thick glass mug, with a fresh cut, out of my garden, juicy ponderosa beef steak tomato, fresh slice chunk sweet Vandalia Georgia onion,
Cut chunks of Kraft medium cheddar cheese, pinch of ground black pepper, with all fat thick cold buttermilk pored over, topping the mug rim, conglomerating together, to bring a marvelous satisfying flavor. Preferably enjoyed, while sitting on the back porch swing or rocking chair. It don’t get no better than this, folks for Southern Comfort food. All naturally country/home grown , sent from the great creator/God, nothing artificially made in this, that came out of a lab. Just simple ingredients, mixed together to conglomerate, a spectacular country meal in a mug. Note:No Sugar in my cornbread !
If I wanted it sweet , I would have just baked a cake.
All us right down country folk love milk and Cornbread. Have you noticed Tipper some people say Cornbread and milk but I always say Milk and Cornbread. Anyways it’s good. Even as a kid we had it alot and sometimes with buttermilk. I like sweetmilk better. I can’t eat it as much as I’d like to cause of my BP. If I could it would be every day. I haven’t tried anything else in it like the other folks say they have. I might have to do that. prayers still going up for Miss Cindy . God bless you all and have a blessed day.
I can remember eating cornbread and sweet milk as a boy growing up in Cumberland Ky (Harlan Ky). I always loved it. I have never put fried taters in it. Thanks for the Memories. I enjoy your Youtube channel and blog. Thank you for all your hard work.
My daddy used to live in Harlan when he was married to his first wife Her parents lived there, too. I think her father had a general store in Harlan.
My father used to tell stories about the beginning of the depression and how people were affected by it. He also talked about how everyone tried to help each other.
We all loved cornbread and milk, too. I still have mine with sweet milk. I also like cornbread with chili (instead of crackers).
Cornbread and sweet milk or buttermilk will make your tongue slap your brains out! Whew doggy! Love crackers and milk too. I can remember Momma giving me graham crackers and milk when I was sick. Sending lots of love and prayers your way! I know times are hard right now! God bless you with peace and comfort!
Sweet milk and cornbread is the epitome of comfort food to me. I’ve been eating it since I was “knee high to a grasshopper “,as my dad used to say!
I love cornbread – it has to be cooked in the cast iron skillet and crumbly! A real treat would be to mix “cracklin” in it and have “kilt lettuce” for supper. I’m sure when I was young I didn’t appreciate it as much as I do now!
Being later in reading your blog, I will now have to have cornbread this evening. My Dad, years ago, loved white rice, a teaspoon of sugar, and top it with sweet milk. I gotta try the cornbread with buttermilk. That is a new one for me. Keeping you and your in my prayers and praying for easing of pain for Miss Cindy.
Got to have my cornbread! Now I like biscuits too but if I have a choice, I will always choose cornbread over biscuits. I make much more cornbread than I do biscuits. No sugar in it and has to be crunchy on the outside. I can’t get it out of the oven fast enough, cut a piece and put a little butter on it, no margarine for me, that’s some good eating. Like Randy said about his wife couldn’t tell him how she made it, I couldn’t tell you how much of anything I put in it, I just throw it all in a bowl and get the right consistency and that’s how I know. Sometimes I have snacked on the cornbread so much that when I sit down to eat supper, I’m already full. I don’t eat it mixed up with milk, but I have a long time ago.
Noticed several mentioned different variations of cornbread, I like it all.
Over the years I’ve concocted a recipe with taco seasoning , a can of green giant mexicorn, shredded cheese mixed in with the cornmeal batter. It makes for an excellent substitute (for my normal peanut butter sandwich) while trout fishing and turkey hunting here in the mountains of East TN during the Spring.
I remember my Granny giving me cornbread and milk. Mama said we moved from there before I was two. I’ll turn 79 next month and have been eating it all my life. When there is leftover cornbread I tell my Japanese wife that I will have “Hillbilly Cereal” for breakfast.
My dad use to eat sweet cornbread with buttermilk when he was living. My mother in-law still will fix herself cornbread to mix with buttermilk or whole milk, but she prefers using buttermilk. I’ve never had a desire to taste it.
Brings back such wonderful memories from my childhood living in Kentucky. Mother made the most delicious cornbread and biscuits. She couldn’t be beat! We still love crumbled cornbread in a glass of buttermilk sprinkled with black pepper on top. Delicious! I enjoy your posts so much, Tipper! Keep up the good work! Love and prayers to your precious family
One of my father’s favorite snacks was cornbread and buttermilk. I’ve never tried it, as I don’t drink milk or buttermilk. I do love cornbread and biscuits though!
I love cornbread and milk !!!! also rice and milk so so good, too. I am praying for you all!!!!
I used to eat a “crumble in” as dessert any time there was cornbread left over. I prefer sweet milk with chopped onions and just enough salt for the onions. I love buttermilk but with cornbread and onions on a plate.
Here lately I’ve been getting strangle when I eat a crumble in. For some reason the cornbread keeps going down my windpipe instead of my goosle where it’s supposed to go. It’s bad enough that it scares me.
Last night I had a bowl of crumble cornbread with chopped onions and cheddar cheese and with hot soup beans over the top. Hot as in boiling hot and hot pepper hot. Not as good as cornbread but safer for me.
Before anyone suggests I don’t chew my food enough is why I get strangled, quite the contrary. I was taught to chew every bite 15 times. Remember when schoolteachers taught you how to eat? I paid attention! I still do it.
Speaking of being taught how to eat reminded me of an old George Burns line I heard on tv years ago: “I love to sing and I love to eat. Most people who’ve heard me sing say they’d rather hear me eat.”
I love buttermilk and cornbread with salt and pepper. When my mom was dying with cancer, every night at 9:00 she wanted buttermilk and cornbread. When I did not have cornbread she used saltines. I do that now as well. Sweet memories
Mommie and Daddy always ate cornbread and buttermilk together. Seems like we always had more buttermilk on hand than sweet milk. I love cornbread, sweet milk and buttermilk but to this day I’ve never had them together.
Give me a skillet of fried taters, cornbread and an onion and I can prove I’m an Appalachian girl through and through!
You have suddenly reminded me today that my favorite cornbread is corn sticks, second best is corn muffins and third best is corn fritters. The reason is the crustiness. Like you, I like crusty cornbread. And each of those three have lots of crust. Corn sticks make the best bite-size pieces to butter. As for cornbread and milk, I’ll have plain thank you.
I’d have starved when I was a child without it. First as a baby of the 1960’s my mother was given a shot to dry up her milk and told that formula was best. I didn’t do well on any of it. Not goats milk or cows milk either. At 5 months I was consider “failure to thrive”. That’s when my mother asked the doctor if she could try buttermilk. It was already sour, at least it wouldn’t turn on my stomach. He said that sounded awful but admitted he didn’t know what else to try. It worked. So I was raised on granny’s hand churned unpasteurized buttermilk! Then as a child if we didn’t like the vegetable offered at supper – cause supper was a vegetable, maybe tomatoes and cucumbers sliced in the summer, and cornbread. Meat was a rare treat for supper. If you didn’t like the vegetable of the day, there was always bread and milk. Many a day I had buttermilk and bread for supper and then finished with sweet milk and bread for dessert. To this day I still love it and it’s often a Sunday evening comfort meal.
OH, yes. It must be in our DNA!
As a child growing up in Depression Era Rome GA, my mother and her siblings were given very simple snacks to eat. One of her favorites was cornbread crumbled into a glass of buttermilk…which they called ‘soakie’. They would compete with one another to see which one could squeeze the most buttermilk from each bite. The one with the most buttermilk left in their glass to drink at the end was the winner.
I have read the comments, and noticed the sweet milk verses buttermilk. There is a dairy close to me that sells his own milk from his cows that eat nothing but grass year round from pastures that only gets fertilized by the cows. He rotates his cows from one pasture to another when the grass begins to get ate down. He also have a store of produce, meats, and other mostly local grown items. One of their sell pitches is the milk only travels 50 feet from the cow to the jug, never gets heated up- I can’t think of the correct word for this. The milk has to be shaken up before drinking and he only sells 3 types, whole or sweet milk, buttermilk, and chocolate or strawberry flavored milk, none of the 2% stuff. People come from miles around to buy his milk , especially the buttermilk and swear by it for helping with stomach problems. The name is “Happy Cow Creamery “ Pelzer, SC. Look it up, Tom has a very interesting story of how he was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy and of coming home one day with all of his cows out and noticing something when milking the cows that night and being able to turn everything around and now have one the most successful dairy’s around. I think he calls the method he uses “The 12 Months of April”. Ed, I think you would enjoying reading this.
It’s called pasteurization. I call it cooking. It kills all the bacteria, good and bad, as well as all the enzymes. In the case of buttermilk, they add a Lactobacillus to the cooked milk once it has cooled. Lactobacillus is a bacteria that is already in the milk before they killed it.
It is 94 miles as the crow flies to the “Happy Cow Creamery”. That wouldn’t be too far for me to drive to get real live milk but my health precludes me driving (or riding) more than 10 or 15 miles. Actually riding is worse than driving! My son and daughter-in-law like to visit Greenville. They like to ride the Segways around town. Dusty took a GoPro and recorded one of their tours. He gave the recording to me and I have it saved on my computer. It is a place I would like to go if I were able.
I’m not sure whether the Ed you are referring to it me but I’ll take it anyway.
My mom cooked supper every day since I can remember, even on days she wasn’t feeling well or was especially busy. Some days she would make a pone of cornbread and give us a choice of fresh milk or her churned buttermilk and call it supper. We loved it then and still do. A few fried taters in the glass (never a bowl) would have been some fine eating. Think I’ll try it with the mess of lettuce I picked before the rain started today.
God, please bless Miss Cindy and ease her pain.
I’m almost certain that I’ve seen my dad eat cornbread with milk when I was growning up. It’s a common thing in the south. But for whatever reason, I just never have cared for corn bread. I mean if I went some where and it’s all they had I can eat it, but I MUCH prefer biscuits. I can put a hurting a pan of fresh cat heads. You can cut me up a good cantaloupe and a pan of biscuits (or even better a hoe cake) and I’ll make a meal off that. I’ve had that for supper many a time.
Doug, I mentioned my late wife’s cornbread, I could eat it 7 days a week, 3 meals a day and for snacks in between the meals. A Good biscuit does make a fine substitute for cornbread.
I know cornbread is definitely a favorite for alot of people. I kind of wish I did like it better.
I’m making cornbread and soup beans for dinner. I’ve never tried cornbread and milk, I enjoy white bread and milk, guess I’ll have to go my southern side and try cornbread and milk. ;D
Such memories this brings to mind. I can see my papaw sitting at their kitchen table eating cornbread and milk. He liked his with sweet milk. At times, it was his supper too. I love cornbread and milk too. I like my cornbread to be just a tad warm with sweet milk. My husband thought I was crazy the first time he saw me eat this. It always brings back such sweet memories.
Good ole cornbread and milk. I like it either way, with sweet milk or buttermilk, and I’ve been known to dice up an onion to go in my buttermilk and cornbread. My husband is easy to please and sometimes all he wants for supper is cornbread and milk, which I willingly oblige and join him for a tasty treat. I like it with warm cornbread over cold milk or as cold leftover cornbread and milk. Sometimes I eat a glassful of it as my “dessert” after my meal. Just can’t resist it sometimes!
I’ve been praying for you all, especially Ms. Cindy. She’s an important part of your family heritage and the deer hunter is in my thoughts and prayers. Give him an extra hug today. Love to you all, always.
The old cornbread and buttermilk snack was a favorite of the old timers. Once I was hot from playing hard, ran in and grabbed what I thought was sweet milk and started gulping. Let me tell you, I got sick in QuickTime! Mommy was mad cause I was gagging and puking right near the dinner table and had made an unnecessary hog of myself to boot! Today I can laugh at it, but it left me traumatized over buttermilk. Y’all knock yourselves out on it, I’m gonna continue cutting down in this one area… lol. Lord bless y’all and especially Miss Cindy ( and granny too!)
I have got to stop with the comments, but your statement about making a hog of yourself, when I was a young kid I did this when eating fresh hog liver grandmother had cooked. She told me I would get sick but I didn’t listen. I got sick as a dog and now will not eat ANY liver from any animal. I will not even use chicken livers for catfish bait. Anytime I see uncooked liver my stomach will do a flip-flop.
My dessert favorite is always leftover crunchy edged cornbread in sweet milk with sugar that I can crunch. I always hide 2 pieces for dessert whenever cornbread is on the table!
I have never had cornbread and any kind of milk. I never liked milk didn’t drink as a child or now many many years later.
I do love me dome cornbread though
I like cornbread and milk too. My husband likes his with buttermilk. I put pepper on mine. The past two evenings I’ve had crushed up saltine crackers in a bowl with milk poured over them. I’ve ate that combination since I was a kid – delicious!
When I was growing up, my parents and grandparents ate cornbread and buttermilk. We had a milk cow and churned butter (so we had plenty of buttermilk). I didn’t care for buttermilk until I was about sixteen or so. I liked cornbread and mother made the best using local rough ground field corn (white) and her adding the other ingredients individually (not a mix). Even though sugar in cornbread violates all sorts of rules and commandments (especially in my mother’s kitchen), my mama’s tasted like cake to me. I didn’t eat it in buttermilk until I was in my late 20’s/early 30’s. Most of my life I had sopped cornbread after supper on occasion with sorghum syrup that had a little butter cut into it and it was delicious. I still do from time to time. Nowadays, I had of soon to have cornbread and buttermilk with onion, salt and pepper as I had eat a steak. My wife likes “bread and milk” too even though she eats her pawn with sweetmilk. I have never heard of putting fried potatoes or bacon in the mix until now, but I bet that would be larruping and must try it.
Going up, we didn’t have AC, so instead of cooking after working in hay, corn or the tobacco patch in the summer it was common for us to have a light supper ( glass of cold buttermilk with leftover corn bread in it) .
Refreshing and nutritious.
Cornbread and milk was one of my mama’s favorite meals. She wasn’t picky about which milk. She used whatever was in the fridge. My mama went to be with Jesus four years ago on May 31, 2019. Your lovely post has now inspired me to make me some cornbread and milk in memory of my mama and her sweet smile. Thank you so much for this post. (And please know that you and your family are in my prayers).
I also love cornbread and milk but nothing else in it, I like fried taters too, but never tried the two together. My milk has to be “sweet” milk, I have never been able to get a taste for buttermilk unless it is used in cooking. The older country folks, including mine, that lived at home and farmed with mules or did other other types of hard manual labor, would often eat a light supper of corn bread and milk but eat a big meal of something that would stick with them for breakfast and dinner. I have not had any real good cornbread since my wife passed away. Poor girl could make the best cornbread I ever ate, but could never learn to make biscuits. One time, I threw some of her biscuits out to my old hound dog and it hurt his feelings, he thought I was mad and throwing rocks at him. The best I can do is the frozen Mary B or Philsbury biscuits. Her cornbread was the best, if asked how she made it, she would say “I don’t know, I don’t measure anything, I just know when it’s like I want it. The cast iron frying pan she baked it in is now 50 years old, a wedding present that could be used for cooking and keeping husbands in-line. I do not like or want “Yankee cornbread” that is sweet cornbread that has sugar in it.
Well, now, it’s seven in the morning and I want cornbread and milk, and I don’t think anything else will do.
I grew up around people who loved biscuits and cornbread and I never cared much for either–must be the Yankee in me as my father was born and lived in S. Illinois until 3 years old. However, I love the Southerners’ love of their food and hearing about how much comfort food gives them and connects them to each other. I remember my grannie’s vegetable meals, including corn off the cob made in an iron skillet. YUM.
My two brothers and I were practically raised on cornbread and milk. Still love it. My sweet wife? She never has tried it, bless her heart.
My hubby is from NE Alabama & he loves his cornbread & sweet milk. My mom would eat it with buttermilk & pepper; her Alabama born step dad; my grandfather/dad dad, ate it that way too. I personally have never tried it. However, milk/sweet milk & my tummy don’t always get along, so I just avoid it.
My dad’s favorite snack was cornbread crumbled in either milk or buttermilk. Preferably buttermilk!
God forgive us our sin, thank you for our blessings God comfort Ms Cindy and her people in Jesus name we ask ,God help please! ✝️❤️
We continue to keep Miss Cindy and your family in prayer, Tipper. I miss reading Miss Cindy’s daily comments in the Blind Pig and the Acorn. God bless and keep all of you and may He hold you close to his heart.
Carolyn
For some reason I can’t drink sweet milk anymore. I mean I can, but just don’t care for it. However, I LOVE to eat cornbread (not sweet, of course—sugar doesn’t belong in cornbread) with buttermilk over it. Also with salt and pepper. This is something I would have thought was gross when I was younger, but now I think it’s delicious and it’s one of my favorite snacks. Never thought about the onions, but I’m going to try it!