Is cornmeal available in NZ?

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Behodar

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#205109 30-Oct-2016 13:30

I've ended up with an American recipe that looks interesting, but it calls for "cornmeal". I'd never even heard of this before, but Wikipedia tells me that it's common. However, I've been up and down the baking aisles of three different supermarkets and can't find any of this stuff.

Does it exist in NZ? What does the packaging look like? Does it come in bags, boxes, tins? I found a post on another forum which inconclusively states that you may be able to use polenta instead (which I have heard of), but I wasn't able to find that either.

Help! :)

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#1660871 30-Oct-2016 13:33

LOL, Louisiana has this as a staple! Its everywhere. I also looked for it here when I came back each time, but didn't get very far. Maybe its called something else here, as cornmeal sounds like livestock feed

Bung

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#1660878 30-Oct-2016 13:49

Polenta will usually be where rice and couscous is

Behodar

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#1660879 30-Oct-2016 13:50

Thanks; I'd found both rice and couscous but not polenta :(

Bung

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#1660883 30-Oct-2016 14:08

Healtheries do a cornmeal flour looks like polenta and has a polenta recipe on the back. One of the worker bees in the supermarket should know where it's hidden. Sometimes they combine the oddest things.

bagheera

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#1660884 30-Oct-2016 14:13

I think bin inn has it

jmh

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#1660891 30-Oct-2016 14:46

I've seen cornmeal near where the flour is, often with the alternative flours like barley, spelt etc. I don't consider it particularly unusual or rare. In South Africa they call it mielie meal (bit of useless info for you there). It can also be called maize meal. I tend to think of polenta as a courser grind, but not sure of this.

Pic:

Behodar

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#1660895 30-Oct-2016 14:53

I forgot to mention that I'd found cornmeal flour. Is it the same as cornmeal (as opposed to flour made from cornmeal)? I'd found that same brand as in the picture, in an opaque packet so I couldn't tell whether it was the same as the yellow stuff pictured on Wikipedia!

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jmh

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#1660929 30-Oct-2016 15:08

Behodar:

I forgot to mention that I'd found cornmeal flour. Is it the same as cornmeal (as opposed to flour made from cornmeal)? I'd found that same brand as in the picture, in an opaque packet so I couldn't tell whether it was the same as the yellow stuff pictured on Wikipedia!

Depends on what you are making. Cornmeal muffins, bread etc I would use the one you bought. Polenta is slightly grainier - you cook it more like porridge which sets.

Behodar

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#1660951 30-Oct-2016 15:11

OK, I'll get the Healtheries one and see how it goes. Thanks to all of you for your help :)

Geektastic

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#1661191 31-Oct-2016 09:03

Behodar:

I forgot to mention that I'd found cornmeal flour. Is it the same as cornmeal (as opposed to flour made from cornmeal)? I'd found that same brand as in the picture, in an opaque packet so I couldn't tell whether it was the same as the yellow stuff pictured on Wikipedia!

Cornflour is not the same as cornmeal, if that is what you are asking.

Cornmeal is relatively easy to get, although perhaps not in the average NZ "USSR circa 1975" supermarket which tends to be a place of only mainstream thinking!

Try an organic food store, high end Deli or health food store etc.

Polenta is usually finer than what Americans would use IME but probably works fine.

jmh

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#1661222 31-Oct-2016 09:16

Geektastic:

Behodar:

I forgot to mention that I'd found cornmeal flour. Is it the same as cornmeal (as opposed to flour made from cornmeal)? I'd found that same brand as in the picture, in an opaque packet so I couldn't tell whether it was the same as the yellow stuff pictured on Wikipedia!

Cornflour is not the same as cornmeal, if that is what you are asking.

Cornmeal is relatively easy to get, although perhaps not in the average NZ "USSR circa 1975" supermarket which tends to be a place of only mainstream thinking!

Try an organic food store, high end Deli or health food store etc.

Polenta is usually finer than what Americans would use IME but probably works fine.

True - I think it's confusing that Healtheries put cornmeal 'flour' because it can be confused with cornflour which is used for different types of recipes. I've used the Healtheries brand and it is cornmeal, not cornflour. Hope that simplifies it.

trig42

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#1661223 31-Oct-2016 09:18

Polenta comes in different thicknesses/grain sizes. Look for a yellow packet (about the size of a ground coffee packet) in the supermarket. The Rapid one is the finest.

The Cornmeal Flour shown above is probably very fine polenta, and depending on the recipe (eg Cornbread), should work fine.

Things Like Grits are made with a coarser (than flour) cornmeal I believe.

Inphinity

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#1661225 31-Oct-2016 09:20

Many supermarkets I've seen have polenta available in their 'bulk foods' section.

Kyanar

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#1661239 31-Oct-2016 09:36

Geektastic:

Cornflour is not the same as cornmeal, if that is what you are asking.

Cornmeal is relatively easy to get, although perhaps not in the average NZ "USSR circa 1975" supermarket which tends to be a place of only mainstream thinking!

Try an organic food store, high end Deli or health food store etc.

Polenta is usually finer than what Americans would use IME but probably works fine.

And Cornflour is not the same as Cornmeal Flour either, so that isn't quite what he was asking ;)

I think you underestimate the variety of bizarre products available at the supermarket.

jonathan18

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#1661241 31-Oct-2016 09:42

As mentioned by someone, cornmeal comes in very different grinds, which are useful for different purposes. We usually have two - medium and fairly course grinds - in the cupboard, and I'd typically use a proportion of both say for cornbread (the course one provides a more gritty texture). The Healtheries cornmeal seems to be on the finer/medium grind, going by the picture above. This and other brands of cornmeal in supermarkets (eg, the Countdown app says my local store stocks a brand called "Freshlife") may, I guess, not be in the baking aisle, but with "health foods", gluten-free ingredients etc.

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