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Moment of Luxury can be seen on your local PBS station. |
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By: Stacey Asip |
WRITER |
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When it comes to Rhode Island johnnycakes, there are some things no two lovers of these humble, fried, cornmeal cakes can agree on.
The first is the etymology. Since they’re not named after anyone named John, Jonathon, or Jonny, why the name? The second is the spelling -- with an H, or not? One word, or two? The third is the recipe. Who makes the best, and where does one find them?
Though an essential part of the state’s culinary history, there are those who will challenge Rhode Island’s claim to the fare at all. In R.I.’s defense, Thomas Vernon’s Revolutionary War-era journal places the dish squarely inside the state weeks before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Vernon (who was banished from Newport to Glocester for his loyalist sympathies) ate his “Jonny cake” in exile with tea and radishes on July 30, 1776.
While Vernon separated his meal into two words, beginning with a capital J, Jonnycake, jonny cake, Johnnycake, johnny cake and Jonny cake, are the assorted spellings that ensued over the next 200 odd years. (The radishes have since been permanently replaced with maple syrup.)
The name itself stems from “Journey Cakes,” because it was something easily made and stored by travelers, hence jonnycakes, without an h. Then again, it might stem from Shawnee cake (after the Native American tribe), or better yet from the Indian word for corn: “joniken,” depending on whom you ask. However, these discrepancies pale by comparison to those sparked by how to make this vital dish.
All agree on the origin of the Rhode Island staple, with the Native Americans saving our early settlers from starvation by demonstrating how to grind corn with stone, mix it with water and cook it over an open fire.
Today, the johnnycake wars are all about style, between East Bay and West Bay. East of the Narangansett Bay, johnnycakes are thin, crepe-like, and made with cold milk. West of Bay cakes are thick and spongy and made with hot water. Then the question remains: do you fry them in butter, oil or pork fat?
One thing everyone seems to agree on, however, is they MUST be made from stone-ground Rhode Island flint corn. Here are three sources: (http://www.graysgristmill.com/) (http://www.kenyonsgristmill.com/home.html) And, for authentic extremists: Carpenter's Grist Mill, Inc., 35 Narragansett Avenue, Wakefield, RI, 02879 This working mill has been in continuous operation since 1703, where Rhode Island whitecap flint corn is stone ground by water power —the only one of its kind operating in Rhode Island!
Our Rhode Island friends claim Jigger's Diner, in East Greenwich, RI (401)-884-5388); quahog.org/cuisine is best for West Bay style. And, we hear The Commons in Little Compton, RI (401) 635-4388 is the place to go for thin, light, lacy, East Bay cakes.
Though one Scituate, Mass. descendent of Roger Williams claims, "most people make God-awful johnnycakes." We invite all MOL viewers to send in their best recipes and settle these questions, once and for all. |
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