Cornbread is a classic Southern staple, typically served alongside barbecued meats, greens, beans, and other down-home foods. Its texture can vary from dense and cakelike to light and crumbly depending on the recipe used. While traditional Southern cornbread is made without sugar, many modern recipes call for a small amount to be added. The addition of sugar creates a slightly sweeter flavor and more cake-like texture.
Quick answer:
While unsweetened cornbread is traditional, many Southern cooks today do add a small amount of sugar, creating a hybrid between savory unsweetened cornbread and sweet cake-like cornbread. However, traditionally minded cooks still make cornbread without any added sugars.
The history of cornbread
Cornbread has long been a staple food in the South, dating back to when corn was first cultivated by Native Americans thousands of years ago. Corn was one of the few crops that grew well in the hot Southern climate and poor soil conditions.
Native Americans had many uses for corn, including grinding dried kernels into cornmeal. They would then mix the cornmeal with water and cook it over a fire to produce an early form of cornbread.
Europeans who settled in the South adopted cornbread from Native Americans. As wheat flour became more available, some Southern cooks started adding a small amount to the cornmeal to create a hybrid cornbread. But it remained largely corn-based, unlike the wheat-based breads of Europe.
Unsweetened cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet soon became an iconic staple of every Southern meal. It was affordable, filling, and could be made from ingredients most families readily had on hand. It was especially valued by impoverished Southerners and slaves who could not afford expensive ingredients like sugar.
Did Southerners historically put sugar in cornbread?
Traditionally, Southern cornbread contained no added sugars. The cornmeal provided enough natural sweetness on its own. Sugar was an expensive imported ingredient that was hard to obtain in the agrarian South before the 20th century.
The traditional Southern cornbread recipe relied only on simple ingredients like cornmeal, salt, baking soda or powder, and buttermilk. Sometimes eggs or bacon fat were added for moisture and richness. But sugar was notably absent.
Some very early Southern cookbooks such as The Virginia Housewife (1824) did contain a few cornbread recipes with sugar. But these tended to be cake or bread-like quick breads rather than the savory skillet cornbread associated with Southern cooking.
So while a bit of sugar may have occasionally been used in special baked cornbread recipes, the everyday unsweetened skillet cornbread remained the standard in most Southern homes well into the 20th century. Adding sugar simply wasn’t economical or necessary for most Southerners for many generations.
The addition of sugar
It wasn’t until later in the 20th century that adding sugar to cornbread started to become more commonplace in Southern cooking. Several factors led to this change:
Increased affordability of sugar
As sugar became an increasingly mass produced and affordable pantry staple, Southern cooks were more likely to keep it on hand and incorporate it into recipes.
Influence of commercial sweet cornbread mixes
Food manufacturers began selling boxed cornbread mixes marketed to Southern home cooks. Many of these mixes included sugar to give the cornbread a sweeter flavor and texture. Southerners who used the mixes began to associate that sweetness with cornbread.
Appeal of sweeter baked goods
Over time, Southern tastes shifted to prefer sweeter baked goods. The use of sugar became commonplace not just in cornbread but also cookies, cakes, muffins and other treats. Cornbread began to be treated more like a quick bread or dessert rather than a savory side dish.
Confusion with Northern and Midwestern “cornbread”
Outside of the South, cornbread often referred to sweet Northern and Midwestern styles made with more wheat flour and sugar. Southerners traveling outside the region sometimes assumed all cornbread was sweetened.
Back home, they began sweetening their own cornbread by adding sugar to the traditional Southern recipe. But traditionalists maintained that true Southern cornbread should be unsweetened and corn-based.
The modern debate over sugar in cornbread
Today, the question of whether to add sugar is one of the biggest debates among Southern cornbread enthusiasts.
Purists argue that authentic Southern cornbread should be unsweetened or contain only a tiny bit of sugar, maintaining the savory flavor profile. They point to the simple historic recipes from earlier generations that contained no sugar due to its cost and limited availability.
But many modern Southern cooks prefer the slightly sweeter flavor and softer, more cakelike texture sugar provides. They feel cornbread with a bit of sugar is still Southern, given how tastes and recipes naturally evolve over time.
So in practice, both unsweetened and slightly sweetened cornbreads are common in the South today. Traditional Southern restaurants and homes tend to make unsweetened cornbread, while average home cooks are more likely to add a bit of sugar.
How much sugar is typically added?
When sugar is added, it’s typically not much – just a tablespoon or two per cup of cornmeal. This provides subtle sweetness but doesn’t make the cornbread taste like a dessert cake.
Occasionally, some contemporary Southern bakers add up to 1/4 cup of sugar per cup of cornmeal, getting closer to a sweet quick bread or muffin. But most still recognize cornbread with that much sugar differs greatly from traditional Southern versions.
Other ways to add sweetness
Rather than granulated white sugar, some modern Southern bakers use these alternatives to subtly sweeten their cornbread:
Honey
The flower nectar has natural sweetening powers without overwhelming cornbread with saccharine sweetness. Honey also provides moisture.
Maple syrup or sorghum
Use a spoonful in place of sugar to provide earthy, rounded sweetness with hints of caramel.
Corn syrup
Has mild sweetness similar to honey and a moisture-retaining thickness.
Silky cornmeal
More expensive fine-ground cornmeal can provide an extra hint of sweetness versus coarser grinds.
Regional and family variations
Within the South, attitudes on sugar in cornbread range from region to region and even family to family. Here are some general regional tendencies:
Deep South
In much of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, unsweetened cornbread is still preferred, especially by older home cooks using time-honored recipes. But sugar has become common in smaller amounts.
Coastal South
From Southern Florida up through the Carolina coasts, sweetened cornbread is more widely embraced. The African and Caribbean food influences in these areas make locals more accepting of sweeter, cake-like cornbread textures.
Appalachian and Ozarks Mountains
In upland mountainous areas, cornbread tends to be saltier and unsweetened with more bacon fat or butter. Sugar was especially scarce here before modern times.
Louisiana
[table]
| Region | Tradition |
|-|-|
| New Orleans | Savory, unsweetened cornbread prevails |
| Cajun Country | Cornbread is traditionally more cakelike andsweetened|
[/table]
Coastal lowlands around New Orleans tend strongly toward unsweetened cornbread with a crisp crust and fluffy interior. But further inland in Cajun Country, slightly sweet cornbread is favored for serving with spicy crawfish boils and jambalaya.
Texas
[table]
| Tradition | Description |
|-|-|
| Savory cornbread | Dominant in Southern and Central Texas |
| Sweet cornbread | More common in East Texas |
[/table]
In Southern and Central Texas, traditional unsweetened cornbread is served with chili con carne, barbecue and Tex-Mex foods. But in East Texas, batter-bread style cornbread with more sugar gains influence from Southern Appalachian regions.
How other Southern baked goods compare
While sugar in cornbread is hotly debated, other Southern baked goods are nearly always sweetened:
Biscuits
Flaky, savory biscuits are served alongside cornbread with no added sugars. But for dessert biscuits, sugar is incorporated into the dough.
Corn pone
This denser, crumbly cornbread relation doesn’t use sugar either. It provides an extra savory bread alternative.
Hushpuppies
These fried cornmeal dumplings can be sweetened or unsweetened. Savory versions accompany barbecued or fried seafood.
Dessert breads and muffins
Southern favorites like banana bread, zucchini bread and cranberry-orange muffins rely on sugar for sweetness. But sugars are decreased in savory versions like jalapeno cornbread muffins.
Pancakes and waffles
Sugar is nearly always added to breakfast pancakes and waffles to balance out the other ingredients. Otherwise, they would taste flat and bland.
Should I add sugar to my cornbread?
Whether to add sugar to your cornbread is ultimately a matter of personal preference. Here are some factors to consider when deciding:
What kind of cornbread are you making?
Skillet-style cornbread or corn sticks match better with unsweetened or very lightly sweetened cornbread. But if making a moister, cake-style cornbread, more sugar is appropriate.
What are you serving it with?
With savory foods like barbecue, beans or chili, sweeter cornbread could clash. But for breakfast or a snack, slightly sweetened cornbread may be more appetizing.
Regional tastes
If trying to follow local culinary tradition, research what’s typical for cornbread in that area before adding sugar.
Personal and family preferences
Think about what kinds of cornbread you grew up eating or that your diners prefer. Pick a recipe that aligns with those taste memories.
Dietary needs
People restricting sugar for health reasons will want unsweetened cornbread. Consider alternative subtle sweeteners.
Conclusion
While traditional Southern cornbread contained no sugar, many modern recipes include a small amount. This reflects the adaptation of recipes over generations rather than a lack of historical authenticity. When serving cornbread, take factors like accompaniments and regional styles into account in deciding whether to add sugar or not. Taste and culinary traditions continuously evolve, so enjoy cornbread in whichever way it tastes best to you. Just don’t start adding so much sugar that it becomes cake – because then you’ll have missed the cornbread boat entirely!
