johnnycake
American Heritage Dictionary:
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john·ny·cake
also jon·ny·cake (jŏn'ē-kāk') 
n. New England & Upper Midwest
Cornmeal bread usually shaped into a flat cake and baked or fried on a griddle. Also called regionally ashcake, batter bread, Also called battercake, corn cake, Also called cornpone, hoecake, Also called journey cake, pone, Also called Shawnee cake.
n. New England & Upper Midwest
Cornmeal bread usually shaped into a flat cake and baked or fried on a griddle. Also called regionally ashcake, batter bread, Also called battercake, corn cake, Also called cornpone, hoecake, Also called journey cake, pone, Also called Shawnee cake.
[Perhaps by folk etymology from jonakin.]
REGIONAL NOTE When the Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to cook with maize, they must have taught them to make johnnycake, a dense cornmeal bread whose thick batter is shaped into a flat cake and baked or fried on a griddle. Johnnycake, also spelled jonnycake and also called journey cake and Shawnee cake, is a New England specialty, especially in Rhode Island, where it is celebrated by the Society for the Propagation of Johnny Cakes. The Usquepaugh, Rhode Island, Johnnycake Festival features johnnycakes made of white Indian corn called flint corn. Outside New England the name johnnycake is best known in the Upper Midwest, but the food itself is most popular in the South and South Midland states, where it is known as ashcake, batter bread, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, or hoecake. The color of the cornmeal, the consistency of the batter, the size of the cake, and the cooking method can vary from region to region. For example, an ashcake, according to a Georgia informant, is "made by wrapping cornbread batter in cabbage leaves and burying it gently at the back of the fireplace" (Dudley Clendinen).
Barron's Food Lover's Companion:
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johnnycake; johnny cake, jonnycake
Said to be the pancake's precursor, the johnnycake dates back to the early 1700s. It's a rather flat griddlecake made of cornmeal, salt and either boiling water or cold milk; there are strong advocates of both versions. Eggs, oil or melted butter and leavening (such as baking powder) are also often added. Some renditions are oven-baked, more like traditional cornbread. Also called hoe cake or hoecake.
Houghton Mifflin Word Origins:
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johnnycake
Origin: 1739
Among the many uses to which hungry Americans put Corn (1608), one of the most popular was known in the North as johnnycake. It was another name for what we would now call cornbread, and was cooked in a variety of ways: on a board facing the fire, on a griddle, or in a frying pan. The name may be related to the earlier jonakin (see Mush 1671). Later the johnnycake was also known as a journeycake, presumably because it was thought of as a cake you could take on a journey.
Here is a twentieth-century version of johnnycake from New Bedford, Massachusetts: Combine a cup of white cornmeal with a teaspoon salt, two tablespoons flour, and a tablespoon sugar. Scald with boiling water until every grain swells. Gradually add half a cup of milk until the batter is thick. Allow more cooking time than for ordinary pancakes.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'johnnycake'
Translations:
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Johnnycake
Dansk (Danish)
n. - majsbrød, hvedekage
Français (French)
n. - (Culin) gâteau/galette de maïs
Deutsch (German)
n. - dünner Kuchen aus Kornmehl und Wasser
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μπομπότα
Italiano (Italian)
focaccia di granturco
Português (Portuguese)
n. - pão (m) de milho
Español (Spanish)
n. - pan de harina de maíz
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - majskaka, majsbröd
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
玉米面包, 面粉饼
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 玉米麵包, 麵粉餅
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) كعك او خبز معمول بالبليله او بالحليب
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - עוגת תירס
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Barron's Food Lover's Companion
Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Houghton Mifflin Word Origins
America in So Many Words, by David K.Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Random House Word Menu
© 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier.
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