Polenta

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pəˈlɛntə/

Definitions

1. A cornmeal dish that is often boiled or baked, commonly associated with Italian cuisine, used as a staple or side dish that can be served creamy or solid
2. Made from ground corn and boiled in water, this versatile dish can be sliced or poured and is enjoyed in various ways in regional Italian cooking
3. This dish, typically made from cornmeal cooked in water, can be served creamy or allowed to solidify and is integral to many traditional meals in Italy

Etymology: The surprise with "polenta" is that the Latin word originally named a food quite different from the yellow porridge we know today. Latin "polenta" meant barley groats, a coarse grain dish eaten in the ancient Roman world, and the word passed into Italian with that sense before the dish changed. Maize, or cornmeal, reached Italy only after the Americas were opened to European trade in the 1500s, and cooks gradually switched their polenta to this new grain, which suited the flat, damp Po valley and was cheap to grow. English borrowed the word from Italian. The term's meaning shifted with the grain: where the Romans knew it as a barley mush, modern speakers know it as a cornmeal dish that can be served soft and creamy or cooled, sliced and fried or baked.

Synonyms: maize porridge, cornmeal dish, corn mush, grits, corn pudding