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I was searching for an extra-moist cornbread recipe, and found several that said the secret was to add some creamed corn. From the descriptions/quantities involved, it seemed clear that they meant canned creamed corn, not the homemade variety. However, all I've ever seen in the grocery store is cream-style corn, which does not generally involve cream, or even dairy products of any sort. (The ingredients are usually corn, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.)

Thus, my question is twofold: (1) is actual creamed corn available canned, and I just don't know about it? (2) If I use cream-style corn, will it have the same effect of adding extra moistness to my cornbread, or should I substitute something else instead?

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It's canned cream-style corn that the recipes are expecting you to use, it's not a substitution at all. It does make for nice cornbread.

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Creamed corn is a dish made from the kernels of fresh, sweet corn, that are cooked down in their own juices. Cream is not normally added; the creaminess is the liquid from the fresh corn thickened with the native starch.

This is in contrast, to for example, creamed spinach, which is spinach cooked down in a bechemel or cream sauce.

Canned versions of creamed corn are readily available.

Either will work in a corn bread recipe to add more corny flavor and texture.

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  • Hmm. All the "creamed corn" recipes I could find involved copious quantities of heavy cream.
    – Marti
    Commented Oct 9, 2013 at 19:30
  • That's to make creamed corn. It's a totally different animal homemade than canned. The canned product is more like when you scrape cobs to get the "milk".
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Commented Oct 9, 2013 at 19:33
  • The home made version is the same thing, you cut the kernels in half (often times) down the rows, then cut them off the cob, then scrape out the extra "cream", and cook the mixture down.
    – SAJ14SAJ
    Commented Oct 9, 2013 at 19:34
  • In our age of profligate consumption, a lot of recipes add some dairy, but it is not necessary to the identity of the dish.
    – SAJ14SAJ
    Commented Oct 9, 2013 at 19:36
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    @Marti By searching for recipes, you were selecting for the actual-cream + corn dish; cream-style corn (sometimes also referred to as creamed corn, like in your recipe) is available in cans so people don't generally bother writing down a recipe for it.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Commented Oct 9, 2013 at 22:50

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