Mush is Indian meal boiled in water. Nothing could be easier, but there are many subtle variations in the preparation of cornmeal mush, depending on the cook and personal preference: add meal to boiling water; soak meal in cold water before adding to boiling water; add (or not) salt, fat, or sugar.
Cornmeal has a tendency to form lumps when added dry to water; constant stirring helps, and a whisk instead of a spoon helps even more. To two cups of boiling water, add one-half cup of meal and stir until cooked. Serve with butter, syrup, or gravy.
For fried mush, place the cooked mush in a loaf pan or bowl and smooth the top. To prevent sticking, it helps to grease the container, or simply add a little water to it. Let the mush sit for several hours or over night. Cut cold mush in slices and fry in grease on a hot griddle until brown. Mmmm, mmm.
In the “Little House” books, mush is an “early books” dish. In Little House in the Big Woods, mush is glorified as hasty pudding, and it’s something Grandma Ingalls prepares. In Indian Territory, mush is eaten with gravy or as a side-dish with meat. On Plum Creek, it’s eaten as a breakfast food with milk. At Silver Lake, it’s eaten fried or with milk.
Then it stops being mentioned.
In De Smet, corn was grown for animal feed and as a cash crop, as well as for eating fresh or dried. But with no grist mill in town, meal would have been brought in on the train. And maybe the Ingalls family had had enough of eating Indian meal during their early years?
