When I was young we would frequently have a Sunday lunch of johnny cake (cornbread crumbled in a bowl with milk and sugar) and salmon patties. I never knew anyone else who ate cornbread that way, but as an adult I read that cornbread in milk was a favorite of the Pennsylvania Dutch who settled in the Ozarks. My dad’s family was Pennsylvania Dutch so maybe that’s the connection.
 "Johnny cake” is a Midwestern term for the original “journey cake” but eating it with milk seems to be more of a southern thing where it is often referred to as “cumblin,” “crumbin, or “crumb-in.” Sam Rayburn, a long-time congressional representative from Texas and the speaker of the House of Representatives from 1940 to 1957, popularized cornbread in milk during his 48 years in DC. |  |
I was surprised to learn that most people don’t put sugar on it. Several people mentioned eating it with milk and pepper. Others insist on buttermilk rather than milk. Many people seem to think it must be served in a tall glass, not a bowl, to be authentic.
 | Cal Tinney, in a 1953 Ada, Oklahoma newspaper article, concluded, “After a meal of cornbread and milk cattlemen loved sheepherders, Democrats loved Republicans and atheists could see good in missionaries.” If that’s true, it seems to me that we should all have a little johnny cake today! |
| Johnny cake with milk and sugar is one of my sentimental comfort foods from my childhood. What childhood foods are nostalgic for you? |  |
