Corn fritters are fried cakes of a dough or batter made of, or containing, a featured quantity of corn kernels. Originating in Native American cuisine, they are a traditional sweet and savory snack in the Americas, the Southern United States, as well as Indonesia where they are known as perkedel or bakwan.
History
Native Americans had been using ground corn (
maize) as food for thousands of years
[Teosinte was known in Rio Balsas (Mexico) valley from 9000 BP and was introduced in what is now the United States by the circa 1000 AD] before European explorers arrived in the New World.
Corn-based products, such as
Corn tortilla,
arepa and
cornbread were staple foods in Pre-Columbian Americas. Native Americans did not use
deep fried techniques, however, which require ample supplies of cooking oil as well as equipment in which the oil can be heated to high temperatures.
European settlers learned recipes and processes for corn dishes from Native Americans, and soon devised their own cornmeal-based recipe variations of European made from grains available on that continent. The corn fritter probably was invented in the Southern United States, whose traditional cuisine contains a lot of deep frying foods.
On the other side of the world, maize seeds from the Americas were introduced into Southeast Asia in the late 16th century through Spanish and Portuguese traders. The plant thrived in the tropical climate of Indonesia, and soon became a staple food plant in drier areas of central and southeastern Indonesia, since it requires much less water than wet rice. Coconut oil and palm oil have been essential elements of Indonesian cuisine for centuries. The deep fried technique using palm oil was probably borrowed from Portuguese colonists; and Indonesia and Myanmar (Burma) both have their own types of corn fritter, respectively called perkedel or bakwan and Burmese fritters.
Regional variations
Southern United States
Traditional corn fritters in the American South use
corn kernels, egg,
flour,
milk, and
Butter.
They can be
deep fried,
shallow fried,
, and may be served with
jam,
fruit,
honey, or
cream. They may also be made with
creamed corn, baked, and served with maple syrup. Corn fritters can be made to have a similar appearance to, and thus be mistaken for,
johnnycake.
They are sometimes called corn nuggets.
Peru
Peruvian corn fritters, called
torrejas de choclo, are made from
choclo (Peruvian corn), an
Andes variety of corn, pepper, onion and eggs. They can be deep-fried in vegetable oil and are usually served as a savory appetizer to accompany other local dishes.
Southeast Asia
Corn is believed to have been introduced in Southeast Asia from Central America in 16th century by the Portuguese or the Spanish as part of the Columbian exchange and has become integrated into Southeast Asian cuisines.
Cambodia
Cambodian corn fritters, called
poat chien (), are made from a mixture of thinly sliced corn kernels, grated
coconut,
coconut milk and glutinous rice flour fried in vegetable oil. They are eaten as a snack throughout the day.
Indonesia
Indonesian corn fritters, a type of
gorengan, are not sweet but savoury. They have a more granulated texture, as the corn kernels are not finely ground and blended into the dough, so they retain their kernel shapes. The fritter is made from fresh corn kernels, a mixture of flours including wheat flour,
rice flour,
corn starch,
sago or
tapioca,
celery,
scallion, eggs,
,
garlic, salt and pepper, and
deep fried in
coconut oil. They are a popular snack and are often served as an
appetizer.
In Bojonegoro
and
Tuban Regency,
East Java, a corn fritter is called
pelas. Unlike
bakwan jagung,
pelas uses corn which is ground with a stone mortar and pestle and mixed with spices.
Myanmar (Burma)
Burmese corn fritters, called
pyaungbu kyaw (ပြောင်းဖူးကြော်), are a type of
Burmese fritters.
Pyaungbu kyaw consists of corn kernels battered in flour and eggs and deep-fried as disk-like fritters.
They are savory, and are similar to Indonesian
bakwan jagung.
See also
