Abraham Lincoln's Egg Corn Bread (1860)

• 
  3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup coarse cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup regular cornmeal
• 1/2 tspn salt, or less to taste
• 1/4 tspn baking soda
• 1 tbspn butter, melted

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Gradually stir in the coarse cornmeal, and cook over low heat until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Set this cornmeal mush aside until cool, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a deep, 9-inch baking dish. 

Transfer the cooled cornmeal mush to a mixing bowl. Combine the egg yolks and milk, and stir into the mush with a whisk or fork until the mixture is smooth. Add the regular cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and melted butter. Mix well. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, and fold into batter. 

Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake until the corn bread is firm in the center and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 40 to 50 minutes. Loosen the edges from the pan while still warm. Cool before slicing.

More "Lost" Corn Bread Recipes

Sweet Potato Cornbread (1847)

Classic Skillet Custard Corn Bread (1963)

(Origin - "Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen" by Rae Katherine Eighmey. Published by Smithsonian Books, 2013.)