Trew: Early Texans relied on corn for cakes, livestock

To the early Texas settlers, raising corn was a matter of life or death. Survival often depended on how much corn you raised for food or sale. They selected only the best grain for seed, guarded it like treasure and prayed for it to mature at harvest. A second use was almost as important as corn was a good feed for livestock, especially the work horses and mules pulling the plows. After planting three grains of corn to a hill, they watched carefully as the plants grew. They taught children to check each hill, pull out the suckers or weaker plants leaving only the most vigorous stalks to grow. Everyone looked forward to fresh roasting ears as the crop neared maturity. Some waited for the tassel at the top to dry then cut the stalk off just above the highest ear and fed these tops to their cattle or horses. When the ear matured past the tender roasting ear stage, it was allowed to mature to be picked, shucked, shelled and stored to be eventually ground into corn meal. Corn shucks were used in crude mattresses and corn cobs used to caulk between logs in buildings and burn for heat. Corn meal could be mixed with water and salt and cooked in many ways. If working out on the prairie, small balls of cornmeal dough could be dropped into the ashes of a campfire and cooked. When done, the ashes were brushed off and eaten as "ash cake." If working out in the fields, the small balls of dough could be baked on a garden hoe and eaten as "hoe cake."...more