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A Southern Staple, Cornbread Comes in Increasingly Varied Forms

South Carolinians celebrate elements of the state’s culture in festivals all over the state, and especially its foodstuffs, from peaches to peanuts.  So it’s natural that they would establish a festival to proclaim their love for another traditional culinary favorite – cornbread.  In today’s report, a visit to the South Carolina Cornbread Festival  reveals that there’s more to it than the traditional buttered variety found in many homes.  Festival organizer Sabrina Odom tells us that people make cornbread in a large variety of styles and flavors, from pineapple cornbread to sweet potato cornbread, even zucchini and carrot cornbread and more.   USC food expert Dr. David Shields talks about what makes the best cornbread and the debate over whether to sweeten it or not, and cornbread eating champion James Simmons raves about his love for the stuff, which he eats with syrup. 

Tut Underwood is producer of South Carolina Focus, a weekly news feature. A native of Alabama, Tut graduated from Auburn University with a BA in Speech Communication. He worked in radio in his hometown before moving to Columbia where he received a Master of Mass Communications degree from the University of South Carolina, and worked for local radio while pursuing his degree. He also worked in television. He was employed as a public information specialist for USC, and became Director of Public Information and Marketing for the South Carolina State Museum. His hobbies include reading, listening to music in a variety of styles and collecting movies and old time radio programs.