The
Green Corn Festival was
celebrated by many Indian tribes in one form or another. These early
people were very grateful for their harvests. Tribes held several
festivals each year to say prayers of thanks to their gods. One of the
most important was the Green Corn Festival. This festival was held in
late summer or early fall, when the corn they had planted had ripened
on the stalk. The expression "green corn" refers
to ripened sweet corn, corn you could eat.
These early people were
great
farmers. They depended on three staples - corn, beans,
and squash. In the Woodland
areas, these food items were so important that they had a name. They
were called "The Three Sisters". The Three Sisters were
mixed together to make a vegetable dish called succotash. But corn was
always special.
Even after the Green Corn Festival, some corn was
left on the stalk to additionally ripen, to help the drying process.
Dried corn and dried corn meal were both very important staple items
to help these early people eat well through the long winter ahead.
Boiled
Corn Bread: The Iroquois
Indians made a wonderful boiled corn bread. They made flour by
pounding corn into flour. To make bread, they mixed water with corn
flour. Sometimes cooked beans were added, or berries or nuts. The
bread was kneaded and formed into small loaves. The loaves were
dropped into boiling water and cooked until the bread floated. Boiled
corn bread was served both hot and cold. They also used the same bread
mix to bake bread by putting it on clay tablets in the fire.
They used sunflower oil to fry bread. Click here for the Recipe
for Iroquois Corn Bread.
