POST January/February 2015

Cornmeal gets its
due in Keuka County
Corn is not typically compared to fine wine,
except perhaps by a winemaker who also grows
corn and produces cornmeal. “Different corn
varieties have very different qualities, like grapes,”
says Jonathan Hunt, director of winemaking at
Hunt Country Vineyards near Keuka Lake. “Just
like wine, cornmeal can be paired with foods—a
delicate cornmeal with fish, a more robust one
with meat.”
Jonathan and his wife, Caroline Boutard-
Hunt, also operate a certified organic farm, Italy
Hill Produce, alongside the family winery on the
sixth-generation farm. Caroline and Jonathan
grow two heritage varieties of corn, old varieties
offering superior flavor, which they grind into
cornmeal. One variety, called Amish Butter, is
actually a type of popcorn, but makes a delicate,
buttery cornmeal when ground. The other variety,
Roy’s Calais, was developed from corn bred by
Native Americans and has a hearty corn flavor.
“There is more to cornmeal than just the drab
yellowish stuff on the shelf at the supermarket.
It is far more than a side dish,” Jonathan says.
“We are a very small operation,” Caroline
says. “We harvest, husk, and shell our corn by
hand so that it is visually sorted at every stage
and selected for quality.”
The corn is dried, then ground in a granite
stone burr mill, which creates a fine grind and
does not overheat the corn, as a commercial
mill would. Commercial producers remove
the corn’s germ, but Caroline and Jonathan
grind the whole kernel, thus preserving flavor,
vitamins, and other nutrients.
“We grind each batch to order within one
day of delivery, so the meal is as fresh as you
can get it,” Caroline says.
The corn is certified organic, pesticideand
GMO-free. You can purchase Italy
Hill Produce stone ground cornmeal at the
Canandaigua Farmers’ Market or by e-mailing
italyhillproduce@gmail.com.
—Sue Gardner Smith
Hanlon-Fiske
Issue 9 January / February 2015 Hanlon- | POST Fiske 65