Differences in Corn Meal & Bread Crumbs

Cornmeal can typically be purchased in bulk at grocery stores and co-ops.

While cornmeal and bread crumbs are similar in texture and can be used interchangeably in some culinary contexts, they are quite different in several fundamental ways. Whether you are trying to decide which granular substance to coat chicken breasts with or just want to enumerate the differences between two ingredients in your cupboard, take your desired taste, texture and nutritional profile into account when choosing between them.

Base Ingredients

The actual substances that form the physical makeup of cornmeal and bread crumbs are different. Cornmeal is simply kernels of field corn, dried and processed into a fine meal, according to "Good Housekeeping." Bread crumbs can be purchased or made at home. The exact ingredients will vary depending upon whether you make them or buy them, but the main ingredient will typically be a type of flour.

Taste

Cornmeal tastes a bit like corn, as one would expect.

Cornmeal has a consistent, mild corn taste, whether it is white cornmeal or yellow cornmeal, conventional or stone-ground. (Stone grinding changes the texture, not the taste.) By contrast, bread crumbs will taste different depending upon which type of bread is used to make them, the type of oil--if any--used during the drying process and any added spices.

Texture

Cornmeal comes in two basic textures, regular and stone-ground. Stone-ground cornmeal is coarser and arguably more flavorful than regular cornmeal, according to "Good Housekeeping." Either way, the individual grains tend to be fairly consistent and uniform. Bread crumbs can be small, granular and uniform, especially if they are commercially prepared, but they can also be larger and irregular, especially if they are homemade from real bread.

Common Uses

Cornmeal is commonly used to dust the bottom of pizza pans.

Cornmeal is used for a wide variety of kitchen tasks and recipes, from coating meat or tofu to dusting the bottom of pizza pans (to add crunch and prevent sticking) to bulking up corn muffins. Bread crumbs can also be used to coat meat and tofu. Additionally, bread crumbs can be used to add crunch to the top of baked dishes like lasagna, casseroles and macaroni and cheese. Both cornmeal and bread crumbs are commonly used in turkey stuffing.

References

• "Good Housekeeping"; Stone-Ground Cornmeal Vs. Regular Supermarket Brands; Susan Westmoreland
• Epicurious: Toasted Bread Crumbs