Today we’re reviewing a product that can be classified as “speed scratch”: the Pioneer Whole Grain Cornbread Mix.

It’s a yellow cornbread mix that just requires the addition of water, mixing, and baking. Very easy!

Where to Purchase Pioneer Whole Grain Cornbread Mix

This whole grain cornbread mix is meant for foodservice, so you will not be able to find it in grocery stores.

You could order it from an online store, like Food Service Direct; however, you’ll receive a case of 6 – 5lb packages that makes a total of 384 servings.

Preparation

The instructions tell us to:

1. Preheat oven: 425ºF conventional, 375ºF convection.
2. Oil a full-sized sheet pan (I used a spray).
3. Pour 8 1/2 cups water into a mixing bowl. Add cornbread mix.
4. Mix with a paddle on low for 30 seconds.
5. Scrape bowl and paddle
6. Mix on low for another 30 seconds.
7. Pour into the prepared pan.
8. Bake 20-23 minutes (conventional) or 17-19 minutes (convection)

I baked on conventional for 25 minutes, and I think it could have used another minute or two.

But overall, I found the instructions to be clear and the process to be very easy!

Crediting the Portion Size

Before you start cutting your cornbread, you want to make sure you know how much you want each piece to credit for.

I made the mistake of cutting according to the instructions (halving it since it’s a half pan), then realizing that the portion size listed on the label didn’t match the crediting portion size.

The instructions tell us that it yields 64 pieces. The nutrition label says that 1/64th is 35g of the mix. However, the product formulation statement says that you need 50g of the mix to credit as a 2 oz grain.

This means that 1/64th of the pan is 35/50 = 0.7 x 2grain = 1.4 grain. 

1.4 grain is a terrible amount to serve! You must round down, so you can only credit it for 1.25 grains.

Instead, you want to cut the full-size pan into:

• 88 pieces to credit for 1 oz grain
• 66 pieces to credit for 1.5 oz grain
• 44 pieces to credit for 2 oz grain

First Impressions

The baked product does not appear overtly whole grain, which is a good thing!

I wish it had a more golden top, but I probably pulled it too early. I only made a half-size pan, and had already cooked it longer than the package said it should take for a full-size pan, but it was a little stodgy on the bottom, so I think it could have used the extra bake time.

Taste & Texture

It’s a sweet cornbread. 

I find that more people prefer a sweet cornbread, especially kids. However, it’s a hotly debated topic in my district, with a camp of old-school Southerners that believe in sugarless cornbread. Those people will not like this cornbread.

There is a slight earthiness to the cornbread coming from the whole grains, but it’s not too bad.

Still hot, it does fall apart pretty easily, so I recommend allowing it to mostly cool before serving.

It’s not the fluffiest cornbread I’ve ever eaten, but it does have a decent rise to it.

Like I mentioned earlier, I probably should have baked it a couple minutes longer, because I found the bottom to be a bit stodgy, but we’ll chalk it up to my error.

Pioneer Whole Grain Cornbread Mix Ingredients

Creditable Grains

The product contains 4 different creditable grains: whole grain cornmeal, enriched cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and enriched flour. Basically, it contains the white & whole grain versions of both the cornmeal and flour.

This is an advantage to making it from scratch because very few of us would stock all 4 of those ingredients. Instead, we would do either whole grain cornmeal + white flour or enriched cornmeal + whole wheat flour. 

Whole grain cornmeal tends to be gritty and whole wheat flour is earthy, so balancing each with their enriched counterpart tones down some of those effects.

Sugar & Dextrose

After the grain ingredients, sugar is the next listed, which means it’s the next most prevalent ingredient by weight.

Not surprising given how sweet it is.

Then later on the list, dextrose is listed. Dextrose is a form of sugar as well!

Palm Oil

Nutritionally, palm oil falls somewhere between butter or shortening and canola or olive oil. They contain less saturated fat than butter or shortening, but more than canola or olive oil. This makes them more of a semisolid at room temperature rather than a full solid or full liquid.

An additional factor to consider is the growing concern with increased use of palm oil on the environment. To make room for palm oil plantations, there has been a widespread deforestation of tropical rainforests, something that’s a major concern for endangered species and global warming.

Pioneer Whole Grain Cornbread Nutrition

Now we’ll discuss some of the nutritional values for this whole grain cornbread. However, keep in mind this is for 1/64th of the recipe, which I discussed above.

Sodium

One piece of this cornbread has 400mg of sodium, which is relatively high for a bread side. Just be sure to balance it throughout the week with lower sodium items.

Sugar

I’m not surprised to see 6g of added sugar in each piece of cornbread considering it was pretty sweet, and there were two forms of sugar in the ingredients list.

This is also relatively high for a bread side, so you will want to balance this with lower sugar options throughout the week.

School Uses

As a speed-scratch item, I like how versatile it is while still being really easy to make.

Sure, you can make plain cornbread, but you can also make cornbread muffins (or mini muffins), hoecakes, or use it as a casserole topping.

You can also jazz it up with some cheese, jalapenos, corn, chili powder, etc., which isn’t something you can do if you purchase pre-made cornbread muffins.

The item does not meet Smart Snack requirements, so unless it’s incorporated into the entree, you cannot sell this a la carte.

A Dietitian’s Recommendation

Nutritionally, this item is on the sweet and salty side. I recommend serving this once a cycle, balanced with lower sugar and sodium options.

Procurement Tips for Schools

For school nutrition programs, here is a suggested specification:

Cornbread mix, yellow, whole grain

Summary

The Pioneer Whole Grain Cornbread Mix is a versatile speed scratch item that can be incorporated into lunch items.

For more information on writing product specs, refer to my article Writing Product Specifications.