Cornbread connoisseurs have a long line of people to thank for making this quick bread a mainstay in American cooking. In fact, this staple of Southern and Southwestern cuisine may be one of the most truly American foods there is. Native Americans used corn, or "maize," in cooking all sorts of dishes--including cornbread--for thousands of years before colonists first set food in what we now know as the United States. Since cornbread is leavened with baking powder instead of yeast, it was easy for early settlers to master how to make cornbread even with limited resources. So, it's no wonder the dish caught on. Its unique flavor and texture have kept it a favorite over the years.