Frequently asked questions about San Gennaro polenta

Polenta is a cornmeal porridge from Northern Italy. It is most often made from coarse yellow cornmeal, though fine yellow or white cornmeal works too. Cooked polenta can be served soft and creamy, or cooled until firm and then sliced, grilled, fried or baked. San Gennaro Foods makes the firm, sliceable kind, already cooked and packed as a roll. See polenta, grits and cornmeal compared.

Yes, San Gennaro polenta is slow cooked in small kettle batches and ready to heat and eat. San Gennaro Foods sets it firm and packs it as a roll. At home you slice it and heat it: grill it, pan-fry it, bake it or air-fry it. See how to cook pre-cooked polenta.

Each 18 oz (510 g) roll of San Gennaro polenta holds about 4 servings, or about 12 half-inch slices. The 16 oz (454 g) Butternut roll holds about 3 servings. One serving is three half-inch slices, or 140 g, with 100 calories, or 120 for Butternut. As a side dish, an 18 oz roll serves about four people. If polenta is the base of the meal, plan on more.

San Gennaro makes four polenta flavors. Traditional Italian is plain polenta: water, corn, salt and tartaric acid. Basil & Garlic adds dehydrated garlic and basil. Sun-Dried Tomato adds sun-dried tomatoes and dehydrated garlic. Butternut adds butternut squash and brown sugar, in a 16 oz roll. All four pan-fry and bake. All but Butternut also grill. Pick Traditional Italian as a base for sauces and toppings. Pick a garlic flavor for a seasoned side or appetizer that stands on its own.

Years of customer feedback have told San Gennaro Foods that the main difference is convenience. The polenta is made from a traditional Italian recipe and arrives already cooked. Homemade polenta takes a pot, a whisk and 30 minutes or more of stirring. With a roll, you slice and heat. Scratch polenta still gives more control over texture, if you have the time. See pre-cooked polenta versus scratch.

San Gennaro polenta is gluten free, but it is not certified gluten free. Some older packages still show a Certified Gluten Free mark. The Kent plant is a gluten free facility. The Northwest Cioppino stew base is gluten free too.

Yes. San Gennaro polenta is made from non-GMO corn, and all four polenta flavors carry the Non-GMO Project Verified mark. That mark means the Non-GMO Project, an outside organization, has reviewed the product. The Kent plant is also Non-GMO verified. The Northwest Cioppino stew base is made with non-GMO ingredients.

San Gennaro polenta is not certified organic. The polenta is made from non-GMO corn and carries the Non-GMO Project Verified mark, but it does not carry an organic seal. The Kent plant itself is an organic-certified facility, which matters for co-packing work. The polenta is also gluten free.

All four San Gennaro polenta flavors are made from plant ingredients only. Traditional Italian is water, corn, salt and tartaric acid. Basil & Garlic adds dehydrated garlic and basil. Sun-Dried Tomato adds sun-dried tomatoes and dehydrated garlic. Butternut adds butternut squash and brown sugar. None contains milk, egg or any animal ingredient. Their packages carry no vegan certification mark. The Northwest Cioppino stew base contains clams, so it is not vegan.

The ingredients in all four San Gennaro polenta flavors include none of the nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy and sesame. The Kent plant is a gluten free and allergen free facility. The Northwest Cioppino stew base is different: it contains clam broth and clam base. If you have a serious allergy, call San Gennaro Foods at 253-872-1900 before you buy to ask about current production.

San Gennaro Foods no longer claims kosher or gluten-free certification. Some older packages still show those marks. The polenta's ingredients are water, corn, salt and tartaric acid, and the flavored rolls add garlic, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, or butternut squash and brown sugar. If you keep kosher, look for a kosher mark from a certifying agency on any food you buy.

San Gennaro polenta has no preservatives. The ingredient lists are short. Traditional Italian is water, corn, salt and tartaric acid, a food acid that occurs naturally in grapes. The two garlic flavors add only garlic, basil or sun-dried tomatoes. Butternut adds butternut squash and brown sugar. None of the four polenta flavors has artificial color or artificial flavor.

One serving of San Gennaro polenta, three half-inch slices, has 22 g of total carbohydrate, or 28 g for Butternut. Traditional Italian has 0 g fiber, the two garlic flavors have 1 g and Butternut has 2 g. Only Butternut has added sugar, 3 g, and all four have 0 g fat. Polenta is made from corn, so it is a carbohydrate food.

All four San Gennaro polenta flavors are gluten free, but they are not certified gluten free by an outside organization. The ingredients contain no wheat, barley or rye. The Kent plant is a gluten free facility. With questions about current production, call San Gennaro Foods at 253-872-1900 before you buy. Your doctor knows your needs best.

Each serving of three half-inch slices has 0 g fat. Butternut has 120 calories, 3 g added sugar and 700 mg of sodium. The other three have 100 calories, no added sugar and 350 to 360 mg of sodium. All four are gluten free, made from non-GMO corn and made without preservatives. How healthy a meal is depends on what you cook with it: oil, cheese and toppings add to those numbers.

Yes. San Gennaro polenta is a versatile alternative to pasta, bread or rice. Serve creamy polenta under a stew or sauce where you would use pasta or mashed potatoes. Use grilled or baked rounds where you would use bread or crackers. The recipes on polenta.net use it in place of lasagna noodles, tortillas and croutons.

Neither San Gennaro stew base is vegetarian. Classic Cacciatore contains a chicken base made with roasted chicken. Northwest Cioppino contains clam broth and clam base. Both have meat or seafood in them before you add anything. For a vegetarian meal with San Gennaro polenta, the recipes on polenta.net include polenta lasagna, beans and greens and crispy mushrooms.

No. An unopened roll of San Gennaro polenta keeps on your pantry shelf. You do not need to refrigerate it until you open it. Store it somewhere cool and dry, away from the stove. Once you open the roll, refrigerate what you do not cook and use it within 5 to 7 days. Do not freeze it, opened or unopened.

Refrigerate opened San Gennaro polenta. Wrap the cut end of the roll tightly, or put the leftover polenta in a sealed container, and keep it in the refrigerator. Opened polenta lasts 5 to 7 days in the fridge. Do not freeze it. Slices cut ahead keep the same way; press plastic wrap against the cut faces so they do not dry out.

No. Do not freeze San Gennaro polenta. Freezing draws the water out of the corn and leaves you with a crumbly polenta that will not slice or crisp. Keep unopened rolls in the pantry instead; they need neither the freezer nor the refrigerator. After opening, refrigerate the polenta and use it within 5 to 7 days.

San Gennaro Foods does not recommend it. Freezing pulls water out of the polenta and leaves it crumbly, and that happens inside a baked dish too. Bake the dish fresh. Leftovers keep in the refrigerator, covered, for a few days, and reheat well in the oven. To work ahead, slice the polenta a day early and refrigerate the slices.

For the best experience, eat San Gennaro polenta before the best-by date. After that date the polenta may still be safe, but its quality can decline. Use your judgment. Do not eat it if you see mold or notice an off smell. San Gennaro cannot guarantee any product past the best-by date. Unopened rolls keep in the pantry until then.

That is normal for San Gennaro polenta. Polenta is corn cooked in water, and a little of that water can separate out inside the sealed roll. Pour it off when you open the roll, and pat the slices dry before you grill, pan-fry, bake or air-fry them. Dry slices brown better and stick less.

Look and smell before you cook. Do not eat polenta that shows mold or has an off smell. A little clear liquid in the package is normal. Opened polenta should be kept in the refrigerator and used within 5 to 7 days. For unopened rolls, check the best-by date; quality can decline after it, and San Gennaro cannot guarantee product past that date.

Cool cooked San Gennaro polenta, cover it and refrigerate it within two hours of cooking. Eat it within a few days. Reheat crispy rounds in the oven or air fryer so they crisp again. Reheat creamy polenta in a small pan with a splash of broth or water, stirring until smooth. Do not freeze cooked polenta; it turns crumbly.

Cut off one sealed end of the San Gennaro polenta roll with scissors or a knife, then peel the plastic film away from the polenta. Pour off any liquid; a little water separation is normal. The polenta is firm, so it stands up on a cutting board. Slice rounds, cut sticks for fries, or cut cubes. Wrap any leftover in plastic and refrigerate it.

Yes. San Gennaro polenta can be broiled or deep-fried. To broil, brush 3/4-inch rounds with olive oil, set them on a sheet pan a few inches under the broiler, and turn once when the top is golden. Watch closely; broilers work fast. To deep-fry, pat the pieces very dry first, since wet pieces spatter in hot oil. Fry until golden and drain on paper towels.

Wet slices, a cold pan and early flipping cause most of it. Pat the polenta slices dry. Cut them at least 3/4 inch thick so they hold together. Heat the pan or grill before the polenta goes on, and oil both the polenta and the surface. Then leave each slice alone until a golden crust forms; it releases on its own. See how to cook pre-cooked polenta.

Olive oil is what the San Gennaro recipes on polenta.net use. Brush it on both sides of the slices for the grill, the griddle or the oven. For the air fryer, an olive oil spray coats evenly with less oil. For deep-frying, use a neutral oil with a high smoke point. About 2 tablespoons of oil covers a full roll of rounds.

Reheat cooked polenta the way you cooked it. Crispy rounds and fries go back in a hot oven or air fryer for a few minutes so the crust returns. Creamy polenta goes in a small pan with a splash of broth or water, stirred over low heat until smooth.

You can, but you do not need to. San Gennaro polenta is already cooked, so a long cook only softens it. Let the slow cooker handle the stew, sauce or chili, and make the polenta at the end. Creamy polenta takes about 10 minutes on the stove, and griddled rounds take a few minutes a side. Serve the stew over the polenta.

Salt and pepper are the start. Before cooking, brush the polenta slices with olive oil and sprinkle on Italian seasoning or dried oregano. After cooking, grated Parmesan, fresh basil or a drizzle of balsamic glaze all work. For creamy polenta, cook it in broth instead of water and stir in cheese at the end. San Gennaro's two garlic flavors come already seasoned.

San Gennaro's Traditional Italian, Basil & Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato flavors grill, bake, pan-fry, air-fry and go creamy the same way, so choose by taste. Traditional Italian is the plain base and the one most recipes on polenta.net call for. Sun-Dried Tomato suits griddled rounds with baked feta and burst tomatoes. Basil & Garlic works well in polenta lasagna and as grilled caprese rounds. Butternut pan-fries, bakes and warms into a porridge. Grill or air-fry the other three flavors.

Yes. Slice the roll up to a day ahead, lay the slices on a plate, cover them tightly and refrigerate them. Opened polenta keeps 5 to 7 days in the fridge. Pat the slices dry before cooking. For a party, grill or bake the rounds shortly before serving, since the crust softens as it sits. Do not freeze the slices.

Yes, with an adult at the stove. San Gennaro polenta is already cooked and firm, so there is no pot to stir. Kids can peel the film, brush slices with oil, season them and add toppings. An adult should handle the knife, the hot pan and the oven. Polenta Caprese and Polenta Fries are good first projects.

Plan on one 18 oz roll for every four people when polenta is a side. Each 18 oz San Gennaro roll holds about 4 servings of three half-inch slices, and the 16 oz Butternut roll about 3. When polenta is the base of the meal, under a stew or as a lasagna, plan on one 18 oz roll for every two or three people. A 9 by 13 inch lasagna uses two 18 oz rolls.

Match the wine to the topping, not the polenta. Polenta itself is mild. A tomato sauce, a Bolognese or a cacciatore goes well with a medium red with good acidity. Mushrooms and earthy toppings suit a lighter red. Seafood, such as San Gennaro's Northwest Cioppino, pairs with a crisp white or a dry rosé. Creamy polenta with cheese suits a rich white.

Search the store finder by zip code to find the nearest stores that carry San Gennaro polenta, and call ahead, since stock changes. You can also ask the manager at your own store to stock it. If there is no store near you, order direct from the polenta.net shop. Shipping is included on every online order, and polenta keeps in the pantry until opened.

Yes, and it helps. Ask the store manager or the grocery department lead. Give them the product name, San Gennaro polenta, and the flavor you want. Store requests are one of the ways retailers decide what to stock. If the store's team wants product details, point them to the Retailers and brokers page, where they can request spec sheets.

Prices vary by retailer. Each store sets its own shelf price, so the same roll can cost more in one store than another. Check your store's shelf tag, website or app. Online, polenta.net sells each flavor in a 3-pack and the Classic Variety Pack with one roll each of Traditional Italian, Basil & Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato, with shipping included on every order.

Yes. Order direct from the polenta.net shop. It sells each polenta flavor in a 3-pack, the Classic Variety Pack with one roll each of Traditional Italian, Basil & Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato, the Classic Cacciatore and Northwest Cioppino stew bases in 2-packs, and a stew base combo. Shipping is included on every order. To buy in a store instead, search the store finder by zip code.

Yes. San Gennaro polenta is sold on Amazon. You can also order direct from the polenta.net shop, which sells every polenta flavor and both stew bases, with shipping included on every order. To buy in a store, search the store finder by zip code and call ahead, since stock varies by store.

Yes. Shipping is included on every online order from polenta.net, whatever you order and however many packs you buy. No separate shipping charge is added at checkout. The price on the product page already covers delivery to your door. That holds for polenta rolls, variety packs and stew base jars alike. Orders of $30 or more get 10% off at checkout. San Gennaro ships to addresses in the United States.

Checkout on polenta.net runs on Stripe, a payment company, on a secure page it hosts. It accepts major credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. You check out as a guest; there is no account to create and no password to remember. San Gennaro never sees or stores your full card number. Stripe emails your receipt when the order is placed.

Your order confirmation email has your order details. To change or cancel an order, contact San Gennaro as soon as you can by phone at 253-872-1900 or by email at mail@polenta.net, and include the email address you ordered with. Orders that have already shipped cannot be changed.

Not yet. Each order on polenta.net is a one-time purchase from San Gennaro Foods. To keep polenta on hand, order several packs at once; unopened rolls keep in the pantry until you open them. Join Club Polenta, the San Gennaro email list, to hear when new products or offers arrive. You can unsubscribe at any time from the link in any email.

You do not need to type it. Your code comes with joining Club Polenta, the San Gennaro email list. It is tied to your email address and applied at checkout for you. Choose your products, go to checkout, and the discount appears before you pay. The code works once and has an expiry date, which is shown when you receive it. An order gets one discount, so when another discount saves more, that one applies and your code stays unused.

Each code works once, for one email address, and expires on the date shown when it was issued. If you already used it, or it has expired, a second code is not available for the same email. If you think your code failed by mistake, contact San Gennaro at mail@polenta.net with the email address the code was sent to.

To stop marketing email, use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any San Gennaro email. To delete your data, email mail@polenta.net or call 253-872-1900 and ask for deletion. San Gennaro confirms the request with the email address on file, then deletes your contact details. The privacy policy explains what is kept, for how long, and why.

San Gennaro polenta is made in the USA, at the company's own 30,000-square-foot facility in Kent, Washington. It is manufactured by San Gennaro Foods, Inc., Kent, WA 98032. The company is family-run by the Mascio family, who have made Italian food for four generations, first in Italy and Libya and then in Seattle. Read the San Gennaro Foods story.

The San Gennaro Foods plant in Kent is a gluten free and allergen free facility, and it is SQF certified for food safety. The plant also makes the Northwest Cioppino stew base, which contains clams. With a serious allergy, call San Gennaro Foods at 253-872-1900 before you buy.