Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize (corn). It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour. In the United States, very finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as corn flour. In the United Kingdom, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch, cornmeal is known as polenta, and finely ground corn flour (for making bread or tortillas) is known as maize flour.