Yep, bake it into the cornbread. I learned that from an elderly friend in Florida. I’m a lot like you. I was raised in Ohio, but with southern traditons. My grandparents were from Florida, and were transfered to Ohio for his job.
I seemed to fit right in when I moved to the country in Florida because of the way I was raised. I loved sitting on the porch swing with my elderly friend while he told me about the old ways.
He loved to cook and told me about some really tasty foods. He cut up rutabagas and cooked them with cabbage and bacon, and served it with cornbread made from scratch and cracklin. MMMMM, it was so simple, but very tasty.