Recipe Archives->Preserving->Hominy 01

Hominy (Lye Method)

In a large kettle, bring 1 1/2 gallons of water and 3 tablespoons
of lye to a boil (take care not to inhale steam from the lye water).
Add 1 gallon of clean dried shucked corn.  Simmer 10 minutes (no
need to stir).  Remove from heat and let sit for 25 minutes.

Drain off the lye water and add clean water.  Wash with repeated
changes of fresh water until the black ends of the corn kernels
are loose.  Remove the black ends and hulls.  Then either soak
overnight and can recipe below, or dry and store in a cool place.


Hominy (Soda Method) (see note 1, below)

Use 2 tablespoons of soda and 2 quarts of water for each quart of
corn.  Follow remaining directions for the lye method, above.


Hominy (Lime Method) (see note 2, below)

Substitute household lime for lye, following directions for the
lye method, above, except cook for two hours or until the hulls
loosen.


Hominy Making Hints

Always use stainless steel, iron, or enamelware for making hominy.

Stir with a wooden spoon.

The black ends may be removed by rubbing kernels over a cloth on
a washboard, or by using a churn.

It's OK to miss a few of the hulls and centers.

Hominy may be used in meatloaf.

Do not inhale the steam from the lye water.


Notes:

In the soda method, they appear to mean baking soda (sodium
bicarbonate).  This agrees with a note I saw in Encyclopaedia
Britannica.

In the lime method, they appear to mean slaked lime (calcium
hydroxide).

The traditional method for making hominy, invented by Native
Americans in pre-Columbian times, used a dilute lye solution made
from wood-ash leachings.  Flint corn varieties are traditionally
used, rather than dent corn varieties, which are used for making
flour and cornmeal.

Printable version: hominy01.txt.