Friday, May 4, 2012

Hominy

Definition: Hominy is a food made from kernels of corn which are soaked in an alkali solution of either lime or lye. The corrosive nature of the solution removes the hull and germ of the corn and causes the grain itself to puff up to about twice its normal size.

Hominy can be made with either white or yellow corn, specifically maize, which is the type of corn used in making corn meal and other grain products — as opposed to sweet corn, which is the vegetable that can be eaten on the cob and so forth.

Once soaked, hominy can be dried and then ground and simmered to make grits (also called hominy grits). Alternately, the processed hominy can be cooked until soft and then used in soups, stews and casseroles. Posole is a traditional Mexican soup made with hominy.

Hominy is available in dried and canned form. The process for preparing dried hominy requires soaking the hominy grains for about eight hours and then simmering for an additional hour or two. Canned hominy has already been cooked and is ready to use, making it a good time saver, although the texture will be slightly different.

Also Known As:
  • Hominy grits
  • Posole
  • Pozole
  • Samp
  • Big hominy

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