Native Hearth

Hominy is one of the most versatile indigenous foods in North America, with origins in Central America it has spread all over Turtle Island and the globe.

Hominy is used to make tortillas, sopes, tamales, posole, pupusas, etc. So I will show you a step by step process on how to make hominy; the base of all these delicious foods!

What corn to use?

There are 5 different types of corn, Flint, Dent, Popcorn, Sweet Corn, and Flour. The types you can use when making hominy are dent, flour and flint corn.

What do I use to nixtamalize the corn?

You can use either kal (pickling lime) or hard wood ash.

How do I make the wood ash lye?

Here is a great article on how to make wood ash lye. Check it out!

Where can you buy pickling lime?

They sell pickling lime in most hardware stores in the canning section. You can also purchase it at most Mexican markets.

What type of pot should I make hominy in?

You can use clay, enamel, or stainless steel; just don’t use aluminium because the alkaline solution will wear down the metal.

What is kal?

Calcium Hydroxide.

Hominy Recipe

1 quart whole dry corn (dent, flint, flour)

2 tablespoons pickling lime

How to make hominy step by step

Start with whole dry corn.

In a large pot add your corn (we typically make batches of 2 quarts of corn).

Cover the corn with 2 inches of water.

Add the pickling lime (since we used 2 quarts of corn we would use 4 tablespoons).

Stir; The white parts of the corn should turn a bright yellow and that means the alkaline solution is strong enough.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat; Make sure the heat isn’t too high and it is not at a rolling boil or it will give it a slightly bitter flavor.

Turn off the heat and let the mixture soak overnight in the kal mixture.

The next day rinse the corn vigorously in a colander until the water runs clear.