All the things you wanted to learn about hominy but never thought to ask, plus tasty Mexican recipes that use this special corn.
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Table of Contents
What is hominy?
Can you sing hominy in three parts? Nope, that would be singing harmony! Sorry, that joke was corny, but so is hominy. 🙂
The word “hominy” has Native American roots. It comes from the Powhattan Indian word for corn that has been prepared – “Chickahominy.” Where did hominy start?
Once upon a time, someone had some dried corn sitting around:
Between 1500 and 1200 B.C., in what we now call Southern Mexico and Guatemala, the Meso-Americans figured out something cool. They found that soaking corn in a special liquid could make it better for your body and easier to eat.
This special soaking method is called Nixtamalization. Every time you bite into a warm corn tortilla, you are enjoying the benefits of this old cooking trick that people discovered thousands of years ago.
How does this process work?
To start, the tough, dried corn gets boiled in a weak mixture of lye (which is sodium hydroxide) or calcium hydroxide (made from limestone rocks).
Next, people wash the corn really well to get rid of the nasty bitter flavor from the lye or lime (the rock kind, not the green fruit). No actual limones got hurt when making your hominy. 🙂
Making hominy at home
Just add a tiny bit of this pickling lime powder to water to get the mixture you need.
Then you’ll need to let your dried corn sit overnight in the calcium hydroxide liquid. This loosens up the tough outer skin. It becomes way easier to crush it into flour and makes it taste better too.
After your corn has soaked, pour out the liquid and wash your kernels to remove that gross lime taste. Rub them hard between both hands to peel off the skins.
Your completely washed alkaline corn is called nixtamal now. You’ll complete everything by boiling your kernels until they get hot all the way through.
If you like doing things yourself, you can actually create your own hominy right in your kitchen using “pickling lime” or “Cal.”
Look, I understand that most people don’t have time to make hominy starting from nothing. The great thing is you can buy it in cans everywhere in Mexico and America.
It comes already cooked and ready. All you do is wash it off, warm it up, and enjoy it.
Important: In Mexican cooking, people use hominy to make Masa for Tamales, Champurrado, Gorditas, huaraches recipe, and lots more dishes!
You can also find dried hominy pretty easily at Hispanic grocery stores and at some big chain supermarkets. Certain people like cooking dried hominy better because they think it tastes nicer than the canned type.
It’s kind of like how some people prefer making their own Frijoles de la Olla instead of opening a can of beans.
Where can you get fresh hominy?
I’ve only spotted fresh hominy at Mexican grocery stores. This package of fresh “Nixtamal Pozolero Maiz Blanco” (which is another name for hominy) was sitting right next to the ready-made masa.
Why nixtamalization is good for you?
This method stops the corn from starting to grow while it sits in storage. Even more important, it lets out extra nutrition in the form of a B-Vitamin called niacin. This vitamin really matters for stopping diseases caused by not getting enough nutrients.
People eat hominy in different ways – as whole kernels, as chunky ground pieces (people call these “hominy grits”), and ground into flour.
Dishes that use hominy
The most well-known Mexican dish with hominy is probably pozole. Some people spell it “posole.” This is Pozole Rojo, a traditional filling Mexican soup. It has strong, exciting flavors and tastes incredibly good.
There’s also Pozole Blanco. The hominy gives you that full, satisfied feeling you get from Mexican comfort food. People usually eat it during cold weather and often have it with Ponche Navideño.
Amazing! You now understand more about hominy than most people you know. Feel free to reach out with any questions or thoughts you have about hominy and any recipes you’ve made.
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