What Is Hominy?

Hominy

Hominy is a food made by soaking corn kernels in a lye solution to remove the hull.

Hominy is a kind of food made from hulled Indian corn.  Hominy gets its name from an American Indian word for “parched corn.”  It has been a favorite food in the South since pioneer days.

Corn was one of the important foods of a pioneer family because it kept well in any season.  Young, ripe corn was eaten as roasting ears.  In winter corn was often prepared and eaten as hominy.

To make hominy, the dried corn was husked and the kernels soaked in a weak lye solution to remove the tough skin, or hull, of the kernel.  After the kernels were washed, they were ready to be cooked.

Hominy was usually boiled in water and was usually served with meat.  For breakfast and supper, hominy was often ground up as “grits” and boiled in milk or water and eaten as a cornmeal mush.  Sometimes the mush was fried and served with butter or pork drippings.-Dick Rogers