Hominy Recipe (baking soda method)

(1 cup dry hominy corn makes about 3 cups cooked hominy)

  • 8 cups dried hominy corn
  • 3 HEAPING Tbsp. baking soda (almost 4 tbsp.)
  • Enough water (filtered) to cover corn with space for corn to swim when stirred
  • Stainless steel pot (baking soda will react to aluminum so no aluminum pots!)
  • Wooden spoon for stirring

1. Sift and pick through the corn, leaving out any pieces that look moldy or cracked.
2. Dissolve the baking soda in the pot of water with the corn, and bring to a rolling boil. (Note: Shortly after the water reaches a boil, the corn will change color to a vibrant orange. About an hour into cooking, much of the original color will return. This is normal!).
3. Cover and boil the corn for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Add in a few cups of water if the water starts to evaporate. After about 3 hours of boiling, you will see the dissolved hulls floating in the water, turning the water to a brown color.
4. Drain and rinse the corn many times with fresh water. Rub the kernels gently between your hands to remove any extra hulls, and rinse the hominy again.

Use the cooked hominy within a week, or transfer to a container or freezer bag and freeze. The hominy holds up well after being frozen.

Note: Our ancestors processed corn into hominy as a way of accessing food value that was otherwise not available. There are many varieties of corn with specific uses. Flint and dent corn are used for making hominy. Traditionally, hard wood ashes were boiled with the corn to dissolve the hull, and Native communities still make hominy in this fashion.