View source for Hominy

{{short description|Food item consisting of dried nixtamalized corn}}
{{Contains special characters|Cherokee}}{{other uses}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Hominy
| image            = Hominy (maize).JPG
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = A bowl of cooked hominy
| place_of_origin          = [[Mesoamerica]]
| region           = [[Americas]]
| creator          = 
| course           =
| type             = 
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = 
| minor_ingredient = Dried [[maize]] (corn) kernels, water, [[alkali]]
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Hominy''' is an American food item produced from dried [[maize]] (corn) kernels that have been treated with an [[alkali]], in a process called [[nixtamalization]] ({{lang|nah|nextamalli}} is the [[Nahuatl]] word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a type of hominy made with [[lye]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fussell |first1=Betty Harper |title=The Story of Corn |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofcorn0000fuss |url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/storyofcorn0000fuss/page/19 19] |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |access-date=25 July 2019|isbn=9780826335920 |year=2004 }}</ref>

==History==
{{main|Nixtamalization#History}}
[[File:Dried Maize Mote from Oaxaca.png|thumb|right|Dried (uncooked form of) hominy. US [[Quarter (United States coin)|quarter]] and Mexican [[Mexican peso|one-peso]] coins pictured for scale.]]The process of nixtamalization has been fundamental to [[Mesoamerican cuisine]] since ancient times<!--1200 to 1500 BC-->. The [[lime (material)|lime]] used to treat the maize can be obtained from several different materials. Among the [[Lacandon people|Lacandon]] Maya who inhabited the tropical lowland regions of eastern [[Chiapas]], the [[Quicklime|caustic powder]] was obtained by toasting freshwater shells over a fire for several hours. In the highland areas of Chiapas and throughout much of the [[Yucatán Peninsula]], [[Belize River]] valley and [[Petén Basin]], [[limestone]] was used to make [[slaked lime]] for steeping the shelled kernels.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cheetham |first=David |title=Corn, Colanders, and Cooking: Early Maize Processing in the Maya Lowlands and Its Implications |publisher=Springer-Verlag |page=346}}</ref> The [[Maya civilization|Maya]] used nixtamal to produce beers that more resembled ''[[chicha]]'' than ''[[pulque]]''. When bacteria were introduced to nixtamal it created a type of [[sourdough]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Jeffrey M. Pilcher |title=Maize and the Making of Mexico |page=30}}</ref>

The process of nixtamalization spread from Mesoamerica northwards through various indigenous tribes of North America. European settlers first encountered the dish in eastern North America, with the word hominy being an [[Anglicisation|anglicization]] of the [[Powhatan language|Powhatan]] word ''rokahamĕn.''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Gomez-Misserian |first=Gabriela |date=2022-12-13 |title=Wood Ash Hominy: From Indigenous Nourishment to Southern Shame to Chef Secret |url=https://gardenandgun.com/articles/wood-ash-hominy-from-indigenous-nourishment-to-southern-shame-to-chef-secret/ |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=Garden & Gun |language=en-US}}</ref>

Hominy [[Grits|grits]] became a [[Famine food|poverty food]] during the [[Great Depression in the United States]]. Because of this, there is still a [[Taboo|stigma]] associated with the dish, particularly among survivors of the Great Depression in the [[Southern United States]].<ref name=":0" />

==Production==
To make hominy, mature dry [[field corn]] (maize) is treated by soaking and cooking the grain in a dilute solution of [[lye]] or [[lime (material)|lime]]. The alkaline solution dissolves [[hemicellulose]], the major adhesive component of the grain's cell walls, which loosens the hulls from the kernels and softens the corn. Also, soaking the corn in lye or lime kills the seed's [[Cereal germ|germ]], which keeps it from sprouting while in storage. Finally, in addition to providing a source of dietary [[calcium]], the lye or lime reacts with the corn so that the nutrient [[Niacin (nutrient)|niacin]] can be assimilated by the digestive tract.<ref>{{cite book|author=Fussell, Betty H.|title=The Story of Corn|date=1992|page=204|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iAsQ0Pn1_0MC&pg=PA204 |publisher=UNM Press|isbn=9780826335920}}</ref> People consume hominy in intact kernels, grind it into sand-sized particles for [[grits]], or into [[flour]].

In [[Mexican cuisine]], hominy is finely ground to make [[masa]] (Spanish for ''dough''). Fresh masa that has been dried and powdered is called ''masa seca'' or ''masa harina''.  Some of the corn oil breaks down into [[emulsifying agent]]s ([[monoglyceride]]s and [[diglyceride]]s), and facilitates bonding the corn [[protein]]s to each other. The [[divalent]] calcium in lime acts as a cross-linking agent for protein and [[polysaccharide]] [[acidic]] side chains. [[Cornmeal]] from untreated ground corn cannot form a dough with the addition of water, but the chemical changes in masa (a.k.a. ''masa nixtamalera'') make dough formation possible, for [[tortilla]]s and other food.

==Recipes==
In Mexican cuisine, people cook masa nixtamalera with water to make a thick, [[gruel]]-like beverage called {{lang|es|[[atole]]}}. When they make it with chocolate and sugar, it becomes {{lang|es|atole de chocolate}}. Adding [[anise]] and [[piloncillo]] to this mix creates {{lang|es|[[champurrado]]}}, a popular breakfast drink.

The English term ''hominy'' derives from the [[Powhatan language]] word for prepared maize<ref>{{cite web |last=Galiano |first=Amanda |title=Southern Slang: G-P |url=http://littlerock.about.com/cs/southernlife/a/aasouthslang_2.htm |work=About.com |access-date=17 November 2013 |archive-date=11 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111085941/http://littlerock.about.com/cs/southernlife/a/aasouthslang_2.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> (cf. [[Chickahominy people|Chickahominy]]). Many other [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous American]] cultures also made hominy, and integrated it into their diet. [[Cherokee]]s, for example, made hominy [[grits]] by soaking corn in a weak lye solution produced by [[leaching (chemistry)|leaching]] hardwood ash with water, and then beating it with a {{lang|chr-Latn|kanona}} ({{lang|chr-Cher|ᎧᏃᎾ}}), or corn beater.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hominy Soup #3 (Gv-No-He-Nv A-Ma-Gi-i) |url=http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway/soup/nwsh0004.html |work=Native Way Cookbook |publisher=Wisdom Keepers, Inc. |access-date=17 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426080317/http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway/soup/nwsh0004.html |archive-date=26 April 2009 }}</ref> They used grits to make a traditional hominy soup ({{lang|chr-Latn|gvnohenv amagii}} {{lang|chr-Cher|ᎬᏃᎮᏅ ᎠᎹᎩᎢ}}) that they let ferment ({{lang|chr-Latn|gvwi sida amagii}} {{lang|chr-Cher|ᎬᏫ ᏏᏓ ᎠᎹᎩᎢ}}),<ref>{{cite web|title=Hominy Soup #1 (Gv-Wi Si-Da A-Ma-Gi-i) |url=http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway/soup/nwsh0002.html |work=Native Way Cookbook |publisher=Wisdom Keepers, Inc. |access-date=17 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626160424/http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway/soup/nwsh0002.html |archive-date=June 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[cornbread]], [[dumpling]]s ({{lang|chr-Latn|digunvi}} {{lang|chr-Cher|ᏗᎫᏅᎢ}}),<ref>{{cite web |title=Dumplings, Lye (Di-Gu-Nv-I) |url=http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway/breads/nwbd0002.html |work=Native Way Cookbook |publisher=Wisdom Keepers, Inc. |access-date=17 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001102222919/http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway/breads/nwbd0002.html |archive-date=2 November 2000 }}</ref> or, in post-contact times, fried with [[bacon]] and [[scallion|green onions]].

Hominy recipes include {{lang|es|[[pozole]]}} (a Mexican stew of hominy and pork, chicken, or other meat), hominy bread, hominy chili, hog 'n' hominy, casseroles and fried dishes.  In Latin America there is a variety of dishes referred to as {{lang|es|[[mote (food)|mote]]}}. Hominy can be ground coarsely for grits, or into a fine mash dough ({{lang|es|[[masa]]}}) used extensively in [[Latin American cuisine]]. Many islands in the West Indies, notably Jamaica, also use hominy (known as [[cornmeal]] or ''polenta'', though different from Italian [[polenta]]) to make a sort of porridge with corn starch or flour to thicken the mixture and [[condensed milk]], vanilla, and [[nutmeg]]. In the Philippines, hominy (made from a local [[waxy corn]] cultivar {{langx|tl|[[lagkitan]]}}) is the main component of dessert [[binatog]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simpas |first1=Jica |title=6 Types of Philippine Corn (Mais) |url=https://pepper.ph/blog/6-types-philippine-corn-mais |website=Pepper |access-date=Oct 11, 2023}}</ref>

'''Rockihominy''', a popular [[trail]] food in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is dried corn, roasted to a golden brown, then ground to a very coarse meal, almost like hominy [[grits]]. Hominy is also used as [[animal feed]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marshall  |first=Jo |title=Hominy an early gift from Native Americans to Europeans|url=https://www.gazettetimes.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/hominy-an-early-gift-from-native-americans-to-europeans/article_1f89fc40-d26d-573a-bdb8-d11c94c2ccc8.html|access-date=2021-02-28|website=Corvallis Gazette Times}}</ref>

==Nutrition==
{{nutritionalvalue
| name = Hominy, white, canned
| kJ = 301
| water = 82.5 g
| protein = 1.48 g
| fat = 0.88 g
| kcal = 72
| carbs = 14.3 g
| fiber = 2.5 g
| sugars = 1.51 g
| starch = 
| calcium_mg = 10
| iron_mg = 0.62
| magnesium_mg = 16
| phosphorus_mg = 35
| potassium_mg = 35
| zinc_mg = 1.05
| copper_mg = 0.03
| manganese_mg = 0.07
| vitC_mg = 0.3
| thiamin_mg = 0.003
| riboflavin_mg = 0.006
| niacin_mg = 0.033
| pantothenic_mg = 0.154
| choline_mg = 3.1
| folate_ug = 1
| source_usda = 1
| note = [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169701/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}

Canned hominy (drained) is composed of 83% water, 14% [[carbohydrates]], 1% [[Protein (nutrient)|protein]], and 1% [[fat]] (table). In a 100-[[gram]] serving, hominy provide 72 [[calories]] and is a good source (10–19% of the [[Daily Value]]) of [[Zinc#Nutrition|zinc]]. Hominy also supplies [[dietary fiber]]. Other nutrients are in low amounts (table).<ref>{{cite web |title=Hominy, canned, white |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169701/nutrients |website=usda.gov |access-date=16 September 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403171801/https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169701/nutrients |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Cookbook|Hominy recipe}}
{{Wiktionary|hominy}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Arepa]]
* [[Binatog]]
* [[List of maize dishes]]
* [[Locro]]
* [[Pinole]]
* [[Popcorn]]
* [[Pozole]]
* [[Sagamite]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{corn}}

[[Category:Maize products]]
[[Category:Mexican cuisine]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States]]
[[Category:Crops originating from Mexico]]