If I mention corn, I can almost guess what comes to your mind — bright yellow kernels like those on a stalk or found in cans or bags in the freezer aisle. But this type of corn is really only one example of this vital and widely consumed crop.
Another is hominy, and it very well might be the corn you’ve never heard of but in all likelihood have eaten at some point in your life. In fact, if you’ve ever had a corn tortilla or those super crunchy snacks called Corn Nuts, you’ve eaten hominy or its derivative.
Now for a large swath of the world including Latin America, you know hominy and likely have been cooking with it for ages. For the average American, however, you might have seen this stuff in the store and always wondered what it is and how to use it. Here’s what you need to know about hominy.
What Is Hominy?
All hominy is a type of corn or maize, and while all hominy is corn, not all corn is hominy. The corn that we like to eat at picnics such as corn on the cob and in salads or side dishes is known as sweet corn, which has a higher sugar content and is, thus, sweeter.
Hominy, however, is a type of field corn, which is starchier. It’s often known as dent corn because the top appears dented.
Compared to sweet corn, field corn is more often used to feed livestock or perhaps your car with via ethanol in gasoline. But it does and has long played a role in feeding humans. We just don’t necessarily eat it right off the cob as we do with the sweeter variety.
Nixtamalization
Hominy is a special class of this type of corn because it undergoes a process called nixtamalization.
Nixtamalization involves soaking dried kernels in an alkali solution, and what this does is not only remarkable, but more so because it’s been done for thousands of years, believed to have first been practiced in Mesoamerica. By soaking the kernels in slaked lime or a lye solution, it increases the corn’s nutritional value, makes it easier to consume, improves flavor and texture, and makes the kernels easier to grind up.
Pictured above is what uncooked hominy looks like, and as you can see, they’re like huge kernels of sweet corn. This is a white variety, but there are others, including red and yellow.
When these are ground, they can be the foundation for a wide variety of foods and ingredients. If you’ve ever had a corn tortilla, for example, it’s come from dough made from masa, which is made with ground hominy.
Another great use for ground hominy is grits. I did a whole episode on grits, and while many are made from standard cornmeal, quite a few of you chimed in about your affinity for grits made from hominy, which are appropriately called hominy grits.
But you can also enjoy the kernels in their entirety.
Now if you buy dried hominy kernels, you first need to rehydrate them, and that process is similar to making beans from scratch, where you soak them overnight and then simmer until tender.
But there’s a far easier way to buy, use, and eat hominy, and that’s simply prepared. Hominy is available canned and frozen, and I think the canned variety like these is the easiest to work with.
Where to Buy Hominy
If you want to buy uncooked hominy kernels, you’ll probably have to go to a latin market. I found these in the bulk section of my local El Super. But for the canned stuff I recommend, there’s a high likelihood its available in your mainstream grocery store.
Canned hominy is usually found in the Latin or ethnic foods section, in medium or large size cans. You’ll often see if sold as white or yellow, and both are easy to work with. The white hominy is a bit more neutral tasting, while the yellow is sweeter and softer. Both are packed in water with salt added.
Before using, I recommend draining and rinsing it well, then setting the kernels on a sheet pan lined with paper towels to dry a bit.
What Does Hominy Taste Like?
Have you ever had a freshly cooked corn tortilla hot off the griddle? Then that’s what you’ll be reminded of if you eat hominy plain.
It tastes, unsurprisingly, like corn. It’s admittedly pretty bland and earthy. This is hardly a bad thing. Think of it as a canvas for whatever you want to do with it. In the culinary pantheon of ingredients, hominy is a chameleon ready for adaptation.
How to Cook With Hominy
How do you cook with hominy? Let me count the ways. First you can eat it as is. It’s really just cooked corn, but even more neutral in flavor.
But hominy really shines when it’s used as an ingredient in other dishes or when roasted or fried. To use as an ingredient, you can simply add the cooked kernels to everything from salads to soups. If you’ve ever eaten the famous Mexican soup pozole (poh-SOH-leh), you’ve had hominy, since it’s a key ingredient.
Hominy can be used in a casserole, such as a cheesy one made with green chiles and sour cream. Top it with something crunchy like crushed crackers or panko crumbs, and it becomes a hearty meal or side.
Hominy can also be fried in a skillet with salt, pepper, and some paprika for extra vibrancy. Throw some peppers in for even more color and flavor.
Then you can roast them, which turns them into homemade corn nuts. If you remember way back several years ago when we made crispy air fryer chickpeas, this is the same process, and like that recipe, the air fryer is my tool of choice for making it happen.
Simply drain the hominy, dry them well, then toss with oil and put into a 400-degree air fryer. Cook them for 20 minutes or until they become crisp to your liking. In my air fryer they tend to fall through the grate and that’s fine. I take it out once they do and continue. You’ll know they’re close to getting finished when you hear popping sounds – yes, just like their relative popcorn.
Shake them every few minutes and watch for what I call launchers – the ones that literally jump out of the air fryer.
When done, carefully remove to a bowl or sheet pan, then add whatever seasoning you like, whether bbq, ranch, salt and pepper, or one of my favorites, tajine.
These are best enjoyed immediately while still warm. I find that because they aren’t made with preservatives, they don’t taste nearly as good the next day as they do the day of.