hominy & lye info Thank s Gary

[Guest guest]

I've always rinse hominy for a few minutes under running water since I have

heard about the lye process but was always told it was safe. I thought if the

Lutefish doesn't kill the Swedes after that fish soaked for weeks in it, then

this hominy couldn't be anything near as bad. My Grandpa made his own lye bath

for the fish and he lived to be 97 and my Gran was 89.

Thank you for this info...........Donna

 

Gary Mattingly <gsmattingly wrote:

Hi,

 

hominy - two types

http://www.infoplease.com/ipd/A0478505.html

" whole or ground hulled corn from which the bran and

germ have been removed by bleaching the whole kernels

in a lye bath (lye hominy) or by crushing and sifting

(pearl hominy). "

 

As far as I can tell hominy prepared using

lye actually makes more nutrients available.

Also with proper preparation the lye is not

supposed to touch the part that you actually

eat it is used to get red out of the outer

corn seed coat. Lye is poisonous. I'd be

worried about the people working where it is

made or if you make it at home. Obviously

care must be taken in the preparation process.

 

All of this is just from a quick review of the

material I could find. See info below.

 

Gary

 

" Also known as lye, potassium hydroxide is used in the

process of saponification, or turning fats into soap.

Lye is also used in conventional food production to

chemically peel fruits and vegetables, however, this

usage is prohibited by the NOSB. However, it is

traditionally used in the production of Dutch cocoa,

and has been used for centuries in the production of

hominy and masa. In this preparation, he outer seed

coat of corn is stripped away by soaking the grain in

a solution of potassium hydroxide (often in the form

of wood ash) or calcium hydroxide and water. After

rinsing the corn, the lye is washed away with the seed

coat, and the corn is made more digestible and

nutritious as more of the protein is available to be

metabolized.

....

Others of these chemicals, such as the two different

versions of lye, potassium hydroxide and sodium

hydroxide, on the face of it, are very dangerous--they

are caustic and highly toxic. However, both of these

chemicals have a very long history of traditional

useage in various cultures in the processing of cocoa,

codfish and corn, all without massive loss of human

life. This historical use leads me to believe that

when used with care in food processing, both potassium

hydroxide and sodium hydroxide are likely harmless,

and in the case of processing corn, positively

beneficial. "

 

Some info on preparation

http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1977_July_August/Tortillas__Frijoles_Refr\

itos__and_other_basics_of_Mexican_Cooking

<http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1977_July_August/Tortillas__Frijoles_Ref\

ritos__and_other_basics_of_Mexican_Cooking>

" After the pan has cooled, carefully pour off the

lime solution and fill the container with fresh water.

Then drain and rinse the corn several more times until

the rinse water is clear and free from all traces of

lime. During this part of the process, you can work

the mixture with your fingers to remove stubborn hulls

and the kernels' dark germs.

 

If you decide to use lye for your hominy making,

you'll find the process very similar . . . but a bit

more time-consuming. For two quarts of corn, begin by

adding two ounces of lye (available from any grocery

store and most hardwares) to eight quarts of water.

Then add the corn to the solution and bring it to a

gentle boil. Cook until the hulls loosen, and allow

the mixture to cool.

 

When the container of corn and lye has stopped

steaming, slowly drain off the liquid (taking care not

to splash any of the fluid on you). Then refill the

pan with fresh water and drain four or five times the

same as called for in the limewater method above.

Only, when working with lye, you must also boil the

corn for five minutes after adding each fresh change

of water (that's why it takes longer to make hominy

with lye than with lime). Continue this cycle until

the kernels are soft, then drain them one last time.

You now have the nixtamal from which masa is made. "

 

 

http://waltonfeed.com/grain/y-rec/hominy.html

" * 1 qt. dry field corn

* 4 qt. water

* 1 oz. lye

 

Place in an enameled kettle and boil vigorously for

1/2 hour, then let stand for 20 minutes. Rinse several

times with hot water, then rinse with cool water until

you can handle the hominy to rub off the dark tips of

the kernels. Float away the tips. Add water to cover

hominy one-inch and boil 5 minutes.

 

Drain and repeat 4 times, then cook 1/2 hour or until

kernels are tender.

 

Pack in 6 sterilized pint jars; add 1/4 teaspoon salt

to each jar. Cover with boiling water; adjust lids and

process in pressure canner, 240 degrees at 10 pounds

pressure, 60 minutes. (If using quart jars, process 70

minutes.) This recipe will yield 6 pints of hominy. "

 

 

 

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/food/r_corn.ht

" USDA CORN NUTRIENTS--all kinds here, meal, masa

harina, but no indications about dried corn

traditionally treated with wood-ash lyewater or lime

water to increase availability of proteins and

vitamins. "

 

More info

http://www.glifwc.org/pub/summer01/hominy.htm

 

Lye dangers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_hydroxide

 

 

--- purplepassion <thelilacflower wrote:

 

> Mel it is soaked in lye but I've never read it was

> dangerous. I talked with a nutritionist,

> etc.Everyone claims it's safe. It's a common

> ingredient in some of the German pretzels, makes

> them harden and brown. The Swedes have soaked

> lutefisk on the back porch in a wooden crate of lye

> for weeks at a time (more than a century old

> practice) and I've never heard of anyone have ill

> effects other than detesting that terrible sponge of

> a fish.

> I use hominy often, like most beans in a can I

> rinse them well and then use.

> Let's ask Gary about this...........Donna

>

> Melissa <mapalicka wrote:

> I, too, am a true " Yankee, " and had hominy for the

> first time last

> Christmas. Someone told me that it is corn soaked

> in lye...is this

> true and is this unhealthy?