Hominy & Masa Production

Hominy and Masa Food Uses

2025 :: Masa

May 23rd About to grind the last 400g jar of hominy and noticed is was going mouldy. So washed dried and ground to flour ~ masa.
Apparently the end product of nixtamalization will be 'hominy' which can be eaten as is, or blended: alternatively it can be dried and ground to make 'masa'

Hominy
Hominy is a food item produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization (nextamalli is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a type of hominy made with lye.
In Mexican cooking, hominy is finely ground to make masa

Masa . . . This process is nixtamalization, and it produces hominy, which is ground into a relatively dry dough to create fresh masa. The fresh masa can be sold or used directly, or can be dehydrated and blended into a powder to create masa harina, or masa flour.

And:-All things Hominy.Com

19th Oct: Post nixtamalization steps:

  1. Given the maize has absorbed nearly all the lye a couple of litres will be added to drain the gelatinous liquid: I was going to keep this liquid and evaporate to use what I think is a cellulose solution, however I decided to throw it away as the thought of burning a 'lot' of wood to evaporate the water seemed too demanding.
    Nixtamal: Thick enough to stand a laddle
    Nixtamal: Thick enough to stand a laddle
  2. Rinsed some 6 times with about 2.3Lt water.
  3. It seems the pericarp rather than becoming dislodged has dissolved. The kernels are soft enough to eat with no tough skin like structure.
  4. Add a final 3.2Lt. rain water for osmosis to draw any remaining lye from the kernels - overnight.
  5. At this stage the hominy weighs some 2.63Kg
Rinsed hominy and drained liquid
Drained liquid and Rinsed hominy

20th Oct: Cleaned Hominy

  1. Washed with another 6Lt water. Drained weight 2.36Kg

  2. Dry 1Kg in stove oven for long term storage.

    Drying 1Kg of Nixtamal aka Hominy
    Drying 1Kg of Nixtamal aka Hominy

    Drying 1Kg of Nixtamal aka Hominy
    Trying to keep temp around 60° : : Seems too warm

  3. Cook 1Kg for 90min until it breaks up: See text for 21st below. Cooked for 2 to 3 hours but hasn't broken up, Ref: All things Hominy.Com above �
  4. The remaining 362g, and as they seem quite soft, I am tempted to just blend them.
A few nixtamal kernels in hand
A few [11] nixtamal kernels in hand
The kilo being dried is down to 600g and I hoping to lose another 200g
1Kg/2.36 = approx 420g which is about a jar's weight of beans etc. 22:00 Drying 1Kg down to 400g
Dried 1Kg down to 350g. Gone quite dark
Dried 1Kg down to 350g. Gone quite dark
22:00 Drying 1Kg down to 370g; letting it cool
Jar of 370g. Gone quite dark
Almost perfect amount 370g in the jar.

21st Oct: Further Cooking

Hominy quite pale after cooking for 2 to 3 hours
Hominy quite pale after cooking for 2 to 3 hours