Saturday Thoughts...Forgotten Vegetables? Canned Hominy


My husband and I both like canned hominy, which we think is an underrated vegetable.  We enjoyed it today as the starch choice on our plate, the same way we would serve potatoes, noodles or rice.  Heated through and served lightly buttered, it’s delicious; the yellow hominy tastes like cornbread.  The rest of the menu included “breakfast” sausage, green beans and canned apricots for dessert.  Had we chosen Spam, as we do occasionally, instead of the sausage, our meal would have been entirely from the “pantry”.  As it was, it took almost longer to set the table than it did to prepare the meal.
I like to keep some canned food choices on hand in case of emergencies, knowing they usually contain their own liquid for reheating, and that they can be eaten unheated if really necessary, and with minimal fuel required to warm them. 
Hominy is made from whole corn kernels that have been soaked in a lime solution to soften the tough outer hulls, called nixtamalization. The kernels are then washed to remove the excess solution, the hull, and often the germ.  Nixtamalization is essentially what makes hominy more nutritious than other corn products, whether they are whole, like sweetcorn, or ground, like polenta.  It is high in both protein and fiber.

Some other recipes I use canned hominy in include the following recipes:







8 comments:

  1. I've heard of hominy of course but I've never eaten it (I have had grits and did enjoy them). One thing I find curious and I'd love to hear back from you on this question... Why are green beans so popular in the US? People talk about stocking up on cans of them all the time. I eat them - occasionally - and usually fresh but can say that they are probably my least favourite vegetable. I do have a few cans in my pantry but it's not even a veg that I will find routinely on the shelves here. I'm more likely to find "French" green or yellow beans in cans. It's not even a vegetable that I find served either at people's homes or in restaurants.
    Just find it curious how different regions favour certain foods.

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    1. We like green beans because we grew up on them...they are always in a Midwestern garden because they are easy to grow, give a big crop spread out over time (when they are ready you can and should pick them every day) and they home can easily...no peeling! Everybody's Mom and Grandma raised them, as have we.
      Hominy is a more Southern vegetable, I ate it when I lived in Texas and Georgia, and here we aren't far from Missouri which is why my husband's Mom served hominy to her big family.

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  2. We occassionally had hominy for a side dish (served w butter). Thanks for the reminder and for sharing some new ideas. We bought a ham last week. I'm going to give the ham and hominy salad a try. It sounds great for these hot, humid days.

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    1. We liked the salad...reminded me our our Swiss-German grandmother's German Potato Salad.

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  3. I think I've seen these at the store, going to give them a try.

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  4. German potoatoe salad, sound delicious.

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