Regional Recipes: Hominy Bread
By Brenda Hyde
Once again, in my regional cooking research,
I found that corn had unlimited uses, which were
taught to our European ancestors by the Native
Americans. These early American cooks readily
accepted and adapted the many methods of
preparing dried corn to their own tastes. While
we are all familiar with cornmeal, many cooks
aren't as sure about hominy. Hominy is dried,
hulled corn kernels cooked in a variety of ways
and used in breads, puddings, and other recipes.
According to the Encyclopedia of American Food
and Drink by John F. Mariani:
"Great hominy," also called "whole hominy," "pearl
hominy" (from its pearly appearance), and "samp"
(corn mush), is coarsely ground and prepared by
scalding shelled corn in water and wood ash to
separate the hulls, called the "eyes."...If the corn is
ground more finely, or ground twice, the result is
called "hominy grits" or, as is usual in the South,
just grits. Further grinding results in cornmeal."
The following is a very simple recipe to try. I'm sure
it originally used lard instead of shortening. You
could try using bacon fat instead of shortening.
Hominy Bread
From The Norge Encyclopedic Cookbook
Published in 1950, Chicago, Illinois
Ingredients:
2 cups cold cooked hominy grits
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tablespoons melted shortening
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, separated
Mix hominy, salt and shortening. Add milk. Beat egg
yolks thoroughly and add. Fold in egg whites beaten
until stiff but not dry. Bake in greased dish in hot
oven (400 degrees F.) for 45 minutes. Serve in the
baking dish. Serves 6.
About The Author:
Brenda Hyde is a wife, mom to three kids, a freelance writer
and Regional Recipes editor here at StandBesideHer.com. She
lives in the midwestern United States with her family.
