Making grits from scratch

Nixtamalization is a big word!  That term is the process by which corn is soaked and cooked in a limewater solution and hulled.  This process has several benefits, it makes it easier to grind, it improves the nutrients, the flavor and the aroma, and finally reduces the toxins.  Tortillas, tamales, and hominy are all prepared using this process.  Hominy is dried corn kernels that have been treated with an alkali (lime solution) in the process of nixtamalization.  Grits come from hominy.  We wanted to try this process out to make some grits.

First you get some lime and some whole kernel corn.  We purchased our non-GMO corn in bulk from Azure Standard.

Soak the corn in the lime water solution overnight.

Soaking in lime water over night

After corn has been soaked in the lime solution overnight, you'll simmer the corn for 2 -3 hours in that lime water solution at 190 degrees.

Simmering at 190 degrees

After 2 hours Tricia tested the corn kernels for doneness.  Make sure to rinse the lime solution off first.

Is it done yet?

Here she's rinsing the test kernels.

Rinsing the lime off real good

Once done, rinse them all off in a colander and rub the kernels together if you need to in order to get the hulls off.

Rinse and Rub to remove the hulls from the corn

As you're rinsing, the hulls will rise to the top and you can pour them off.  Once that process was done, Tricia put some of it in the refrigerator and later put it into the food processor to grind into masa to make corn tortillas.  They turned out soft, warm, and delicious.  We ate them all before I could take any pictures.

Draining off all the water and hulls

Drain them getting them as dry as possible and then lay them on trays.  What you've got now is hominy.   

Laying the corn on trays to dry

Now you dry the hominy.  We use a warmer set on a low setting and leave the warmer cracked open to allow the moisture to escape while drying.  It took less than 24 hours to completely dry.

Hominy drying in the warmer

And here is the finished product: dried hominy.

Dried Hominy

Now we simply run it through the hand cranked grinder in order to make grits!

Grinding Hominy

This is a some of the grits before we were finished grinding.  The smell is so rich and fragrant!

Grits!!

A lot of work to make grits, to be sure, but it is so interesting to learn how to make this from scratch.  Next on the agenda:  Making Grits Grillades!