Hominy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhɒmɪni/

Definitions

1. A food product derived from corn through the nixtamalization process, commonly utilized in dishes or as a side item, which can be prepared whole, ground, or incorporated into various recipes
2. This culinary staple, made by treating corn with an alkaline solution, is often featured in numerous traditional meals, either as a side, an ingredient, or in various forms such as whole or ground
3. A dish made from corn kernels soaked and cooked in a basic solution to remove the hull and germ, often served whole or ground in recipes

Etymology: Hominy first appears in English in 1629, but the word arrived from the Powhatan language of the Virginia Algonquian peoples, and the exact source word is still debated. Several candidates have been proposed, including "uskatahomen" and "appuminnéonash," which meant "parched corn," and "rokohamin," which meant "parched, ground corn." The last of these is probably the closest ancestor, and it also gave rise to the older, longer form "rockahominy," which lasted alongside the shorter version for a while. The dish itself was a Native American technique, and the English borrowed both the food and its name from the people who cooked it. The word therefore records a cooking process as much as a food: the corn is treated with an alkaline solution, which loosens the hull and germ and makes the kernels soft enough to eat whole or grind into meal.

Synonyms: corn, maize, grits, hominy grits, nixtamal