rockahominy

These are I think all the posts I have made concerning corn.





woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/search?q=corn
Keith.

Most of the descriptions I've found describe using it straight, just with a little water, and don't add sugar. I've tried it both ways, both work for me. I enjoy both the slightly sweetened and the plain. One advantage of the plain is that it can be used in other ways than just eating it out of hand.

Wm. Byrd in 1728 recommends using it to thicken a broth made from pocket soup..."But this Broth will be still more heartening if you thicken every mess with half a Spoonful of Rockahominy, which is nothing but Indian Corn parched without burning, and reduced to Powder."

The Moravian missionary Heckewelder, “History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations” 1818, described how the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares, prepared and used rockahominy:

"When wanted for use, they take about a tablespoonful of this flour in their mouths, then stooping to the river or book, drink water to it. If, however, they have a cup or other small vessel at hand, they put the flour in it and mix it with water, in the proportion of one tablespoonful to a pint. At their camps they will put a small quantity in a kettle with water and let it boil down, and they have a thick pottage."

That pottage idea was interesting, so I tried a small batch. It worked very well, and with a little salt was a tasty dish.



Spence



 

Yes, without.

Spence

So, just buy regular corn meal and toast it in a dry pan until it browns? Or do I have to do the whole process myself? In which case it would seem easier to patch it before grinding it, leaving the possibility of other uses for the parched kernels.

I agree, parching the corn and grinding it is the best way to go. I did that when I first started fooling around with it. Then I lost my easy access to whole kernel corn, so I tried something different, as you suggested, Dave, started with the  meal. I have a supply of cornmeal ground on an original water-powered grist mill, and it is pretty crude. It's nothing like modern commercial meal. I simply roasted it in a dry skillet until medium dark. It worked. Not as good, but pretty close, good enough for my needs.

I've also experimented with the difference between maple and brown sugar, maple is best, but brown is not shabby.



Spence

Thank you Spence. Excellent info as always. The use of the pericardium as a container is a new reference to me. As a cardiology tech. it is even more interesting. And, less disgusting, to me, than using the bladder.

I have to admit, I guess I'm a bit dense and due to that tend to overthink things, I haven't done a lot with this idea of parched corn and rockahominy for a couple reasons. One is that every time I think I understand the making of parched corn, someone throws in a new twist.
Basic understanding was take dried corn kernels and toast them in a pan, dry, until they are dark. Twists, kernels popping like popcorn, and use of sand. Can't imagine trying to separate sand from popcorn. Only things I eat that I can tolerate a little sand in would be clams and oysters, popcorn with sand,,,,, no. Somehow I don't thing grinding popcorn will come out looking like, or having the properties of, ground parched corn or rockahominy. What about ground "corn nuts"?
Questions, trying to clear up my fog.
If just toasting dried corn in a dry cast iron skillet will give me my parched corn to use as is or make rockahominy or other parched corn products, where can one get good quality (preferably organic non-gmo) dried corn?
Is there a source of dried, or dryable, corn, that has been through the nixtamalization process? I see some corn products (NOT corn on the cob or corn "niblets/kernels" canned, frozen, or otherwise),as a barely acceptable, occasional "cheat" on a minimal grain diet, so, I would like to get as much nutritional value as I can out of the stuff.
I'm assuming that, especially in the 18th century, we are not talking about the sweet corn varieties we so often see at farm stands in the summer. However, I would also assume we are not talking about using feed corn for livestock, what some folks here call "cow corn" (not that cows should be eating it either) when they are growing it and don't want people thinking it's for the table. Correct?

Who knew corn could be so complicated. Maybe I'll just stick to corn liquor for my limited corn consumption.

You can buy cans of hominy at your local Walmart. Whatever doesn't fit in my pot when I make Posole, gets dried in the oven on the lowest heat setting with the door propped open (wood spoon or crushed soda can). I've found it lasts longer if I vacuum-seal then freeze.

For parching, I prefer a lighter roast than "dark". Dark-roasted parched corn is not as delicious as it might sound as opposed to coffee. I've used dried sweet corn but prefer a dent corn as might have been used in the period. Toasted in a hot cast iron skillet (NO sand ) with frequent stirring then allowed to cool. This also works for other grains - I've parched barley, rice and wild rice with success.

Get ahold of some cob corn (you could try the cow corn) and hang to dry (I hang in my utility room). When fully dry, shuck the cob and get rid of the chaff (wind, hair-dryer and bowl) and store the kernels until needed. Heat your skillet over medium-high heat, add a little oil (optional) and enough corn to cover the bottom of the skillet (not densely packed, just loose). Stir the corn and watch for it to brown and the kernel will also puff slightly (it rarely pops, but does crackle). Remove from the pan and allow to cool. I carry mine in a cloth sack with jerky - instant meal-in-a-bag. The kernels should be crispy/crunchy NOT hard and easy to eat.

As to sand being used, since the kernels and popped corn are dry, the sand could be separated from the corn using some sort of strainer/basket/sieve. Little to no sand should remain with whole kernels (parched corn) but popped corn might be a little gritty. Just speculating as I've always used a skillet.