Hominy

Method

1. Tip 100 g of dried field corn onto a tray and pick it over, discarding grit, chaff and any broken or blackened kernels. Rinse under cold running water and drain.
2. Pour 1 l of cold water into a non-reactive pot — stainless steel, clay or enamel, never aluminium, which the lime will pit. Sprinkle in 1 g of cal and stir for 30 seconds until the water turns milky white; let any sandy grit settle and leave it behind if you decant.
3. Add the drained corn and bring to the boil over high heat, then lower to a bare simmer with the surface just trembling. Cook uncovered for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. The water will foam and turn yellow-orange (nejayote); the corn is ready when a kernel lifted out and rubbed between your fingers sheds its skin easily but is still chalky and firm at the centre.