Hominy is corn kernel boiled in water and culinary ash. The hulls are discarded after becoming separated from the grain. Without its hull, corn becomes hominy. Eat it fresh or dry it for storage. Merchants sell dried hominy whole and ground. In grainy ground form, it is called “grits.” Masa, the flour traditionally used to make tortillas, is made of pulverized hominy. This food is not rich in nutrients, yet has nutritional value.
Vitamins
The only vitamins dried hominy provides are B complex. One-quarter cup has 6 percent of the recommended daily intake — RDI — for vitamin B-6, 16 percent for thiamine, 8 percent riboflavin, 10 percent niacin, 1 percent pantothenic acid and 16 percent folate. Those percentages are based on a daily 2,000-calorie diet. Your body uses B vitamins during digestion to break foods down and turn them into energy.
Minerals
The minerals that ¼ cup of dried hominy provides include 8 percent of the RDI for iron, 5 percent of the RDI for magnesium, 7 percent for phosphorous, 1 percent potassium, 3 percent zinc, 2 percent copper and 5 percent manganese. This hominy serving also has a trivial amount of calcium and sodium. Minerals have different functions. Zinc, for example, makes it possible for you to develop physically and cognitively.
Protein
Everything in your body — tissue, organs and cells — contains protein. Those proteins are not long lasting, making it necessary for you to continuously eat foods that provide them to replace the old ones. One-quarter cup of dried hominy has 3.4973 g of protein, corresponding to 7 percent of the RDI for the nutrient.
Additional Nutrition
Carbohydrates appear as dietary fiber, sugars and starches. Your body breaks sugars and starches down into energy but cannot digest fiber. The roughage is necessary to keep your bowels regular and glucose and cholesterol at normal levels. One-quarter cup of dried hominy gives you 11 percent of the RDI for carbohydrates. It also provides 1 percent of the RDI for fat. Besides, this food serving has 142 calories, which takes 30 minutes of moderate walking to burn.
References
- “Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage & Preservation”; Sharon Astyk; 2009
- Encyclopedia: Hominy
- SkipThePie: Nutritional Info: Cereals, QUAKER, Hominy Grits, White, Regular, Dry
- American Cancer Society: Vitamin B Complex
- “Canadian Family Physician”; Health Benefits of Selected Minerals; Milly Ryan-Harshman, Ph.D., R.D., et al.; May 2005
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Protein
- "MedlinePlus"; Carbohydrates; David Zieve, M.D., M.H.A., et al.; June 2011
- "MedlinePlus"; Fiber; Linda J. Vorvick, M.D., et al.; July 2010
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