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Dessert

Hominy Gems

Baked hominy cakes made with eggs and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Hominy Gems

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. If using cold hominy, break it into grains with a fork and heat in a farina kettle without adding water.

Make the batter

  1. Stir the egg yolks into the hominy, then gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

  2. Add salt if necessary.

Bake

  1. Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto well-buttered gem tins.

  2. Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Hominy
Forms the main body of the gems and gives them their corn flavour and tender crumb.
Eggs
Yolks enrich the batter, and whites beaten and folded in provide lift and a lighter structure.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Beaten whites hold air that gives the gems their lift. Stirring them in vigorously knocks that air out, leaving dense, flat results, so fold gently until just combined.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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