question about hickory corn

[Oldcountryboy]

Do you have to dehull hickory corn before you can grind it up for cornmeal?

[dancingbear]

I don't know of any corn that has to be dehulled. Maybe you're thinking of the process used to make hominy, nixtamal, and masa flour. For those, you soak the corn in a lime solution until the skins slip off.

For just regular cornmeal or corn flour, you just shell the dried corn (I don't know why they call it shelling, there's no shell) off of the cob, then grind up the whole corn kernels.

Is that Hickory King giant corn your growing? I'm planning to plant some of that myself this year, for the first time. Have you grown it before?

[blufford]

Your not talking about Hickory corn thats been deep fried and made into corn nuts are you?
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DG

[Oldcountryboy]

No I'm talking about the big Hickory King corn that dancing bear just mentioned. I can remember my Ma growing a little patch when I was a kid. She would dehull it and make hominy grits with it. I've never grown any in my adult life.

I'm gonna grow a "3 Sisters" garden and haven't decided yet if I want to use a Yellow Dent corn or Hickory corn. My garden spot for the "3 Sisters" is quit large so maybe I should just plant a both.

I like yellow corn meal better then white. But I would like to learn how to make hominy grits also.(love hominy grits) So I guess I need to plant both.

[SquashNut]

If you only grow one type it will be easier to save your own seed. Just a thought.

[ozarkcat]

Originally Posted by Oldcountryboy

I'm gonna grow a "3 Sisters" garden and haven't decided yet if I want to use a Yellow Dent corn or Hickory corn. My garden spot for the "3 Sisters" is quit large so maybe I should just plant a both.

I did a 3 sisters garden last year with Yellow Dent, and it worked very well.

[Ken Scharabok]

If it was grown by your mother it may have been Hickory Cane, rather than Hickory King. Not a whole lot of difference, but Hickory Cane is typically eight rows of very large kernels. At one time it was grown extensively locally for white corn meal, hominy and shine (as it had a higher sugar content than field corn). I don't know, but suspect, Hickory Cane was crossed with another white sweet corn to produce Hickory King. Some folks say they are the same thing.

Far as I know there are no commerical sources today of Hickory Cane.

[ozarkcat]

They've got Hickory Cane here (under Chickasaw Hickory Cane):
http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/corn.html

[Ken Scharabok]

Hickory Cane would not have blue kernels.

--------------------------------

Chickasaw Hickory Cane: 130 days. A late season Hickory King type with white and blue kernels. 2 oz. Pkt. - 1 Pkt./$2.00 OG

Glenn Beasley Red: 115 days. 9 foot plants with 12 to 16 rows of red, occasionally yellow or orange kernels on 9 inch ears. Very high yielding. 2 oz. Pkt. - 1 Pkt./$1.50 OG (Sold Out for the rest of the 2008 season)

Golden Glow: 100 days. 7 foot stalks, yellow kernels on 6 to 8 inch ears, average 1 to 2 per stalk. 2 oz. Pkt. - 1 Pkt./$2.50; 4Pkts./$7.50 OG

Golden Hickory King: 120 days. 8 to 10 foot stalks, 8 rows of large kernels on skinny cobs. (Unavailable for 2008)

[vicker]

I grow hickory king corn and use it for cornmeal. I do not de-hull it. First I grind it very rough ( just a shade more fine than cracked. I then blow the chaff off it by placing it in a large bowl and tossing it while I blow on it, After that I grind it fine and sift it. What goes through the sifter I use for cornmeal and what is left I use as grits.

[Oldcountryboy]

Thanks for the info on Hickory corn.

I can also remember my mom growing yellow dent corn spefically to use to make corn tamales. However, in the Cherokee language it's called Diganooli's(Dig-a-noo-lees) and they were my favorites. These were made with the corn ears after they were just a little bit too tough to eat off the cob. When they were just past the milky stage but not too hard, they would pick these and grate the kernels off the ears into a big bowl. I don't remember what all ingredients they may have added to the grated corn, it they added anything at all. But they would take a handfull and kind of make a small log out of it and then roll it up in some corn husk and tie it off. After they had several made they would place them in boiling water to cook.

After they were cooked we would unwrap them and place them in a plate and pour hot bacon greese and salt over them. Then dig in. You'd think we hadn't had anything to eat for days the way we would tear into them. They were delicious!

[dancingbear]

Oldcountryboy, those sound good! I love tamales, I could eat them every day, and never get tired of them . I'd add some cumin to that, and maybe a little chorizo, they'd taste a lot like tamales! I'm from Oklahoma originally, part Cherokee, maybe that's why I love them so much.

You could make yellow hominy grits, couldn't you? I've had both white and yellow hominy, both are good, IMO. Then you could have your yellow corn meal and your grits.

Ozarkcat, I just had to look at the stuff on the Sandhill Preserve site, now I want a bunch more kinds of corn. I don't have spaces prepared for more than one kind of corn this year, but I always have a heck of a time trying to make up my mind. So many of them sound so good. I never knew there was more than one kind of Hickory King, and hadn't heard of Hickory Cane before this either. I wonder if there are several colors of Hickory Cane? It sounds good, too.

[dancingbear]

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

Hickory Cane would not have blue kernels.

--------------------------------

Chickasaw Hickory Cane: 130 days. A late season Hickory King type with white and blue kernels. 2 oz. Pkt. - 1 Pkt./$2.00 OG

Glenn Beasley Red: 115 days. 9 foot plants with 12 to 16 rows of red, occasionally yellow or orange kernels on 9 inch ears. Very high yielding. 2 oz. Pkt. - 1 Pkt./$1.50 OG (Sold Out for the rest of the 2008 season)

Golden Glow: 100 days. 7 foot stalks, yellow kernels on 6 to 8 inch ears, average 1 to 2 per stalk. 2 oz. Pkt. - 1 Pkt./$2.50; 4Pkts./$7.50 OG

Golden Hickory King: 120 days. 8 to 10 foot stalks, 8 rows of large kernels on skinny cobs. (Unavailable for 2008)

Ken have you had the Glen Beasley Red? Do you know if it's a sweet or a field corn? I like to try unusual varieties. What site is that from?

[Ken Scharabok]

Those were on the link in a post above.

I still have about 2/3rds of a 5-gallon bucket from the 2005 harvest of what was reported to be actual Hickory Cane from seed which had been replaced each year for a very long time. All seed is from ears with eight rows. Don't know if it will even germanate. Will provide a pound for the cost of shipping ($4.60). PM me if interested.

Whether it is Hickory Cane or Hickory King I know my cattle love the stalks and any remaining ears. They goes first for any ears, then leaves, then top half of stalk. On the bottom half I've seen them chewing them up a bit at a time. Several people in town let me come and chop the stalks when they are through harvesting ears. Comes home a pickup load at a time. First new load of the season I have to call up the cattle. After that they would open the gate for me if they could.

[Oldcountryboy]

Ken, I have about a gallon of the hickory cane seeds that I grew from seeds I got from you. If I grow some hickory this year it will probably be from your stock. I haven't gotten to really do some good gardening in two years. I'm determined this year to have more then I've ever grown before.

[Fae]

I planted Hickory King corn a couple years ago that I ordered from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. It was at least 10' tall or more. I saved some seed from it but did not get to plant it last year. I plan to plant it this year if I can find the room. I am sprouting 4 seed to see how the germination is. I want to grind my own cornmeal. I might try my hand at making hominy. I used to help my MIL make it in a washpot. I love hominy.