Recipe: How to Make Jamaican Hominy Porridge

Hominy Porridge is a traditional staple among breakfasts for Jamaicans.

The main ingredient in this porridge is hominy corn, which are dried, hard corn kernels. This type of corn is commonly used in the US to make grits, but in Jamaica the healthy carbohydrate is used to create a creamy, sweet, hot porridge meal.

Lorna’s Catering, one of Kingston’s most popular takeout breakfast and lunch spots, which has been featured on the Travel Channel and HGTV, gives away a free cookbook on its website, containing a bevy of traditional Jamaican recipes – including the widely loved Hominy Porridge.

Here is the restaurant’s recipe for the tasty breakfast meal.

Lorna’s Catering Top Tips for Making Hominy Porridge

“The best version of Hominy Porridge is a creamy one where the corn kernels are soft and properly boiled down to a melt-in-your-mouth consistency. That is achieved by cooking the corn in a pressure cooker for just the right amount of time,” the Lorna’s Catering cookbook says.

The cookbook also goes on to share, “Don’t skimp, but don’t overdo, on your spices! Cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla are super important for a tasty hominy porridge.”

Hominy Porridge Ingredients:

Serves 4

1 cup Hominy Corn

6 cups Water

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 cups Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Cornstarch

1/2 tsp Nutmeg, grated

2 tsp Vanilla flavouring

1/2 cup Evaporated Milk

1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

Cooking Method:

1. Rinse the corn, place in a pot and soak overnight in 6 cups of water.
2. In the same pot, boil corn for 20 to 30 minutes with salt and cinnamon stick  until tender; lower heat.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch by mixing it with some coconut milk; stir into remaining coconut milk.
4. Turn stove to High and add the coconut milk with starch to pot;  stir porridge until thickened.
5. Add nutmeg, vanilla and evaporated milk, stirring after each addition.
6. Add condensed milk to sweeten the porridge, or sugar to taste.

How to make Traditional Coconut Milk

1. Using a food processor or hand grater, grate the flesh of 1 coconut.
2. In a bowl, add 2 cups of water to the grated coconut and squeeze.
3. Pour the mixture into a large strainer and press coconut to extract 2 cups of milk.

Substitution Tips: If using canned coconut milk, combine 1 cup coconut milk with 1 cup water to make 2 cups. You can use either whole or cracked hominy corn kernels. Whole kernels take longer to cook.

The timing for the recipe is based on using cracked corn.