4. Making Pickling Lime-Water of pH 12.5

Making Lime-Water takes about 5.5 hours, this can be done in advance of making hominy but make sure the clear liquid is labeled and stored so that it can't be ingested.

  Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime is the most common brand and can often be found in the canning section of grocery stores.

 

- Add 10 cups of water to a stainless steel (or enameled) pot of about 6 qt capacity. This is a different pot than what you will cook the hominy in.  It should be easy to smoothly pour the liquid out of it--see steps below.

- Bring to a simmer.
- Add 1/4 cup Pickling Lime and stir with a stainless steel or plastic spoon.
- Cover and let rest for 5 hours
- The pH of this solution is approximately 12.5
- There will be a skin on top of the water and white solids on the bottom.  You want to use the clear liquid in between.  
- Make a simple filter using a paper coffee filter and a mesh strainer. 

 
 - Place the strainer-filter in a stainless steel (or enameled) pot of about 6 qt capacity that can be used to simmer the corn.
- Slowly pour the lime-water from the soaking pot through the strainer-filter into the simmering pot.  Keep the solids on the bottom of the soaking pot as long as possible to avoid clogging the coffee filter.
- If the filter clogs and there's less than about a cup of liquid left, you can dump the unfiltered portion down the drain.  If there's a lot left to filter, continue with a new coffee filter.
- The final liquid should be mostly clear.  If not, re-filter.  The second pass will go a lot faster.