Hulled Corn

Ingredients

• 1 pint clean strong wood ashes
• 0.5 gallon water
• white flint corn, shelled and picked
• 3 parts water
• salt

Instructions

1. Prepare the lye by putting a pint of clean strong wood ashes into half a gallon of water. Boil for twenty minutes or until the water feels slippery. Let settle and drain off the clear lye.
2. Pour the lye over the shelled and picked white flint corn, covering it completely. Let stand until the hulls on the grains slip under pressure, commonly twelve to twenty-four hours.
3. Drain off the lye and cover the corn with cold water. Rub and scrub the grains between your hands until all are free of husks.
4. Soak the corn in clear water, changing it every few hours until no taste of lye remains.
5. Boil slowly in three times its bulk of water, adding a little salt. Cook until very tender—a grain should mash easily between finger and thumb. Fill up with water as it boils away, and take care not to scorch. Cool uncovered and keep cool.
6. To serve: dip out a dishful and fry it in bubbling bacon fat. Alternatively, warm in a double boiler and serve with butter and sugar or cream and sugar as a cereal. Use also as a vegetable the same as rice or green corn.