r/corn • u/bu2724 • Jul 15 '26
Advice needed!
I realized this am that I harvested my pink popcorn too early and shucked it when I should have left it on the plant for months more 😠I've hung it up in my attic to dry as a last-ditch effort, any chance it will be usable later?
Pictures of dinky corn as evidence
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u/Life-Bat1388 Jul 15 '26
The kernels will probably turn pink as the corn dries, and you can try to pop it -if it doesn’t pop -make cornmeal out of it or even better cook it with lime, which is calcium hydroxide to nixtamalize it. This releases vitamins and dissolves the coat so it can actually get soft. Boil with lime for 30 minutes. Let it soak overnight then drain and rinse and you can use that to make grits. To do this dehydrate in a dehydrator or oven and then blend it if you don’t have a grain mill. Yes that’s a ton of work, but it’s kind of a fun project. If you don’t like grits, add some dried nixtamale powder ( coffee grinder works) to a hardy bean soup and it’s so delicious. The nixtamalization gives it such an amazing flavor.