[Sca-cooks] treating food with lye

[Terry Decker]

The lye softens the hulls and makes them easier to remove.

The germ, which contains most of the oils and sugars, is removed during 
processing rather than any action of the lye on the maize.\

Bear

> The lye evidently does have some effect.  I know that hominy/hominy grits
> differ from regular corn in that lye is involved in the processing of the
> corn.  I also know that the South Beach diet prohibits corn in most forms 
> as
> it contains a large amount of carbs in the form of sugar.  However, grits
> and hominy are permitted...I can only assume that it's something that the
> lye strips off of the corn.
>
> Kiri