Is dent corn the best for grinding into cornmeal?

[chitchat]

Or is just regular corn the best?

Thanks for your help!

[miztrniceguy]

i guess if it's already dented, might as well grind it up!

[Jbs2763]

they use dent corn for everything else that is a byproduct...don't see why not

[blake0808]

I have always bought dent corn to grind for cornmeal and such, but I have now heard from several people that say you should buy the popcorn to grind.

I really never thought of it, but people say it is cheaper and comes out to a better ground product than dent corn.

So, that is my two cents:D

[minuet]

I use popcorn, and just canned 24 cans of popcorn! I grind it in my wheat grinder to use in making cornbread, not even thinking that I should use dent corn. However, I just ordered 50 lbs. of dent corn, and am anxious to grind it and make into cornbread and see the difference.

I sometimes use whole wheat and popcorn in making the cornbread and my kids don't even notice a difference!

[chitchat]

Where do you get "popcorn" for grinding like this? I mean, in bulk?

[minuet]

I ordered the popcorn in 50 lb. bags from Walton Feed out of Idaho. But you could use the 2 lb. bags from the grocery store. I got about 8+ gallons of popcorn from each 50 lb. bag, and I ordered 3.

[blake0808]

I just looked on Honeyville's site and their yellow popcorn is more than Walton's but their shipping is really cheap and they have blue and white popcorn. I may have to try those. It would be fun to have blue cornbread:) - seriously though, you can make great tortillas and try chip making with the blue, but they say it doesn't do really well with the bread.

I may still try it^_^

[Jbs2763]

my nieghbor plants 1500 acres of popcorn

[Yukon_Mike]

Just a side note.

I own and recommend a "Family Grain Mill" and it mills just about everything very well EXCEPT POPCORN... The manufacturer does not recommend popcorn milling.

So you may want to verify your mill can mill it before you buy popcorn grain and save yourself the money and maybe your mill.

[chitchat]

Good tips, all. Thanks to each of you.

I found a local mill that grinds corn and wheat. They'll sell me a 50# bag for $10. Amazing! I feel so blessed. You may want to check your region.

The corn is white dent, so it's not my favorite since I prefer yellow, but corn is corn!

[blake0808]

I also have the Family Grain Mill, along with a few more of their products. I also like to mill corn, so I got a relatively inexpensive hand mill to "crack" the popcorn before milling. This seems to be a good alternative. It is best to have a hand grinder anyway, in case of power outage. We do have a generator, but I still like the idea of being able to grind without the electricity:)

[at2wooden]

I'd like to make tortillas from scratch and have never heard of blue corn (except to see it online) I understood corn needed to soaked in pickling lime (calcium hydroxide) before you could use it for tortillas.

Can anyone shead some light on this for me?

answering my own question.....

"Blue corn is a floury corn, and has about 30 percent more protein than the average hybrid corn. It is still widely used in the Southwest and Mexico, where it is a staple food. It can be used to make tortillas, chaquegue, a type of gruel, and nixtamal, which is a type of hominy. Blue corn was also reputed to have healing properties when offered as a beverage.

Nixtamal is made of blue corn kernels that have had their hulls removed in a lime water. The result may be cooked into hominy or ground into masa flour, suitable for tamale dough and many other uses in that cuisine."

Off to buy some blue corn.

Edited November 22, 2009 by at2wooden

[lds2]

Popcorn is a nutritious grain...who knew right?

Popcorn is rich in fiber, potassium, vitamins B1 and B2, and energy-providing carbohydrates, and yet it contains no artificial additives or preservatives while being low in calories.

Popcorn: More Than Just a Delicious Nutritious Snack - Popcorn Recipes, Popcorn History

I have made corn meal out of popcorn and it was good, but I have heard it can be tough on grinders as it is smaller and perhaps harder than dent corn although I have talked to people that say they have never had a problem with it. They like to make corn meal like this when they are displaying electric grinders. Honeyville (store not online) has sold dent corn at times for a cheaper price than popcorn at Sam's.

Popcorn has been REALLY CHEAP at Sam's Club for years (around $16-17) for 50 lbs and it pops up just as good as Orville's gourmet, my husband has a big bowl of it almost every night and when he says we don't use our food storage enough I point to the popcorn can.

Popcorn is one of the only grains most people know how to take it from grain to a finished yummy snack! Be sure to have plenty of salt as it is essential for survival and really "makes" popcorn. Some people pop and/or "butter" there's with virgin coconut oil which is actually supposed to be healthy for some people.

[arwenmark]

Popcorn makes the best cornmeal, the regular corn is better to make corn flour. I use a Marathon Unimill with the stones and it is actually recommeded to use popcorn to clean the stones. But popcorn makes a corn meal much like the Quaker Corn Meal you buy in the store.