Asian cooks like to add them to stir-fried dishes, and they often show up in salad bars. It's hard to find them fresh, but many markets sell them in cans or jars. These are hulled corn kernels that have been stripped of their bran and germ. Southern cooks usually boil whole or ground hominy until it's tender, and then they serve it in much the same way that Northern cooks would serve potatoes. Varieties include lye hominy , which is made by soaking corn kernels in a weak lye bath, and pearl hominy , which is made by crushing corn kernels mechanically.
White hominy is made from white corn kernels, and the sweeter yellow hominy is made from yellow.
Samp is coarsely ground or broken hominy, while hominy grits are more finely ground. You can buy hominy canned or dried. This Southern staple is made from hominy or plain corn that's been ground until it has the consistency of coarse sand. It's used as a side dish, a breakfast cereal, or as an ingredient in baked goods. Varieties include quick-cooking grits and instant grits.