Making Corn Meal

super 55 · Aug 8, 2015

I always buy cornmeal at Lynden Washington tractor show that is ground using a belt drive. I thought it would be fun to set up my Super 55 with a grinder, but I have no experience with grinders. A friend of mine has a grinder he rebuilt just to keep it from going for scrap. It says McCormick on the hopper. It has metal discs, not stone. Does anyone know if this mill could make corn meal?

Bob Bancroft · Aug 8, 2015

For animal, or human consumption? I imagine that's an attrition mill. The material keeps grinding around and around in there until it gets small enough to come out.
We have a hammer mill we used to grind feed for pigs and chicken. We tried using it for the wife's flour. One issue was the flakes of rust, which made for grit in the bread, which I hated. Another was we couldn't get corn meal fine enough to work in her cooking.
We got a little, electric counter top grinder, and that solved both issues.

super 55 · Aug 8, 2015

It's for human consumption. I wanted a project I could use my belt drive on my Oliver Super 55 and demonstrate at shows.

60 acre hillside · Aug 8, 2015

The modern varieties of hybrid corn is not suitable as it is too hard. There are some old varieties that perhaps the Amish have that is soft, Neighbors cot some Hickory King seed from the Amish and they have a community hominy making. Hickory King was my dad's choice corn as it was suitable for everything, Sweet corn varieties they had back then did not produce well.

old · Aug 8, 2015

You need to grist mill I have out back. That is what it is made for and could be put back in service if one wanted to take the time to do so. I do not have enough corn to make it worth my time to fix it back up

Billy NY · Aug 8, 2015

That would be great for dried sweet corn, I've done it by hand, sure makes a nice meal that you can use. I'd enjoy doing some of that myself, as I would think you could make some nice corn bread or similar. I have enough ground to grow quite a bit of sweetcorn, but its not the easiest crop between soils, weather, critters, insects like earworms (which I have not seen here yet) but with some work its still possible to get a decent yield from what I saw in growing a nice size patch 2 years in a row, skipped this year.

super 55 · Aug 8, 2015

Old, can you tell me more about the grist mill. How does it differ from the mill I have pictured? What kind of grinder disc does a grist mill have? I would love to find the correct mill. By the way, what do you think the mill I have pictured is worth. My friend has no idea what its worth.

old · Aug 8, 2015

Can not tell you much if any thing about that grinder you have pictured. The grist mill I have is PTO drive and has metal grinding plates in it and is made to grind corn meal etc but will do so in lager bulk way as in it is made to fill bags of corn meal like what they had back in the day

super 55 · Aug 8, 2015

(quoted from post at 15:37:25 08/08/15) Can not tell you much if any thing about that grinder you have pictured. The grist mill I have is PTO drive and has metal grinding plates in it and is made to grind corn meal etc but will do so in lager bulk way as in it is made to fill bags of corn meal like what they had back in the day

Thanks,it's good to know metal grinding plates would work. The one I saw at the Lynden, Washington show looks to be an industrial size and is white, like a lot of the equipment you see around food handling machinery.

keh · Aug 8, 2015

Some open pollinated varieties make excellent corn meal. Good project to grow some your self. If you are going to use it yourself it does not take much area, a couple or three rows 100 feet long will be enough unless you have a large family. I think the group is called Seed Savers Exchange in Northeast IA that has a lot of heirloom seeds. I got some green corn, forget the name, from them which makes tasty meal. I also got Bloody Butcher corn there which is a red grained corn which is also good. Another good old variety is Hastings Prolific which used to come in white or yellow seed. The old time bootleggers said the white hastings made the best booze. I have had for many years a hand grinder. The procedure is to grind the corn, sift out the bigger pieces and the husks, then tighten the grinder and regrind the finer pieces, which is the majority of the corn. We use the larger pieces for grits, first floating the husks off. I pick the corn by hand and shell it with an old hand sheller. I have another variety called pencil cob corn which is easy to shell by hand. I've crossed it with yellow Hastings and it makes nice yellow corn meal. Some people will get a mill, power it with a hit and miss engine, mount the outfit on a trailer and go to fairs, etc, run the mill, bag it in small bags, and sell it at the fair.

KEH

Billy NY · Aug 8, 2015

Thanks for taking the time to post that, its really interesting as I was able to dry down some sweet corn, just the kernels are tasty, but a little hard, best not to chance ones teeth. I grew a 50x75 or so patch, then expanded that and I have another old garden with really nice soil thats been in sod since '04 now, neighbors I turned back to lawn, I can plant it if I want, but did not this year, did not want to get in over my head, but next season I may try to plant it again, nice sunny flat area with really deep top soil.

old · Aug 8, 2015

This grist mil is probably from back in the 40s or early 50s. Bet it would do a ton of corn in just a few hours. I will never use it but it will also never end up as scrap as long as I have it unless things get super bad

Lou from Wi. · Aug 8, 2015

I made fresh cornmeal using a old blender and a sieve. Sure has good taste and the grinder isn't hurt. We just grind as we need, that way it doesnt go moldy and stale.
LOU

Frank41 · Aug 8, 2015

If you get something going, save your mature sweet corn and grind that for corn bread.

super 55 · Aug 8, 2015

(quoted from post at 16:31:48 08/08/15)
Some open pollinated varieties make excellent corn meal. Good project to grow some your self. If you are going to use it yourself it does not take much area, a couple or three rows 100 feet long will be enough unless you have a large family. I think the group is called Seed Savers Exchange in Northeast IA that has a lot of heirloom seeds. I got some green corn, forget the name, from them which makes tasty meal. I also got Bloody Butcher corn there which is a red grained corn which is also good. Another good old variety is Hastings Prolific which used to come in white or yellow seed. The old time bootleggers said the white hastings made the best booze. I have had for many years a hand grinder. The procedure is to grind the corn, sift out the bigger pieces and the husks, then tighten the grinder and regrind the finer pieces, which is the majority of the corn. We use the larger pieces for grits, first floating the husks off. I pick the corn by hand and shell it with an old hand sheller. I have another variety called pencil cob corn which is easy to shell by hand. I've crossed it with yellow Hastings and it makes nice yellow corn meal. Some people will get a mill, power it with a hit and miss engine, mount the outfit on a trailer and go to fairs, etc, run the mill, bag it in small bags, and sell it at the fair.

KEH

I would like to put my Super 55 on my 1948 Chevy 2 ton with the mill take it to shows and the farmers market, that's if I can get a small mill that can make the cornmeal. I wasn't planning on growing the corn though, I just like to work with old iron. I would buy the whole kernels. There is a supplier in Sedro Wolley, Washington that the folks at the Lynden Washington show use. There may be a local BC supplier in Chilliwack that will probably have access to the corn for milling too. It makes great cornbread and waffles. You have to keep it in the freezer once you get the cornmeal home or it will spoil.

dustycoal · Aug 9, 2015

I believe a grist mill is stones and a burr mill has the steel plates. Both do a great job grinding. Burr mills are newer than Grist mills and a lot lighter to move around than the grist mills are.

old · Aug 9, 2015

Don't know other then what I was told it was when I got it. It is not at all heavy and with good tires on it a guy can more it by him self but yes easier if you hook it to a tractor LOL

Making Corn Meal

super 55

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Bob Bancroft

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super 55

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60 acre hillside

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old

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Billy NY

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super 55

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old

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super 55

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keh

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Billy NY

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old

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Lou from Wi.

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Frank41

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super 55

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dustycoal

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old

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