Historical interpreter Rhonda Gauthier is preparing hominy as part of a public program at Los Adaes SHS and demonstrating one of the many labor-intensive food preparation methods used by the Spanish in the 18th century. The ash from oak has been added to a pot of boiling cornãthe lye in the wood ash causes the corn kernels to expand and thereby lose their outer skin. The resulting hominy must be washed at least seven times to remove the lye before being ground to a paste which will be made into tamales or tortillas. Photograph by George Avery.