Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2011	Sep. 04, 2011 Common Stock	Sep. 04, 2011 Common stock, non-voting
Entity Registrant Name	HORMEL FOODS CORP /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000048465
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jul. 31, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-30
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		265,226,125	0
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3