Field corn grain is dried and then treated by cooking the mature, hard grain in a diluted solution of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) or wood ash, and then letting it soak for many hours. The soaked maize is then rinsed thoroughly to remove the unpalatable flavor of the alkali. This process is nixtamalization, and it produces hominy, which is ground into a relatively dry dough to create fresh masa. The fresh masa can be sold or used directly, or can be dehydrated and blended into a powder to create masa harina, or masa flour.
Lime and ash are highly alkaline: the alkalinity helps the dissolution of hemicellulose, the major glue-like component of the maize cell walls, and loosens the hulls from the kernels and softens the corn. Some of the corn oil is broken down into emulsifying agents (monoglycerides and diglycerides), while bonding of the corn proteins to each other is also facilitated. The divalent calcium in lime acts as a cross-linking agent for protein and polysaccharide acidic side chains.[2]
The chemical changes in masa allow dough formation, and also allow the nutrient niacin to be absorbed by the digestive tract. By contrast, untreated cornmeal is unable to form a dough on the addition of water, and a diet heavily reliant on its consumption is a risk factor for pellagra.[3]
Other uses
The ground product can be called masa nixtamalera. In Central American and Mexican cuisine, masa nixtamalera is cooked with water and milk to make a thick, gruel-like beverage called atole. When made with chocolate and sugar, it becomes atole de chocolate. Adding anise and piloncillo to this mixture creates champurrado, a popular breakfast drink.
^Harold McGee (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York, New York (USA): Scribner. p. 478. ISBN978-0-684-80001-1. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
masa, other, uses, disambiguation, masa, maíz, english, ɑː, spanish, pronunciation, ˈmasa, maize, dough, that, comes, from, ground, nixtamalized, corn, used, making, corn, tortillas, gorditas, tamales, pupusas, many, other, latin, american, dishes, dried, powd. For other uses see Masa disambiguation Masa or masa de maiz English ˈ m ɑː s e Spanish pronunciation ˈmasa is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn It is used for making corn tortillas gorditas tamales pupusas and many other Latin American dishes It is dried and powdered into a flour form called masa harina Masa is reconstituted from masa harina by mixing with water before use in cooking 1 MasaMasa dough for tortillasTypeDoughAssociated cuisineMexicanMain ingredientsHominy Media MasaIn Spanish masa harina translates to dough flour which can refer to many other types of dough Contents 1 Preparation 2 Other uses 3 See also 4 ReferencesPreparation Edit The process of making masa from maize Field corn grain is dried and then treated by cooking the mature hard grain in a diluted solution of slaked lime calcium hydroxide or wood ash and then letting it soak for many hours The soaked maize is then rinsed thoroughly to remove the unpalatable flavor of the alkali This process is nixtamalization and it produces hominy which is ground into a relatively dry dough to create fresh masa The fresh masa can be sold or used directly or can be dehydrated and blended into a powder to create masa harina or masa flour Lime and ash are highly alkaline the alkalinity helps the dissolution of hemicellulose the major glue like component of the maize cell walls and loosens the hulls from the kernels and softens the corn Some of the corn oil is broken down into emulsifying agents monoglycerides and diglycerides while bonding of the corn proteins to each other is also facilitated The divalent calcium in lime acts as a cross linking agent for protein and polysaccharide acidic side chains 2 The chemical changes in masa allow dough formation and also allow the nutrient niacin to be absorbed by the digestive tract By contrast untreated cornmeal is unable to form a dough on the addition of water and a diet heavily reliant on its consumption is a risk factor for pellagra 3 Other uses EditThe ground product can be called masa nixtamalera In Central American and Mexican cuisine masa nixtamalera is cooked with water and milk to make a thick gruel like beverage called atole When made with chocolate and sugar it becomes atole de chocolate Adding anise and piloncillo to this mixture creates champurrado a popular breakfast drink See also EditMaize flourReferences Edit Kennedy Diana 1975 The Tortilla Book Harper and Row ISBN 9780060123475 Harold McGee 2004 On Food and Cooking The Science and Lore of the Kitchen New York New York USA Scribner p 478 ISBN 978 0 684 80001 1 Retrieved 23 January 2013 Food and Agriculture Organization 1992 Maize in human nutrition United Nations Retrieved 2007 01 12 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Masa amp oldid 1132244293, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
