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making nixtamal from garden corn
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 15:11:17 GMT, Sonof Ravenson
> wrote: >I let some ear's of corn (white kernal sweet corn) in my garden get >too starchy and dry. I've cut the ears from the stalks, removed the >husks and am now drying them on wire mesh in the sun. Don't know >whether it qualifies as the "field corn" generally associated with >making nixtamal for hominy and masa, but that's my plan for the >kernals once they're dry. Any reason why it won't work...? See: http://gourmetsleuth.com/masa.htm |
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making nixtamal from garden corn
"Frogleg" > wrote in message ... > On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 15:11:17 GMT, Sonof Ravenson > > wrote: > > >I let some ear's of corn (white kernal sweet corn) in my garden get > >too starchy and dry. I've cut the ears from the stalks, removed the > >husks and am now drying them on wire mesh in the sun. Don't know > >whether it qualifies as the "field corn" generally associated with > >making nixtamal for hominy and masa, but that's my plan for the > >kernals once they're dry. Any reason why it won't work...? Here's some additional information on making nixtamal: If you were truly to begin from scratch, you'd get some white corn grain and set it to low boil in a covered pot with some slaked lime or wood ashes. This process will loosen the "skins" (pericarp) of the kernels, and you'd find most of these skins floating at the top of the steep liquor next morning. Also, the alkaline solution has the side effect of making bound niacin in the corn endosperm soluble, and therefore available as a nutrient (this is important to folks who depend on corn as their staple source of nutrients; in Mexico annual per capita consumption of tortillas is about 410 lb., or as you can see, a little over 1 lb. per day, and in rural areas it is estimated that tortillas provide about 70% of the caloric intake). You would discard the supernate and the steep liquor itself; then wash the remaining "naked" kernels (consisting mostly of pure starch) and embryos ("germs," where most of the oil is concentrated). However, if you wanted to avoid this whole process and start from this point on, you could look for 'hominy' in your local grocery store, since this is precisely what hominy is. Next, you'd get hold of a grinding stone utensil (known in Mexico as 'metate,') and you'd begin slaving over the corn grain with a pestle and a jug of water by your side. In the course of grinding the grain you're homogenizing and gelatinizing the starch, protein and germ, and also somewhat dehydrating it; however, you must add water continuously to make the resulting mixture pliable. When you are done, you'll have a dough that you will work into small balls from which you'll shape your tortillas. |
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making nixtamal from garden corn
Hello,
A very large kernel corn (cacahuazintle) is normally used for making masa. You will need to go through the "slaking" process as one of the other readers explained (treat the corn with "cal"). Your yield will most likely be quite small. The process is a lot of work, even if you use your food processor for some of the grinding. It may not be worth the effort but if you try you should gain a good appreciation for the work people go through to make fresh masa by hand. Here is a link to a page that illustrates the process: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/masa.htm I'd love to hear back if you try it. Regards, Barbara GourmetSleuth.com http://www.gourmetsleuth.com The gourmet food and cooking resource "Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon..." "Frogleg" > wrote in message ... > On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 15:11:17 GMT, Sonof Ravenson > > wrote: > > >I let some ear's of corn (white kernal sweet corn) in my garden get > >too starchy and dry. I've cut the ears from the stalks, removed the > >husks and am now drying them on wire mesh in the sun. Don't know > >whether it qualifies as the "field corn" generally associated with > >making nixtamal for hominy and masa, but that's my plan for the > >kernals once they're dry. Any reason why it won't work...? > > See: > http://gourmetsleuth.com/masa.htm > |
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