I have seen a lot of fresh limes in the stores lately. They should not
be hard to find now.
Gram

Alexander Gross wrote:

> In a few days i will be attempting my first pozole. i asked for Nixtamal at
> a Latino grocery in NYC & was shown 1 pound bags of dry large corn kernels.
> i bought two & since the one recipe i had was rather skimpy on details, i
> looked up other recipes on the web. one of them reads as follows in
> Spanish:
>
> Se prepara el nixtamal con maíz ancho blanco o de color que son los menos
> duros y
> revientan mejor; es aconsejable remojar el maíz un día o dos antes de
> prepararlo, cambiando el agua a diario. Al cocerlo se le agrega cal
> desbaratada y se deja hervir tapado hasta que espese; se enfría y se
> enjuaga bien restregando para quitarle el hollejo y descabezar los granos.
>
> Which i translate as something like:
>
> Nixtamal is prepared with broad white or colored corn that is the least hard
> and explodes better; it is advisable to soak the corn one or two days before
> preparing it, changing the water daily. While cooking it, crushed lime is
> added and it should be left to boil covered until it (the lime?) is used up;
> refrigerate & place it in water while scrubbing it well to get rid of the
> hulls & remove the head from the grain.
>
> It then goes on to say that after that it needs to be boiled for four hours.
>
> Have i got this more or less right so far? It doesn't quite make sense. In
> other words, two cookings, one to get rid of the lime, then cool & soak &
> dehull, and then cook again??
>
> But my main question is, where do i get the lime, specified as three
> tablespoons full (per pound?) ? ? ?
>
> Also, my wife adds, isn't lime a poison?
>
> Any light you can shed would be appreciated.
>
> very best to all!
>
> alex
>
>
>