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My first successful nixtamalisation — what changed

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I have been making tortillas from masa harina for three years. Four months ago I nixtamalised for the first time — cooking dried corn in a solution of water and calcium hydroxide (cal), soaking overnight, then rinsing and grinding to fresh masa. The difference from masa harina tortillas is not marginal. The flavour is richer. The smell is different — more fully corn, more complex. The texture of the fresh masa has a pliability that dried and reconstituted masa cannot replicate. You can feel the difference in your hands. The process itself is not difficult. It is slow. The overnight soak is the main time commitment. If you make tortillas regularly, nixtamalising once a week produces enough masa for several days and is not significantly more work than working from masa harina.

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fresh_masa_daily

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The smell is the first thing that converts people. The aroma of fresh nixtamalised corn being ground is unlike anything you encounter in a commercial kitchen. It is earthy and sweet and ancient in a way that is hard to describe to someone who has not smelled it. Once you have, you understand what masa harina is approximating.

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Anonymous

The pliability point is critical for tamales specifically. Fresh nixtamal masa spreads onto a corn husk completely differently from reconstituted masa harina — it holds its spread, it does not crack at the edges, and it has enough natural fat from the corn itself that you need less added fat in the masa for tamales. The result is a lighter tamale.

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