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An 1836 lithograph of tortilla production in rural Mexico Bowl of hominy (nixtamalized corn kernels). Nixtamalization (/ ˌ n ɪ ʃ t ə m ə l ɪ ˈ z eɪ ʃ ən / nish-tə-mə-lih-ZAY-shən) is a process for the preparation of maize, or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater (but sometimes aqueous alkali metal carbonates), [1] washed ...
To make hominy, field corn (maize) grain is dried, and then it is treated by soaking and cooking the mature (hard) grain in a dilute solution of lye (potassium hydroxide) (which can be produced from water and wood ash) or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide from limestone). The maize is then washed thoroughly to remove the bitter flavor of the lye ...
This kitchen tool can help you easily remove corn kernels. This kitchen tool can help you easily remove corn kernels. Skip to main content. Sign in. Mail. 24/7 Help. For premium support please ...
The dried grains are soaked and/or cooked in water with lime or wood ash, then rinsed thoroughly to remove the outer seed coat as well as any traces of the alkali salts (from the lime or ash)—this is an ancient process called nixtamalization. This creates a fresh, wet hominy, which can be dried for later use or ground into a flour called masa.
(The sweet and juicy corn kernels can even be eaten raw!) Once the water has returned to a boil, set your timer to four minutes. Once done, the kernels should be tender but still crunchy.
You want to shuck the corn and remove the husks first, however. The fresher the corn, the shorter amount of time you boil the corn because really fresh corn just needs a quick drop in boiling water.
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.
Weevils also are known to infest oats, rice, corn, corn meal, sorghum, and cereal, so you might want to apply the same practice you do to your flour as those items as well.