Making Masa with Nixtamalized Corn

Let's start the process that leads to dinner, ok, we'll skip over the growing phase...

Floriani Red Flint Corn is said to make the best polenta.  We're going to use it to make masa so we can try the nixtamalization process at home.

We start we clean corn seeds. After removing the seeds from the cobs, I use a fan to blow away the dust.  You could use a colander and rinse them for this process.

Floriani Red Flint Corn beginning the nixtamalization process...

 

Floriani Red Flint Corn after an overnight soak in pickling lime to improve the nutritional content of the corn. Traditionally, some people used an alkaline solution made with wood ashes. 

 

 

 

Floriani Red Flint Corn with its pericarps removed after soaking in pickling lime - homestead nixtamalization

 

 

Into the grinder they go! Grinding our nixtamalized Floriani Red Flint corn to make fresh masa dough for tonight's tortillas

 

Maybe next time we'll use a mortar and pesta that a colleague in Mexico helped me buy.

 

Wonderfully aromatic ground Floriani Red Flint Corn:

 

This is the first time we've used the wet auger in our Grainmaker No 99, it worked perfectly!

 

Freshly ground Floriani Red Flint Corn masa:

 

Very aromatic freshly ground Floriani Red Flint Corn:

 

Fresh Floriani Red Flint Corn masa dough awaiting pressing into tortillas:

 

 

We should add a page about using the tortilla maker and cooking them!