What if I told you you could increase the nutrient content of corn to absorb calcium have more bioavailable niacin (B3), more iron etc. You can, here's the details.
Who doesn’t love corn? Its unique flavor profile, whether on the cob (sweet) or in polenta or cornmeal (dent/field) brings amazing tastes and nutrition to our palate and diet. I have learned that we can transform corn to be more bioavailable nutrition through a process called nixtamalization which changes dent corn into nixtamal. (See Are We Nutrient Starved? for more info on nutrition in food)
Have you been to a Mexican restaurant or taqueria with really great tortillas, robust with amazing scents and flavor? Another attribute is likely that the tortillas do not tear apart. You were probably eating nixtamal!
So what is this delicious food and how can you bring some into your home?
When I first learned of Nixtamal, I was a little skeptical so I dug in to find out more about the origins of this treatment of dent corn which included getting a well regarded Mexican cookbook from pre-internet era to confirm or deny the legitimacy of this practice.
Turns out in Mexico, much like Texas, wheat, which is high in B vitamins, does not grow well in those locations. Since corn is easy to grow and therefore highly available, it is consumed, as tortillas, tostadas, much like bread in other parts of the world. However, corn, unlike wheat, in its natural state, is lacking the B vitamins which caused nutritional deficiencies and health problems.
To remedy this deficiency, Aztecs were the first to use wood ash to change the bioavailability and content of nutrients in corn. Today we can use pickling lime or CAL (calcium lime), from the Mexican section of the grocery or Mexican market, to accomplish the same texture, flavor and nutritional change. B vitamins are made available through the removal of the pericarp (outer skin of corn) and calcium is added from the calcium lime in pickling lime or CAL.
This process is actually not difficult but does take some time, mostly sitting time. I do a large batch of this and then dehydrate it to be shelf stable, ready to mill into masa harina (dried masa). You can also do a small batch to process in a food processor and make up into tortillas immediately. Using it in its wet form it is called masa.
I will give a step-by-step of this process and offer link for more information on Nixtamalization. Here we go!
4.5 lbs Dent Corn (The Simply Filled Pantry carries this of course!)
5.5 quarts water
1/4C pickling lime or CAL
In a large 10 QT stainless steel pot, place 5-1/2 quarts of water plus 1% of the corn weight of pickling lime or CAL. For the quantity I am using that is ¼ C. Stir the mixture till the powder is disolved.
Weigh out 4.5 lbs of dent corn and rinse under water in a collander to remove any dirt and kernels that float to the top. Pour rinsed corn into the water mixture.
Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer 45-60 mins. till skins are falling off and when a kernel is bitten into, the texture is al dente and the center is white. Do not over cook or the masa will be tacky.
At that point, turn off the heat and set the whole pot aside for 12-16 hours, max 48. Just sitting out at room temp.
The next day, you strain and rinse. You will need two large bowls and a colander that fit in your sink for rinsing. If you live on septic, you will want to catch the rinse water. The nixtamal will be very gloppy and thick as the starches have been released in the process.
- Using a
colander, pour off about 1/4-1/3 of the nixtamal and rinse with
running water. Pour that portion into another bowl, cover with water
about an inch over the corn.
- Gently rub the corn between your hands to help remove more of the pericarp. Notice the corn has a slimy feel to it. Do this for a couple minutes then pour into the colander again, and rinse.
- Repeat this process till the water no longer becomes milky and the corn does not feel slimy (3-7X).
Then repeat the above steps using another 1/4-1/3 of the whole batch till all has been rinsed and rubbed.
RoseRed Homestead on YouTube is the best, quickest, teaching on this process!
Do you want to dive into nixtamal? Next is choosing to use as masa or dehydrate for shelf stable, millable, masa harina.