This is masa. It’s the dough used to make corn tortillas and tamales.
The Spanish word for “dough,” masa is the traditional dough used to make corn TORTILLAS. It’s made with sun- or fire-dried corn kernels that have been cooked in limewater (water mixed with calcium oxide). After having been cooked, then soaked in the limewater overnight, the wet corn is ground into masa. Masa harina (literally “dough flour”) is flour made from dried masa. Source
I didn’t make this masa. My friend Victoria (our LA WAPF chapter leader) did — and she dropped some off for us to try.
Lucky us! We are having homemade tortillas tonight. Along with organic black beans with raw cheese melted on top, soaked brown rice (I would have cooked in stock but I ran out), and grass-fed taco meat (from US Wellness Meats). Along with some guacamole, creme fraiche (for sour cream) and homemade lacto-fermented salsa.
From what I have heard, masa harina just doesn’t come close — better than storebought but not in the same league as homemade masa.
The other problem with most storebought masa harina (like Masceca) is that it is most likely (a) rancid (b) not properly soaked and/or (c) made with genetically modified corn.
And storebought corn tortillas don’t taste anything at all like the real thing. Kinda like Wonder Bread compared to a real French baguette.
I’m going to be trying my hand at making masa very soon — I got my organic field corn and pickling lime. I will post photos and recipes.
Hi! I LOVE Your blog! I thought you might like to know there are some very interesting nutritional reason for masa, ie when corn was brought back to the old world, but not the process to make masa (Nixtamalization), people that mainly ate corn were niacin deficient. More info here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization
Oh yes I know! That’s one of the reasons I want to make it myself.
Also because much of the corn on the market is genetically modified. I think the Maseca brand masa harina also probably comes from GM corn.