Nowadays not even ranchers or farmer communities prepare corn masa as it used to be the common practice for centuries in Mexico’s heartland. The use of ready-made corn masa is now more common, and they are widely used to make tortillas and other corn-based meals. However, and thinking of those of you who are far away from México, here we are presenting you with the recipe to prepare your own home-made corn masa, which you can then use to make tortillas and many other delicious authentic Mexican corn-based antojitos and meals. The process may be a bit time consuming, but you will agree with me that the unique flavor of tortillas and other antojitos made with fresh made corn masa is well worth the effort and time.
HOW TO MAKE CORN MASA, STEP BY STEP:
Ingredients:
2 Pounds of dried corn
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Lime
Filtered water enough to cover the corn
· Use clean corn seed, remove any chaff from the corn husk, rinse with tap water, and then remove any excess water using a plastic colander.
· Put the corn into a non-corrosive pot. Use 2 to three liters of water per each one kilo of corn. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried powered lime (Mexican cal) dissolved in 1/2 cup of filtered water.
CAL MEXICANA.- You can find “cal mexicana” (powdered lime) in most Latin or Hispanic grocery stores.
· Transfer all these ingredients into a clay pot (preferably) and let it boil for few minutes (15-20 minutes), stir slowly using a wooden kitchen spoon. Remove the pot from the stove, cover it with a lid and let it cool overnight.
· You know that the corn is ready if it easily peels off when you rub it with your fingers after 15 -20 minutes of cooking.
The next day, remove all the liquid (also known as “nejayote”), and rinse the corn two or three times rubbing off the loose skin, until the kernels are quite white and the water looks clean. Drain well.
· Now the corn is ready for the grinder. You can use the ancient “metate”, but we are going to describe the grinding process using a manual plate grinder. Start grinding the corn in small batches twice or three times until it has a fine texture. Add enough water and mix until it forms a dough.
(This manual plate grinder could be replaced with a food processor, however, the texture cannot be duplicated.)
MELY, Muy bien explicado el proceso, yo evito la fatiga =) Claro si estuviera lejos de MEXICO, me canso que la haría como tú. Mi admiración y felicitaciones por tu dedicación a la cocina mexicana, para que no se olviden nuestras raíces!
ReplyDeleteGracias Nora,
ReplyDeleteEs un trabajo laborioso pero vale la pena.
Un abrazo,
Great post, and with my limited Spanish I think I agree with Mely!
ReplyDeleteMely, que belleza de blog! Que hermosas fotos tomas de cada paso del proceso, en verdad que me da orgullo ver tus recetas. Fijate que yo tambien preparo basante comidita mexicana, pero nunca habia visto yo como hacer chorizo o harina de maiz!...osea que mazeca no es la unica opcion...=)
ReplyDeleteEstando aca en los EU quiero que mis hijos aprendan a disfrutar de nuestra deliciosa comida mexicana. Sere una visitante asidua.
Voy a agregarte a mi lista de blogs. Gracias por compartir el tuyo conmigo.
Gracias Silvia por tu visita.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what I am trying to do with my son, to teach him the traditions and the foods of our country. And maybe some day he will do the same with his children.
Hello Holly,
ReplyDeleteThanks for you visit, I hope that with this blog the non spanish speeking cooks can enjoy some mexican food at home.
Mely,
ReplyDeletePuedo preguntar en donde puedo encontrar el plate grinder aqui en los EU? Me encanta cocinar y tambien quiero que mis niñas aprenden de la comida Mexicana
Hola Karina,
ReplyDeleteLa opcion mas economica de comprar el molino de maiz, corn mill, or grinder es en las tiendas latinas ya que ellos tienen los precios mas economicos,los precios andan en los $ 30.00, despues de ellos Amazon.com lo tienen tambien, mexgrocer.com lo vende al doble que cualquier otro. Yo trate de hacer la masa primero con el procesador de alimentos y despues con el molino de la Kitchen Aid y no salio bien. El mejor resultado es con el molino.
Gracias por visitar y que gusto que estes enseñando a tus hijas.
Estoy a tus ordenes para cualquier otra duda.
Feliz Dia!
Gracias Mely!
ReplyDeleteLo voy a buscar y en cuanto lo encuentro hago tortillas y le digo como me salen! Como soy de los EU y mi esposo de Mexico quiero aprender cocinar mas comida Mexicana para que sea orgulloso de mi. Gracias por TODO su ayuda!
Hi Karina,
ReplyDeleteI hope you find it. Have a great day!
Mely,
ReplyDeleteI have have a question I have been following the same process to make tortillas but I find after I mill the corn I have to add water and its not as soft but rather a firm dough. Can your describe the milling process for me? LOVE your blog!
-Cesar
asanisimasa72000@yahoo.com
Hello Cesar,
ReplyDeleteYou will need to add water as needed while grinding the corn. I usually grind the corn twice to get a softer and manageable dough. You will need to add water little by little to obtain the results that you are looking for. I do wish to have a "Metate" like my grandma did in her time to get a smoother dough. Pressing the dough in a "Metate" was the last step in the process before making the tortillas.
Thanks for your nice comment and hope you come back soon.
Mely,
ReplyDeleteHow coarse is yor nixtamal after you grind it the first time? I too was looking for a giant metate but once I found out how much they were I decided to try and perfect my masa with my corn grinder. Sorry I'm asking so many questions, I have been looking for someone to talk to about this for a LONG time!
The first grinding is what you can see in the last picture and the picture that you see at the top is after the second grinding. I hope you could appreciate the texture in the photos.
ReplyDeleteIn another note, I used to put the dough in the freezer but now I just used my Foodsaver to vacuum seal it in small bags and store them in the bottom drawer of my fridge and it doesn't get spoil. It does get a little hard but with some water added is ready to cook.
Also be sure to use the right corn, some online stores sell corn commonly used for pozole as corn for grinding and with that corn you will not get a dough for tortillas. It will only be good for tamales or zacahuil. The corn used for tortilla making is the dented one.
If you have further questions please let me know, I will be glad to help you.
MELY!!
ReplyDeleteMy masa came out wonderfully! Thank you so much for your advice. Although I do have one more question where do you buy your maiz? The only kind I can find here (the bay area) is yellow corn which works well but I would love to find white corn.
Thank you again,
-Cesar
Hello Cesar!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad your masa came out great.
I get my corn from the San Jose Area, someone that lives close by buy it for me at the local Hispanic stores and ship it to me. It is sold in 5 lbs. bags. I hope you have good luck finding it.
Mely
Hello! I went on line to find the manual plate grinder that you mentioned.. but didn't see anything that looked like your setup. Could you please give a brand name or a place for me to look for this product? What else do you use this grinder for?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what a profile is for.. I am hoping for an answer.. but there is not a place for me to send you a message with my e-mail address. I will just come back and check from time to time!!
Thanks!
Gaye
Hello Gaye
ReplyDeleteThe Corn Grinder sometime could be found at the Hispanic grocery stores and also online. The brand of my corn grinder is called "Estrella" but you can also find the brand "Corona".
I will send you and email with a link to a place where you could buy it online for 40 dlls.
Regards,
Mely
Then, after I make and grind the fresh masa, do I just work that into a dough ball and proceed the same as with store bought masa?
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled to have found your blog! Thanks for commenting over at mine!!
ReplyDeleteI love this! But I have a question-do you use this fresh masa right away to make tortillas? Duh right? Or do you have to dry the masa? I am just so used to using dried masa, but I love this idea! I could make big bathes of fresh tortillas and use them right away. AND I bet it would be easier and cheaper to buy non-GMO corn in bulk rather than non-GMO prepared masa, which is really tough.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteYou can use it right away. That is when it taste the best. But I make a large batch almost every 2 weeks and just after grinding pack in my foodsaver or ziploc bags and place in the fridge. One thing I do now is to grind the corn without adding water. Water seems to spoil the masa faster. I add the water right after making the tortillas.
Mely
And here is just what I need to do it! Yolanda
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent - thanks for posting. Is there any way or quantity to use fresh line juice vs the powdered? Any experience with using blue corn for these?
Thanks!
Scott
Hi
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent - thanks for posting. Is there any way or quantity to use fresh line juice vs the powdered? Any experience with using blue corn for these?
Thanks!
Scott
Hello Scott,
DeleteThe lime used in this process is calcium hydroxide also know as picklIng lime and it is very different to limes. You can find it in the canning supply section of your supermarket.
Thank you for visiting.
Mely
How much tortilla do you typically get from this recipe? I have a family of four, trying to avoid wasting food.
ReplyDeleteHello Jaden,
DeleteI wish I could answer your question, but I usually store the masa in small bags in the freezer and use it as needed for different dishes like sopes, tortillas, or other Mexican antojitos. The exact amount of tortillas this will render depends on the size and thickness you want to make them.
You can also store the tortillas in freezer.
Mely
Thank you for this recipe! My corn looked like yours, but yellow. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the masa because I have so much!
ReplyDeleteHello Julie,
ReplyDeleteIf you are not using all the masa, then freeze it. Store in small freezer bags with about 1 pound each. The masa keeps well for months stored that way. When you are ready to use it, defrost the masa overnight and place it in a bowl. It will look grainy and crumbly. Place it in your microwave for about 45 seconds to a minute until soft and slightly warm. Add a few teaspoons of warm water and knead the dough until it is back to a nice workable texture.
Please do not hesitate to write me if you have any questions about it. There are several recipes here in the blog using masa is you need more ideas to use it.
Happy cooking.
Mely
Wow. I bet this tastes like nothing on earth! :-) I would make a LOT of it at a time and freeze or otherwise somehow preserve it, even if I made it all into chips!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me realize that there was a time, not so long ago, when the ONLY way to get masa was this way!
Thanks for showing us how to do this.
Do I have to use lime?
ReplyDeleteHello Javier,
DeleteYes, you need to use it. Powdered lime also known as calcium hydroxide. Is you check the pictures above the one with a small plastic bag that has a white powder is the lime. You can find it in some Walmart stores in the canning section. (Where they sell the glass jars and pectic to make jam and jelly.)