Question about Masa

[AllenOK]

In the past 18 months, I've been working with masa at the country club.

I always seem to pick up on a "soapy" flavor whenever I "qual-check" (taste) the finished product. It's not overpowering, more like an aftertaste that I pick up on.

I just thought about an explanation the other day. Could the corn used to make the masa be treated with lye? Would that explain a "soapy" flavor?

[PanchoHambre]

Hominy is treated with Lye... so maybe that's a good thought

How does Masa differ from Conrnmeal from Grits anyway... I always get confused on this

[smoke king]

A company I worked for years ago had a tortilla factory as an account, and we delivered a form of lye-the name escapes me at the moment-on a weekly basis.

[joec]

There is also a type of method used to cure what they call masa harina, it is a field corn that is dried and then treated in a solution of lime or ash and water. This might leave that taste though I've never had it to my knowledge. I've had other kinds of corn meals but never noticed and after taste.

[BamsBBQ]

Hominy is treated with Lye... so maybe that's a good thought

How does Masa differ from Conrnmeal from Grits anyway... I always get confused on this

Traditionally the corn for grits is ground by a stone mill. The results are passed through screens, with the finer part being cornmeal, and the coarser being grits.

[Calicolady]

Well kiss mine or keep 'em. I hate grits, but love cornbread, muffins/fritters.
I wondered the difference, myself.
Thanks for the explanation, Bams.

[PanchoHambre]

Thanks BAM...

For the record I have never eaten a single grit... nothing against them just never id don't see them up here much

I have eaten plenty of Polenta though.

are Masa and Masa Harina the same thing?

I always thought Masa was just cornmeal

[BamsBBQ]

Thanks BAM...

For the record I have never eaten a single grit... nothing against them just never id don't see them up here much

I have eaten plenty of Polenta though.

are Masa and Masa Harina the same thing?

I always thought Masa was just cornmeal

polenta is just boiled cornmeal


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masa

Masa is Spanish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language) for dough (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dough), but in Mexico (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico) it sometimes refers to cornmeal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornmeal) dough (masa de maíz in Spanish). It is used for making tortillas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortilla), tamales (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamale), pupusas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa), arepas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arepas) and many other Latin American dishes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_cuisine). The dried and powdered form is called masa de harina or maseca; it is reconstituted with water.
Masa trigo is Spanish for wheat flour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_flour) dough. It is also used for making tortillas and other breads and pastries.
Masa nixtamalera is nixtamalized (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization) maize (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize) dough. It is nutritionally superior to cornmeal dough because the limewater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limewater) adds calcium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium) to the dough and makes the niacin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin) in the cornmeal nutritionally available. [1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masa#cite_note-0) In Central American (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_American) and Mexican cuisine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_cuisine), masa nixtamalera is cooked with water and milk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk) to make a thick, gruel-like beverage called atole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atole). When made with chocolate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate) and sugar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar), it becomes atole de chocolate. Adding anise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anise) and piloncillo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piloncillo) to this mix creates Champurrado (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champurrado), a popular breakfast drink.

masa harina is flour


To make masa harina, field corn (or maize) is dried and then treated in a solution of lime or ash and water, also called slaked lime. This loosens the hulls from the kernels and softens the corn. In addition, the lime reacts with the corn so that the nutrient niacin can be assimilated by the digestive tract. The soaked maize is then washed, and the wet corn is ground into a dough, called masa. It is this fresh masa, when dried and powdered, that becomes masa harina. (Add water once again to make dough for tortillas or tamales.)
Fresh masa is available in Mexican markets, refrigerated and sold by the kilo. But masa harina is a fine substitute. Availability and your personal taste determine whether you start with fresh or dried masa.
Do not substitute corn meal or regular corn flour, however; they're produced from different types of corn and are processed differently. They will not produce the same results. Regular wheat flour also cannot be substituted.

[MexicoKaren]

You must have very well-tuned taste buds, Allen. I've never detected the taste of lye in masa.

[AllenOK]

MexicoKaren! You made it! I was thinking of you when I made this post!

Working in a kitchen, yes, you do have to have a great sense of taste. Also smell. Which is funny, because the sense of smell if probably 95% of the sense of taste, but my sense of smell ain't that great.

I've always assumed that my sense of taste is really off, for me to be picking up on a "soapy" taste in masa. But, one of my co-workers also picked up on it. I'll ask one of the Mexican cooks we have about lye being used to treat the corn, but, thanks to Bam, it looks like mystery solved!

[MexicoKaren]

Yes, there's definitely some form of lye used to treat the corn before grinding. What sorts of things have you been making with masa? Tortillas? Sopes? Tamales?