Tortilla Recipe from Nixtamal

[@Julia-lk8jn]

I feel like I can't have enough respect for the women who fed their families through the centuries by doing all this with a few pots and a metate day after day. I love working my way through the nixtamalization and the grinding and all, but at the same time: man can I understand that people just buy a couple of tortillas instead of either putting in half an upper body workout or spending a few thousand on a steel mill plus a tortilla press plus a high-quality kitchen machine.

[@Masienda]

So true!

[@cubanmama4564]

Great video! I think that now I'm ready to try nixtamal.

[@Masienda]

Excited for you! Feel free to share your masa journey with us on Instagram and Tiktok at @masienda!

[@ThePotThickens]

Have you considered offering a traditional metate on your store? I use one to grind my masa fine after running it through a metal Victoria grinder. There is something therapeutic about grinding corn with a metate. Anyway, I had a very hard time sourcing one here in the northern US. I eventually found a guy in Mexico City selling them on Etsy. But it took a long time to find a source.

[@Masienda]

Color us impressed!

[@cachi-7878]

Jorge, nice video! Question- Why wouldn’t you use more water during the grinding, as opposed to adding water later in the stand mixer? Thank you.

[@Masienda]

Thank you! You can certainly use a touch more water during the grinding, but it's also about finding a balance between nixtamal/water. If you add too much water during grinding your masa will end up being too wet/sticky. For the purpose of this demo video and introduction for those who are new to grinding their own masa, we prefer to err on the side of caution. Of course if you were to add too much water during the grinding, you would certainly be able to incorporate some masa harina during the mixing process as well to help absorb some of the excess water (a trick many tortillerias use today). It's really up to the moliner@'s preference, and one of the reasons we value the kernel-to-masa process as each person is in control of their desired final masa texture.

[@cachi-7878]

@@Masienda thank you!

[@sashadieken1]

is there a substitute for the $2,000 molinito? Surely not everyone who makes homemade tortillas has one of these.

[@Masienda]

Here is a video about how to make tortillas with a food processor: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5PCnn-anJ1lrrM. we also sell a hand mill which works well: masienda.com/products/masa-hand-mill?variant=42210751021205. and then of course there is just masa harina which requires no grinder: masienda.com/collections/masa-harina. Thanks for tuning in!

[@sashadieken1]

@@Masienda Thank you so much!!

[@abrammatthew756]

Where can I get that skimmer spoon?

[@Masienda]

Hi there! Amazon has some great ones: www.amazon.com/TEMCHY-Hot-Pot-Skimmer-Spoon/dp/B06XP8LPCL/ref=lp_13840321_1_9?pf_rd_p=53d84f87-8073-4df1-9740-1bf3fa798149&pf_rd_r=3D0Z7WDTV6DNHSCR7YEA&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&th=1

[@abrammatthew756]

Thx!!!

[@mdfaizulkarim443]

Is there any organic replacement of Calcium Hydroxide.? Does lemon juice work ?

[@Masienda]

Hello! Lemon juice will not have the same affect as calcium hydroxide, but hardwood ash would. Check out our how-to video with Sean Sherman of Owamni Restaurant for Wood Ash Nixtamal. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5qwiH98fpKsmpI

[@goyatea]

Your tortilla remains flat but it should become puffy during cooking. Right?

[@Masienda]

Hi there! Thanks for your question. Your tortilla should puff up while cooking. If it stays flat, it might be too dry or your comal isn't hot enough. That puff means steam is building up inside, which is what you want! If yours aren’t puffing, maybe add a bit more water to your dough or crank up the heat on your comal.

[@ashleylipa2244]

Wait wait at 1:51 I see him with his hand stirring the alkali solution without a glove, isn’t this supposed to have a ph of 12? Wouldn’t you want to use a glove?

[@ashleylipa2244]

Also, can ornamental corn be used for this? How can you tell between all the different corns? 😵‍💫 i have red and blue and green but I can’t tell if it’s the right corn (I know not sweet corn at least)

[@Masienda]

Hi Ashley! Limewater is considered a medium-strength base that can degrade certain metals like aluminum. As a result we recommend using nonreactive cookware such as stainless steel. If you get any limewater on your skin you'll just want to make sure to rinse the area and your hands thoroughly, which was done off camera.

[@Masienda]

Ornamental corn is not commonly consumed, although some varieties are edible. If you're unsure if your ornamental corn is fit for human consumption, then we would advise against cooking with it. We offer small 2.2lb bags of heirloom corn online at masienda.com that are all edible and produce great masa!

[@Julia-lk8jn]

Fun thing: if you stick your hand into a strongly alkaline solution, what you notice first is: - any tiny wound in your skin suddenly stings like a female dog. (The same would happen with an acidic solution.) - your skin could start feeling a bit soapy. That's because the alkaline solution just sopanified any oil or fat on/in your outer skin. Good idea to wash your hands and use some lotion on the skin, because those oils are there for a reason. The biggest danger of a ph12 solution on your hand would be that you touch your mouth (bad, but could be worse) or your eyes (worse), because your mucus membranes aren't protected the way your outside skin is, and your eyes are _very_ vulnerable. Moral of the story: Our skin does a bang-up job at protecting us, and as with a lot of crucial work, we mostly notice it when it doesn't anymore.

[@boritaladedonlico4522]

😋😋😛😛❤