Advice please: First time making tamales. Masa didn’t float; tried adding more air, more lard, but still sunk. Tastes good though. Does it need to float?
by mostlybacteriamostly
Mexican Food
Advice please: First time making tamales. Masa didn’t float; tried adding more air, more lard, but still sunk. Tastes good though. Does it need to float?
by mostlybacteriamostly
24 Comments
I have never done this. just make the tamales taste good to you, grow more competent, try a more complex recipe, eat, repeat
I wouldn’t worry tbh, I never make the test and it depends a lot on the type of tamales you’re making. Some are dense, some are really fluffy
I had been making tamales 🫔 for a long time 30 years and never hear of this
I’ve been making tamales with my mom and grandmother for over 25 years and while we’ve tried the float test, our masa never floated either. But our tamales always came out very delicious!
I’ve never did anything like that either. So long as you enjoy them and they are made to your tastes there is no rules really it’s a labor of love so if you live it then Great
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Make small batches of masa!!!! Keep trying.
Sorry for the audio guys, it’s a bit jarring. We might’ve had a few drinks in us.
It’ll float in my stomach. This is also my answer when asked if I want it warmed up.
What type of masa did you use?
Your masa is too dense and, believe it or not, needs more liquid. If you can form it into a bullet, it is too dry. You’re looking for something that’s easier to spread. More water or broth makes more space between the corn flour and room for the lard to trap air (which helps with steaming).
Edited to say “liquid” (broth or water).
Idk where this float test came from but all that matters is that you like the texture of the masa.
My grandma showed me the floating masa trick. We usually add the water from the boiled pasillas to the masa. The person who commented that it if you are able to roll it up, it’s too dry is correct too
This is a thing??
This is not how I “drop the kids off at the pool”.
My family does the float test, but they just grab a little pinch of the masa to drop into the water. They don’t roll it into a solid ball. The mass/shape may be impacting the float. Like everyone else says, though, if they’re delicious to you then that’s what matters.
All float….
TIL your masa is supposed to float?
Nah, it just needs to taste good. My mom and aunt make tamales often and I have never seen them do that. On the contrary they’ll probably laugh and be like “porque estas jugando con la masa. Ya te dije que no juegues con la comida!” (Why are you playing with the dough, I told you not to play with food!)
Not enough manteca. It’s the grease in the Manteca that makes it float
Never heard of that. Watched pro tamale makers and they never did that. Sounds like some cooking show innovation
What on earth? Lol never heard of this in all my life. Season the masa and don’t skimp on the filling.
I really beat my masa and lard and slowly add liquid to get something like hummus in texture. It floats. I am a gringa though.
It does need to float. The reason is for your masa to be fluffy so when you eat the tamal it isn’t dry and makes the masa more airy. Some people don’t do this because they like their tamales hard. However, I suggest adding a bit of more lard or beat the masa more to get it all mixed well. Good luck it isn’t the end of the world