Hi there! Iām hoping to get a clearer idea of nixtamal and figure out if I can work this into my corn cooking practice.
Iām hoping over from r/italianfood. I have been learning to cook [polenta](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta) the way my dadās family cooked it and Iām interested in learning about nixtamalization for bioavailability. The village my familyās from relied heavily on corn but was also known for their poverty and malnutrition, the story of most who took corn overseas without studying how itās indigenously used.
I buy pre-ground polenta (yellow maize and buckwheat) from the store and know that historically, corn was cooked in wood ash to break down the kernel shell and allow the corn to be worked as dough. Modern processes seem to suggest soaking whole kernels in lime before grinding. Would I be able to soak my polenta grits in something like cooking lime to make it more bioavailable, or should I buy pre-nixtamalized corn meal?
We have masa instantĆ”nea de maĆz for tortillas but itās much more of a flour than Iām looking for.
by OldSweatyBulbasar
4 Comments
No. but you can buy masa harina which is similar price point and texture
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Don’t think nixtamal is going to get any good on pre ground maize, since nixtamalization breaks down the pericadium but no the inner part of kernel.
Nixtamalize I love that verb! š