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Procedure for preparing corn to eat
An 1836 lithograph of tortilla production in rural MexicoBowl of hominy (nixtamalized corn kernels)
Nixtamalization (/ˌnɪkstəməlɪˈzeɪʃən/) is a process for the preparation of maize, or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater (but sometimes aqueous alkali metal carbonates),[1] washed, and then hulled. The term can also refer to the removal via an alkali process of the pericarp from other grains such as sorghum.
Nixtamalized corn has several benefits over unprocessed grain: It is more easily ground, its nutritional value is increased, flavor and aroma are improved, and mycotoxins are reduced by up to 97%–100% (for aflatoxins).[2]
Lime and ash are highly alkaline: the alkalinity helps the dissolution of hemicellulose, the major glue-like component of the maize cell walls, and loosens the hulls from the kernels and softens the maize.[3] The tryptophan in corn proteins are made more available for human absorption, thus helping to prevent pellagra.[4]: §5.2
Some of the corn oil is broken down into emulsifying agents (monoglycerides and diglycerides), while bonding of the maize proteins to each other is also facilitated. The divalent calcium in lime acts as a cross-linking agent for protein and polysaccharide acidic side chains.[5]
While cornmeal made from untreated ground maize is unable by itself to form a dough on addition of water, nixtamalized cornmeal will form a dough, called masa. These benefits make nixtamalization a crucial preliminary step for further processing of maize into food products, and the process is employed using both traditional and industrial methods in the production of tortillas and tortilla chips (but not corn chips), tamales, hominy, and many other items.
^Thigpen, Susan (October 1983). "Hominy – Mountain Recipe". The Mountain Laurel. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
^Doralinda Guzmán-de-Peña (2010). "The Destruction of Aflatoxins in Corn by "Nixtamalización"" (PDF). In M. Rai; A. Varma (eds.). Mycotoxins in Food, Feed and Bioweapons. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. pp. 39–49. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-00725-5_3. ISBN 978-3-642-00724-8. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference researchgate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference fao92 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Harold McGee (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York, New York (USA): Scribner. p. 478. ISBN 978-0-684-80001-1. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
earliest evidence of nixtamalization is found in Guatemala's southern coast, with equipment dating from 1200 to 1500 BC. How nixtamalization was discovered...
kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization (nextamalli is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a type...
nextli. In a process called nixtamalization, maize is cooked with nextli to become nixtamal, also known as hominy. Nixtamalization significantly increases...
that the corn in a tortilla chip has undergone a process known as nixtamalization, which involves processing the raw corn with quicklime. Food portal...
treated with alkali to improve their nutrition in a process called nixtamalization. A simple dough made of ground, dried hominy, salt and water is then...
(maize) prepared it by nixtamalization, in which the grain is treated with a solution of alkali such as lime. Nixtamalization makes the niacin nutritionally...
throughout Mesoamerica; they cooked, ground and processed it through nixtamalization. By 3000 years ago, maize was central to Olmec culture, including their...
thoroughly to remove the unpalatable flavor of the alkali. This process is nixtamalization, and it produces hominy, which is ground into a relatively dry dough...
being maize that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are cooked in warm salted...
soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater (a process known as nixtamalization), it is called masa harina (or masa flour), which is used for making...
the similar tortilla chips, which are made from cornmeal and use the nixtamalization process (known as masa). It is one of two brands representing Frito-Lay...
techniques used today are inherited from pre-Columbian peoples, such as the nixtamalization of corn, the cooking of food in ovens at ground level, grinding in...
substitute for soap. Lye made out of wood ashes is also used in the nixtamalization process of hominy corn by the tribes of the Eastern Woodlands in North...
alkaline salt to make hominy, in a Native American technology known as nixtamalization. Cornbread was popular during the American Civil War because it was...
Olmec and Maya who domesticated maize, created the standard process of nixtamalization, and established their foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican...
elements from wood ash. Wood ash is sometimes used in the process of nixtamalization, where corn is soaked and cooked in an alkali solution to improve nutritional...
both made from corn, the corn in tortilla chips is subjected to the nixtamalization process, resulting in a milder flavor and aroma, and a less rigid texture...
dried maize Flour Starch Gluten Masa harina, a corn flour from the nixtamalization of maize Cornflower, a small annual flowering plant with blue flowers...
alkali salts (from the lime or ash)—this is an ancient process called nixtamalization. This creates a fresh, wet hominy, which can be dried for later use...
the original on February 24, 2005. Retrieved 2009-02-27. See also: nixtamalization "Diana snacks, El Salvador, Elotitos". Retrieved 2011-04-23. Escudero...
Americans of converting maize kernels into hominy in a process called Nixtamalization. The agriculture gender roles of the Native Americans varied from region...
result, the word means "little cake" in Spanish. Tortillas made from nixtamalized maize meal—masa de maíz— are the oldest variety of tortilla. They originated...
soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater (a process known as nixtamalization), it is called masa harina (or masa flour), which is used for making...
to be cooked further. These processes include drying, milling, and nixtamalization. Cornmeal – Meal (coarse flour) ground from dried corn Corn oil – Oil...
baked. Some varieties of arepas are made with "peeled" corn using the nixtamalization process; they are known as arepa pelada. Arepa flour is specially prepared...
extended family and neighbors to partake. A nacatamal is made up of mostly nixtamalized corn masa (a kind of dough traditionally made from a process called nizquezar)...
The cooking of maize grains in alkaline solutions, a process called nixtamalization, significantly raised the nutritional value of the common staple. Water...
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