This is an incredible series that tackles the likewise incredible nuances of some Oaxacan staples. Jorge's teaching methodology is sound, as are the cooking concepts he advances. It's like Masienda has found the holy grail to breaking these ancient and precious cooking codes. For the faint at heart, smaller hand crank corn mills can be found on Amazon like Estrella and Victoria brands. I recently purchased a few bags of heirloom corn from Masienda and when I opened the first bag, it was breathtaking. The beauty and the complexity of the maiz from this store are irreplaceable, period. Home cooks are restauranteurs are blessed and graced that this company is connecting us to products from the soils of Oaxaca. Many, many thanks.
I just discovered your company, thank you so much for bringing homemade tortillas to the hands of anyone without any necessary experience, I've lived in the US for about 12 yrs now and I can't tell you how much I missed good quality tortillas from back home from mexico. I love flour tortillas but corn tortillas is what I grew up eating are on another level so thank you for starting this company.
Gracias Senõr Gaviria. Very well produced and educational series of videos. It led me to your beautiful website, crisp clean and modern. A question arose: How does fresh ground masa become the chef-ready dried masa you sell?
when do you pre-cook and when do you not? in the second video you seem to do the same cooking process to al dente with the cal. I'm confused. To pre-cook without the cal or not? thanks
Hi Dove, sorry for the confusion. Here's the process, outlined: 1. Corn gets added to a pot with water and cal (1% to the weight of the corn - e.g. 10 grams of cal for every 1,000 grams of corn) 2. The corn, water, and cal are cooked until al-dente and the burner is shut off 3. The corn is left in the pot to soak for 8-12 hours (this is the nixtamalization process) 4. The corn is drained and rinsed 5. The corn is ground into masa
Hi Jaimie, good question. Calcium hydroxide is also known as slaked lime -- it's chemical lime, not the citrus fruit. Lime (the citrus) will not work for nixtamalization, but you can use other alkaline substances such as lye or wood ash.
You absolutely can. We share more info on how to do that in our upcoming book, MASA. Preorder here: masienda.com/collections/all/products/masa-book?variant=42212880908437
Hi William, yes there can be! When making tortillas from scratch you have more flexibility on the varietal of corn (different corns have different taste) and size of the grind. With masa flour you have a set varietal (currently Olotillo Blanco with us) and a finer grind, most commonly used for a table tortilla vs say a more coarse grind used most commonly for tortilla chips.
Masienda thanks so much for replying!!!I’ve been obsessed with masa as well but have not ventured into making it from scratch. I’m planning to order your masa flour. I think I’ve practiced well enough with the regular industrial brands. I was just wondering, given the same corn variety and the same grind, is there a big difference in the final tortilla product if it were made from scratch compared to when it’s “reconstituted” from the ready-made flour? So for example, would an Olotillo Blanca tortilla made from scratch be better than one made from the flour, all other factors kept equal?
@@loloi of course, thanks for your support! That's a great question, it's really a matter of preference. I wouldn't say one is intrinsically better than the other as you will have excellent corn flavor and aroma from both a Chef-Grade Masa Harina tortilla and a nixtamalized tortilla. Personally, I prefer a nixtamalized corn tortilla as my preference because there will always be some nuance to masa grind, pH, when you do it from scratch (and I just enjoy the overall process from start to finish).
@@Masienda I dream of the day I could afford to invest on a Molinito. But I guess for now, I'll make do with the masa harina. I'm also blessed to live 10 mins from South Philly Barbacoa and they sell freshly-made from-scratch heritage corn masa.
This is an incredible series that tackles the likewise incredible nuances of some Oaxacan staples. Jorge's teaching methodology is sound, as are the cooking concepts he advances. It's like Masienda has found the holy grail to breaking these ancient and precious cooking codes. For the faint at heart, smaller hand crank corn mills can be found on Amazon like Estrella and Victoria brands. I recently purchased a few bags of heirloom corn from Masienda and when I opened the first bag, it was breathtaking. The beauty and the complexity of the maiz from this store are irreplaceable, period. Home cooks are restauranteurs are blessed and graced that this company is connecting us to products from the soils of Oaxaca. Many, many thanks.
Thank you for all the kind words. We're so glad you find them helpful and there are many, many more to come!
I just discovered your company, thank you so much for bringing homemade tortillas to the hands of anyone without any necessary experience, I've lived in the US for about 12 yrs now and I can't tell you how much I missed good quality tortillas from back home from mexico. I love flour tortillas but corn tortillas is what I grew up eating are on another level so thank you for starting this company.
Thank you, Jose! We appreciate the support.
These videos are so well done. The kitchen is attractive, the narration is smooth. Thank you for all the hard work you did in preparing them.
Thank you for all your support. We're glad you like them!
Thank you! I live in Brazil where masa harina is impossible to find, will be giving this a try!
This channel is just down my alley
I just placed my order. I can't wait to get it!! Gracias
Fantastic series, Jorge! Saludos desde Miami. Looking fwd to getting a molinito someday.
Beautiful content! I'm obsessed!
Thank you so much!
Gracias Senõr Gaviria. Very well produced and educational series of videos. It led me to your beautiful website, crisp clean and modern. A question arose: How does fresh ground masa become the chef-ready dried masa you sell?
Good question you asked!
Our masa harina is made from fresh masa, and dried slowly in a controlled environment to remove all of the moisture.
when do you pre-cook and when do you not? in the second video you seem to do the same cooking process to al dente with the cal. I'm confused. To pre-cook without the cal or not? thanks
Hi Dove, sorry for the confusion. Here's the process, outlined:
1. Corn gets added to a pot with water and cal (1% to the weight of the corn - e.g. 10 grams of cal for every 1,000 grams of corn)
2. The corn, water, and cal are cooked until al-dente and the burner is shut off
3. The corn is left in the pot to soak for 8-12 hours (this is the nixtamalization process)
4. The corn is drained and rinsed
5. The corn is ground into masa
Can you use lime instead of the calcium H ? Thanks!
Hi Jaimie, good question. Calcium hydroxide is also known as slaked lime -- it's chemical lime, not the citrus fruit. Lime (the citrus) will not work for nixtamalization, but you can use other alkaline substances such as lye or wood ash.
Can you dehydrate the Nixtamalized corn and grind it into masa flour? Process and cook it first, then dehydrate?
You absolutely can. We share more info on how to do that in our upcoming book, MASA. Preorder here: masienda.com/collections/all/products/masa-book?variant=42212880908437
@@Masienda I’ll check that out. Thank you so much
@@crwood439 please do! Enjoy
2:54 No! That will eventually crack your tooth and then you'll lose that tooth.
Is there a big difference in taste/texture between making torillas from scratch and from a masa flour?
Hi William, yes there can be! When making tortillas from scratch you have more flexibility on the varietal of corn (different corns have different taste) and size of the grind. With masa flour you have a set varietal (currently Olotillo Blanco with us) and a finer grind, most commonly used for a table tortilla vs say a more coarse grind used most commonly for tortilla chips.
Masienda thanks so much for replying!!!I’ve been obsessed with masa as well but have not ventured into making it from scratch. I’m planning to order your masa flour. I think I’ve practiced well enough with the regular industrial brands. I was just wondering, given the same corn variety and the same grind, is there a big difference in the final tortilla product if it were made from scratch compared to when it’s “reconstituted” from the ready-made flour? So for example, would an Olotillo Blanca tortilla made from scratch be better than one made from the flour, all other factors kept equal?
@@loloi of course, thanks for your support! That's a great question, it's really a matter of preference. I wouldn't say one is intrinsically better than the other as you will have excellent corn flavor and aroma from both a Chef-Grade Masa Harina tortilla and a nixtamalized tortilla. Personally, I prefer a nixtamalized corn tortilla as my preference because there will always be some nuance to masa grind, pH, when you do it from scratch (and I just enjoy the overall process from start to finish).
@@Masienda I dream of the day I could afford to invest on a Molinito. But I guess for now, I'll make do with the masa harina. I'm also blessed to live 10 mins from South Philly Barbacoa and they sell freshly-made from-scratch heritage corn masa.
Please don't break a tooth in pursuit of tortillas