The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

How dried corn becomes masa, or nixtamal

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Nixtamalized corn, ready to be ground, at a mill in Mexico City. Photo by Keith Dannemiller.

Nixtamalized corn, ready to be ground, at a mill in Mexico City. Photo by Keith Dannemiller.

One of my favorite places in the Centro Histórico is an old corn mill on Calle Aranda. It’s one of the few places left in the neighborhood that still grinds dried corn into nixtamal, the dough that forms the base of tortillas, sopes, huaraches, tlacoyos, gorditas and countless other Mexico City street foods.

Nixtamal is made from dried corn that’s soaked in a mixture of water and a mineral called calcium hydroxide. The mineral, which can be white and powdery or rock-shaped depending on where you buy it, adds important nutrients to the corn and better enables our body to digest it. Upon contact with the kernel, the calcium hydroxide pulls at the kernels’ hard outer skin, which eventually sloughs off and makes the corn smoother and easier to grind.

Because of the fluctuating price of corn — and the unpredictable nature of a Mexico City mill, which may or may not have the nixtamal ready by the time customers want or need it — many tortillerías in the capital now use packaged nixtamalized corn flour, like Maseca or Minsa. When I lived in DF, I’d always ask before approaching a new tortillería: “Es de maiz maiz, o Maseca?” If they replied “Cien por ciento maíz”, I’d buy there.

A lot of people are increasingly worried about processed nixtamal flour completely supplanting real corn tortillas someday. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure where I stand, considering that Maseca and Minsa both provide cheap, quick alternatives (and nutrients) to families that may not have time to make their own tortillas daily. I prefer the taste of real corn tortillas, so I seek them out. Most mills in Mexico City still use thick discs made of volcanic rock to grind the corn, so that adds an extra layer of flavor.

The last time I was in Mexico City, I passed by the mill and caught a quick video of the grinder in action. A trickle of water from the faucet makes the dough come together into a solid mass. The bicycle wheel in the bottom-left corner of the frame shows how the workers distribute the masa to fondas and taquerías throughout the neighborhood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYYO5V2dC_I

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  1. We had a molino de nixtamal here in our small Michoacán village, but for reasons unknown to me, the owners closed it. Now the house wives have to go to Ihuatzio or Tzurumutaro, a few miles away. We have local amigas who supply us with lovely handmade tortillas. I note that one makes them thicker than the other lady’s. We like both.

    Saludos,
    Don Cuevas

  2. Hi Lesley, One day I was watching Diners, Drive Ins,and Dives and saw a feature on a tortilleria located in NYC, I think in Queens. They grind their own corn and make tortillas on machinery they bought it Mexico. It was a pretty neat place. Their website is tortillerianixtamal.com. I think you would find it interesting.
    Take care,
    Rick

  3. Okay…only problem with my dried field corn tortillas made here in Dauin, Negros Oriental, Philiuppines..is the elasticity…our homemade tortillas lack elasticity, not Taste though I perfer yellow corn leaving some fiber..its good for humans! I haven’t used Guar Gum…with the flour you can use dreid gum guar for improved elasticity. I use a crack metal corn mill purchased in San Luis Rio del Colorado, Sonora just south from Yuma, AZ . Here in Philippines I must grow everything..all the peppers . oregano(Mex)epozote, tomatillos,…we have fun making chile rellenos,moles,etc….make northern Mexican style flour tortillas with Manteca….Philippine lard…folks here eat the skin…NO Tanneries for pig skins, here…lechon baboy(pig) If anyone has an idea for making my nixtamal more elastic so I can roll it…I am all Ears! Thanks!

    • Hi Fred: When you say elasticity problems, do you mean the masa is too crumbly? I wonder if it’s the type of corn available in the Philippines — usually the corn in Mexico has enough starch to act as a binder.

    • HI Im at philippines and looking for mexican ingredients Im from Mexico…and I read that you have my precious EPAZOTE howcan i contact you?

  4. Hi, Lesley! Thanks for educating me. I will ask at my local tortillería if they use maíz maíz or maseca and do a taste test to see if I my untrained palate will notice the difference. I have some friends that add a white powder to the hominy called cal when they make pozole. Is calcium hydroxide aka cal?

    • Hi Lili: Yes, cal is calcium hydroxide. I’ve also noticed that Maseca tortillas smell slightly sweeter — not so much like corn. So you can also try that when you’re figuring out the difference.