Another Masa Tortillia Thread

[kikoman]

Well I finally got around to making Nixtamal , I started out with a pound and a half of corn, Two tablespoons of cal, and 2 quarts of water. mix the water and cal together, and added the corn.

Let it boil for 40 minutes.

Took it off the stove and wash it for about 6 times to wash the cal out of it, removed the husk on the corn kernels, and washed the corn about 4 more times.

I decided to make Posole out of this batch. I know I am going to get that is not Posole as you did not put red Chile or beans in it. as my restaurant used to do.

With the second batch I decided to make corn tortillas, so we ground that into Masa.

A plate of fresh ground Corn Masa!

So we made the Tortillas

Tomorrow We Will Make Enchiladas Chatas, It has been a long day.

Cheers:

[jaideeguy]

Sorry for the late reply......pc and then internet probs.

Quite a read Rice....and interesting. I have wondered how they do the nexamilization on a large scale. So this new process sounds much better economically and enviornmentally.

I didn't see where someone could get a small amount of the enzyme for home use> did I miss something??

Re: making the flour.....last year I did pretty much the same with some masa....dried it in the oven then reground it.

This year I did an experiment with my last batch of masa. After I made a tamale casarole, I froze the remainder of the masa and 2 months later, I thawed it out and tried to make tortillias, but it wasn't starchy enough and had to add some wheat flour to get it to stick together.

great that you are having good luck with your gourdseed corn....mine was a looser due to an unexpected hail storm 2 months ago that flattened it, but the few ears that survived look almost as good as the HK dent corn I grew earlier.

kikoman, hows your tortillas?? Lotsa work and fun to do on a cool rainy day, but we haven't had rain in CM for 8 months and it gets hot in my kitchen.

[kikoman]

Sorry for the late reply......pc and then internet probs.

Quite a read Rice....and interesting. I have wondered how they do the nexamilization on a large scale. So this new process sounds much better economically and enviornmentally.

I didn't see where someone could get a small amount of the enzyme for home use> did I miss something??

Re: making the flour.....last year I did pretty much the same with some masa....dried it in the oven then reground it.

This year I did an experiment with my last batch of masa. After I made a tamale casarole, I froze the remainder of the masa and 2 months later, I thawed it out and tried to make tortillias, but it wasn't starchy enough and had to add some wheat flour to get it to stick together.

great that you are having good luck with your gourdseed corn....mine was a looser due to an unexpected hail storm 2 months ago that flattened it, but the few ears that survived look almost as good as the HK dent corn I grew earlier.

kikoman, hows your tortillas?? Lotsa work and fun to do on a cool rainy day, but we haven't had rain in CM for 8 months and it gets hot in my kitchen.

They came out great, still need to get a fine-er grind, should have used my stone grinder but it was a long day and I tried a shortcut.

The Posole was great, the corn tortillas had a very good taste.

I also planted some corn and they began to sprout, looking good so far ,here it rains almost every day.

I am keeping my fingers crossed.

cheers:

[sabaijai]

Well I finally got around to making Nixtamal , I started out with a pound and a half of corn, Two tablespoons of cal, and 2 quarts of water. mix the water and cal together, and added the corn.

Let it boil for 40 minutes.

Took it off the stove and wash it for about 6 times to wash the cal out of it, removed the husk on the corn kernels, and washed the corn about 4 more times.

I decided to make Posole out of this batch. I know I am going to get that is not Posole as you did not put red Chile or beans in it. as my restaurant used to do.

With the second batch I decided to make corn tortillas, so we ground that into Masa.

A plate of fresh ground Corn Masa!

So we made the Tortillas

Tomorrow We Will Make Enchiladas Chatas, It has been a long day.

Cheers:

[jamora]

Dont know if anyone can use this, but in most Tops, Gourmet Markets and Central Foodhalls, here in Bangkok, they have 100% yellow dent cornmeal from Australia on the shelves for 80 THB pr. 500g. It is just branded as Polenta, which is Italian cornmeal, but with a bit of research i found out that in Australia they use yellow dent for Polenta. It is not a fine as the Mexican cornmeal, but a grinder or good blender can easily fix that. I use it for tortillas all the time, with great results!

The product is in a clear 500g bag, with a yellow label saying "Polenta".

Just a little extra, the Royal Project have started to grow Jalapeno chilies. So far I have found them in Central Chitlom's Foodhall. They come in bags with mixed red and green, and cost around 130 THB pr. kg.

[ACMIKE]

Dont know if anyone can use this, but in most Tops, Gourmet Markets and Central Foodhalls, here in Bangkok, they have 100% yellow dent cornmeal from Australia on the shelves for 80 THB pr. 500g. It is just branded as Polenta, which is Italian cornmeal, but with a bit of research i found out that in Australia they use yellow dent for Polenta. It is not a fine as the Mexican cornmeal, but a grinder or good blender can easily fix that. I use it for tortillas all the time, with great results!

The product is in a clear 500g bag, with a yellow label saying "Polenta".

Just a little extra, the Royal Project have started to grow Jalapeno chilies. So far I have found them in Central Chitlom's Foodhall. They come in bags with mixed red and green, and cost around 130 THB pr. kg.

Jamora,

Would you mind sharing your recipe?

Thanks, Mike

[Jimmyd]

Doesn't it need to be nixtamalized too?

[jamora]

Dont know if anyone can use this, but in most Tops, Gourmet Markets and Central Foodhalls, here in Bangkok, they have 100% yellow dent cornmeal from Australia on the shelves for 80 THB pr. 500g. It is just branded as Polenta, which is Italian cornmeal, but with a bit of research i found out that in Australia they use yellow dent for Polenta. It is not a fine as the Mexican cornmeal, but a grinder or good blender can easily fix that. I use it for tortillas all the time, with great results!

The product is in a clear 500g bag, with a yellow label saying "Polenta".

Just a little extra, the Royal Project have started to grow Jalapeno chilies. So far I have found them in Central Chitlom's Foodhall. They come in bags with mixed red and green, and cost around 130 THB pr. kg.

Jamora,

Would you mind sharing your recipe?

Thanks, Mike

Hey Mike,

I use the following recipe:

500g fine cornmeal

2-2.5 tbsp olive oil

a good pinch of sea salt

650 ml hand-warm water

Mix the cornmeal, salt and oil together. Add half the water, and let the dough sit for 15 min. Then slowly add the rest of the water, while using your hands kneading the dough.

Once the dough is soft and slightly sticky, you are ready to roll the tortillas. Depending on the desired size (I normally make them approx. 15 cm) take a piece of dough and flatten it as thin as possible (remember you have to be able to handle them, so 1-2 mm is ideal). Then fry them on a heavy dry pan, until they have the desired color and start to puff up, turn them and fry them on the other side, and you are all done. (Remember to let them cool down under a piece of cloth, so they will stay soft)

I can recommend flattening them between two pieces of polythene or similar plastic, so they are easier to handle, and don't stick to the table.

I normally get around 15 tortillas for around 90 THB, and you can easily freeze them for later.

[jamora]

Doesn't it need to be nixtamalized too?

You can. It gives a more authentic flavor, but it is not something you have to do, and it is fairly time consuming.

The cookbook I got my recipe from said you could use fine cornmeal, and the result was acceptable for my taste.

But if you want to nixtamalize it, you can soak the cornmeal, drain and wash. (but always check the label, some polenta product are nixtamalized, it should say that it contains lime)

[rice555]

Hello jaideeguy, want to thank you again for the HK seed, if all goes well, we should have some masa.

rice555

[Jimmyd]

I'm resurrecting this thread as it has great info. Anyone having any success in finding masa in Thailand lately?

[kikoman]

No have not found any masa available any where in Thailand, I am hopeful that sooner or later someone will import any brand of Masa Harina, I found it great for making tortillas and enchiladas chatas. But very poor for making tamales.

I will keep my fingers crossed.

Cheers:

[bonobo]

Jimmy D,

I sure don't mind this thread being bumped. There is quite a bit of good info here.

Kikoman,

You seem to be the man here with regards to tortillas. How are yours progressing? I keep wanting to try and make them, but I never made them back in the US, either, and I am not sure I really know how, even after reading various websites, given the lack of ingredients.

I bring back local San Diego tortillas and freeze them in batches of 8, and while they taste OK, they tend to crumble. For a neophyte like me, should I just bring back the flour next time and give it a go?

[Jimmyd]

kikoman: There are different kinds of masa, some is good for tortillas, some good for tamales. Fresh masa is even better, but again there are different kinds for different purposes.

bonobo: You can try the flour and see if you like it. The local mission brand tortillas are ok, if you have access to them.

[tutsiwarrior]

Jimmy D,

I sure don't mind this thread being bumped. There is quite a bit of good info here.

Kikoman,

You seem to be the man here with regards to tortillas. How are yours progressing? I keep wanting to try and make them, but I never made them back in the US, either, and I am not sure I really know how, even after reading various websites, given the lack of ingredients.

I bring back local San Diego tortillas and freeze them in batches of 8, and while they taste OK, they tend to crumble. For a neophyte like me, should I just bring back the flour next time and give it a go?

when you go to buy the masa get yerself a tortilla press at the same time...widely available in CA...makes the job easier...I brought one with me to England in 1988 along with 5 kilos of masa mix...my tortillas were a bit hit...folks there never had fresh corn tortillas before...

[kikoman]

I do not grow much corn anymore, as I have been sick for a while. My childern send me Maseca in a care package every few months. So I have been still making corn tortillas. I tried the Maseca para Tamales and it just does not do it for me, the masa taste gritty. I greatly perfer the sticky rice tamales my wife makes instead of the Maseca para tamales and I asked my kids to send me only maseca para tortillas. My wife still grows a few stalks of corn and I can make posole and menudo every once and a while.

One thing I have been trying again is to grow pinto beans, as that is one food I can not do without. I tried growing them before and they would start off great and once they reach 6' tall they would died, my mother-in-law sprouted them like mung bean sprouts. We planted them in containers and some of the vines are 5' tall the, looking good so far!

As the bagged beans are old and expensive a 454 gm bag is 64 baht, the new McGarrets 500 gm package is 68 Baht and I found a kilo bag at the store on Pattaya Thai I found a kilo bag for 125 baht( about $4.00 a bag). More that $2,00 for a 16 oz bag of beans.

I also brought a kilo of pepper Jack and another of cheddar cheese while it was not great tasting cheese its ok.

It is mostly used for cooking. There is a lot of Mexican and other western foods available in Pattaya,really a great selection, but expensive. even found a 1,lb box of saltine crackers.

On the tortillas, why do you not look up a recipe for flour tortillas, follow the directions closly, after you form the little tortilla balls, lightly rub a little oil on them and cover them with a dish towel and let them rest at least 30 minutes. before you roll them out, you also can use a tortilla press to do that, if you do not mind cooking little tortillas, I googled a picture up and gave it to my neighbor and they made me a great teak tortilla press.

Cheers:

Edited May 30, 2012 by kikoman

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah...I've made flour tortillas at home but it makes such a mess that the cleaning up can be a drag...I use a rolling pin that I bought especially for the purpose and it seems to work OK...basically just flour, water and cooking oil and if you add a bit of baking powder then you have arabic bread!

I had a mexican pal in Bolivia (where they don't eat tortillas) back in the mid 60s and his mum taught their Bolivian maid to make flour tortillas and she useta make a splendid egg taco for breakfast...

[rice555]

Hello All. I was in BKK last month and asked at Soi 33 Villa if they could order

some masa mix and menthioned that their where others that would be interested

also. I was armed with pictures of both major brands we can get in the States.

If anybody else wants to give it a shot, print out the product pictures and ask

them if they can order any.

Till then, it's back to fresh masa and other goodies from Korat

rice555

[tutsiwarrior]

ye gotta be careful as harina de maiz and masa mix are different things...masa mix has got some limestone included which is required for tortilla making...harina de maiz is just simple corn meal...good for US style corn bread but not much else...

and here is tutsi at the local market in Chichicastenago in the guatemalan highlands and there were some dudes that appeared to be selling rocks spread out on a blanket...tutsi: 'y estas piedras para que son?'...and then one of them growled; 'son para las tortillas, carajo...' and then later when I got back to CA I looked on the package of masa mix and then sure enough I noticed that a limestone substance is listed as an ingredient...

the Chichicastenango market dude was a bit rude but he may have been hung over and we were at a bit of altitude and nothing is worse than a hangover at high altitude...just try it sometime in Mexico City...

[kikoman]

To make Masa, the main ingredience is dent/flint corn, lime or wood ash, and water and a fire. I did buy some Don's foods corn meal, I believe it was at Villas in Pattaya, I plan to make some all beef hot dogs. and plan to use the corn meal to make some corn dogs.

I also have about 7 dozen corn tortilla in my freezer, my Thai wife learn how to make tortillas about 6 years ago and they are excellant, she make flour tortillas mostly and corn tortillas using Maseca para tortillas, tortilla press for the corn and rolling pin for the flour. Many Mexicans make tortillas using baking powder, the little fat flour tortillas from New Mexico and Texas! Arizona and Sonora style tortillas are very big and paper thin, back home the tortillas were 18' to 24 inches. wide.

Happy Tortilla making, how ever you like them.

Cheers:

Edited May 31, 2012 by kikoman

[tutsiwarrior]

To make Masa, the main ingredience is dent/flint corn, lime or wood ash, and water and a fire. I did buy some Don's foods corn meal, I believe it was at Villas in Pattaya, I plan to make some all beef hot dogs. and plan to use the corn meal to make some corn dogs.

I also have about 7 dozen corn tortilla in my freezer, my Thai wife learn how to make tortillas about 6 years ago and they are excellant, she make flour tortillas mostly and corn tortillas using Maseca para tortillas, tortilla press for the corn and rolling pin for the flour. Many Mexicans make tortillas using baking powder, the little fat flour tortillas from New Mexico and Texas! Arizona and Sonora style tortillas are very big and paper thin, back home the tortillas were 18' to 24 inches. wide.

Happy Tortilla making, how ever you like them.

Cheers:

yeah...most of the tortillas that ye get in Nicaragua are a bit chunky; sort of like pupusas without any filling and I suspect that some baking powder is added...not bad with a simple 'gallo pinto' (the local beans and rice combination...very tasty and easy to make if the frijoles are already cooked)...

[tutsiwarrior]

ye gotta be careful as harina de maiz and masa mix are different things...masa mix has got some limestone included which is required for tortilla making...harina de maiz is just simple corn meal...good for US style corn bread but not much else...

and here is tutsi at the local market in Chichicastenago in the guatemalan highlands and there were some dudes that appeared to be selling rocks spread out on a blanket...tutsi: 'y estas piedras para que son?'...and then one of them growled; 'son para las tortillas, carajo...' and then later when I got back to CA I looked on the package of masa mix and then sure enough I noticed that a limestone substance is listed as an ingredient...

the Chichicastenango market dude was a bit rude but he may have been hung over and we were at a bit of altitude and nothing is worse than a hangover at high altitude...just try it sometime in Mexico City...

yeah...and to follow up, once on acid in 1971 I tried to make tortillas with cornmeal alone (with 'surplus commodity' cornmeal that they handed out to poor folks in Oregon instead of food stamps) and it was a gloppy mess but we ate it anyway...

then when I saw the guys with the limestone in the market in Guatemala I said: 'hmmmm, the secret ingredient...' and then the corn tortilla making mystery was solved 15 years later...

Edited May 31, 2012 by tutsiwarrior

[rice555]

Hello All, from my reading of product info:

• Description
  Quaker® Masa. Tortillas. Gorditas. Tamales. Corn tortilla mix. Great corn taste!
  
• Ingredients:
  
• Corn Treated with Lime Water and Specially Ground, Niacin*, Reduced Iron,
  
• Thiamin Mononitrate*, Riboflavin*, Folic Acid*. *One of the B Vitamins.
  
• rice555
  
• ps, They used USDA surplus foods in large counties, in Hood
  
• River, OR in 72 had FS's, got them at the PO, too poor for a
  
• County office, it was a fed. program anyways.
  
• can't get rid of the dots
  

Edited May 31, 2012 by rice555