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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 19 2010, 04:32 PM (605 Views) | |
| yass | Aug 19 2010, 04:32 PM Post #1 |
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I used to live in Tucson and around the holidays there were always little Mexican ladies standing in front of the grocery stores selling tamales. The choices were red or green corn tamales. Red tamales are made of shredded beef and red chile and wrapped in a corn husk. Green corn tamales are made with green chiles and cheese, most frequently longhorn cheddar, and wrapped in a corn husk. Many people buy a dozen of each. I first heard you could make a masa adding creamed corn to make the green corn tamale taste, but it was ...ehhhh. Later, I found the site of some fancy restaurant in California saying that green corn tamales actually came about one year when there was a very poor corn harvest, and that people were hungry and so they gleaned the fields and picked the corns of cob that were damaged and scraped off the good kernels (of white corn) and that is how green corn tamales came about. More recently, I was browsing through an heirloom seed catalog when I ran into a listing for Oaxacan green corn, and in the description it said the corn was for making masa for tamales and tortillas.  I had an 'Aha!' moment. From there, I searched for more information about Oaxacan green corn, which is a dent corn, meaning it's not meant for fresh eating, but for grinding into corn flour, meal, or masa. I was also looking around at Painted Mountain corn, also a dent corn which makes corn flour and is a short season corn and only grows to a height of about 5'. I found a really good video from sustainableseeds.com of Painted Mountain corn being ground in a Corona grain mill and saw what the meal looks like of the Painted Mountain and another variety of yellow dent corn which looks more like corn meal. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3CkpfhoRi8 A revelation I was at a forum reading in a thread called Oxacan Green Corn, It's almost ready- not what? when I learned something about making masa from green corn.
Nixtamalization!? From there, it was an easy and informative education. Frugal cooking in the past often went way beyond simply trying to fill bellies. At it’s best, frugal cooks in the past made sure to fully utilize nutrition in the ingredients they used. We can learn a lot from historical practices…and mistakes. One example of how one, very cheap and easy practice can make a huge difference in the quality of life of many is nixtamalization of corn, a traditional practice in Mexico. Unfortunately, those across the border in the US hadn’t (and haven’t) learned to copy this practice and it has had devastating effects. “Consider maize (corn), towering grain of the Americas, a native food that would ultimately feed billions all over the world. True, this golden kernal has a wonderful taste, fantastic yields, and incredible adaptability to extreme climates. But, as food historian Sophie Coe has explained, what really made it a superior item was nixtamalization, a process developed by women somewhere in Central American, long before the time of Jesus. To make nixtamal, women soaked their corn grains in water with lime or wood ashes from their cooking fires, loosening the tough hulls that were characteristic of ancient strains of corn. The soaking made the kernels easier to grind into meal for tortillas. Or the cook might boil the nixtamal into a puffy ricelike dish called hominy (also called posole in the Southwest). Though these techniques made for good eating, much of the brilliance lay in the nutritional chemistry: alkali from the wood ashes enhanced the protein of the maize. How much did this process really matter? Nixtamalized maize was so much better than the unprocessed kind, wrote Coe that ‘it is tempting to see the rise of Mesoamerican civilization as a consequence of this invention, without which the peoples of Mexico and their southern neighbors, would have remained forever on the village level.’ Some millennia later, Europeans would adopt corn without nixtamalization, contributing to widespread malnourishment and vitamin deficiencies such as pellagra.” A Thousand Years over a Hot Stove, Laura Schenone, pg xxxi Corn was introduced in Africa without nixtamalization. Because it became a staple food for many, it caused many nutritional deficiencies. When corn is nixtamalized, it released the vital nutrient B3. This prevents the painful disorder, pellegra. Pellegra makes you develop sore skin and mouths, makes you thin, listless and could cause depression, halucinations, irritability, and other mental disorders. In reality, Pellegra can and has ruined many lives. In the Southern states, many of the poor depended on corn, once again without the nixtamalization process. Many of them suffered the devestating effects of pellegra because of it. While in Mexico, the poor did not suffer from it because their traditional practices saved them. It’s an important reminder of the power of cooking nourishing food using traditional practices. “It is an ironic thought that the adoption of one simple “primitive” custom might have saved the tens of thousands of ruined lives in the Southern States.” A Diet of Tripe, Terence Mclaughlin as quoted in Nourishing Traditions. You see, especially for the poor with limited resources, unlocking nutrients from grains, legumes, and corn is vital for well-being. When Europeans moved to America, they first survived because the Indians helped them. They would have done well to continue to learn and keep some of the Indians traditional practices, such as the Nixtamalization of corn. And we would do well to learn from them now. It’s not to late! We can relearn these simple traditional practices. Especially if things get harder here in the US, it will be very important that we learn how to best use the food we have to best feed our family. Nixtamalization could help us do that. For an example of how this is done, check out my recent soft polenta post. In my next post, I will be sharing more research about what Nixtamalization does. Releasing B3 is just part of the story. http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/0...on-of-corn.html |
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| yass | Feb 9 2011, 07:47 PM Post #2 |
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Yesterday, we looked at the history of nixtamalization and what a difference it can make in the health of those who use it, particularly for those who depend on corn as a staple. Today, I wanted to look a a little more of what happens nutritionally when you nixtamalize corn. It’s exciting to read about! Nixtamalization Releases B3 As discussed yesterday, vitamin B3 is necessary to prevent pellagra, which has many uncomfortable and even devastating symptoms. Health officials couldn’t figure out for a long time why poor Americans who depended on corn would develop this, while across the border, Hispanics wouldn’t. We now know that it was because their corn was nixtamalized which released vitamin B3. This simple practice prevented pellagra. I think that the reason that Italians who use corn a lot in the form of polenta haven’t had as many issues with pellagra (that I know of is) because they include many other nutrient dense foods that would help make up any deficiencies in their corn preparation. Nixtamalization Significantly Increases Calcium and Protein Quality The process also increases calcium, which is so important to our health, especially for those without access to dairy. It also increases the protein availability of the corn. You can imagine what this could mean for someone who’s diet is high in corn, but also think of the benefit it would have for us all! Nixtamalization Reduces Phytic Acid The process of nixtamalization also significantly reduces phytic acid. Since phytic acid blocks your absorption of zinc, calcium and other important minerals, it’s important for this process to take place. If you soak in lime, and then, like you see in my soft polenta recipe, soak with an acidic addition, you will reduce the phytic acid a lot. By the way, researchers consider this so important, they are working on developing low-phytic acid corn. Nixtamalization Reduces Toxins We have high quality corn here in the US, but not everyone is so lucky. There is a toxin called “mycotoxin “ that is present in a lot of corn around the world. They found that through the nixtamalization process, it was significantly reduced, even up to 90 percent! Conclusion This traditional practice really has a huge impact in the nutritional status of the humble corn. Through it, we can take a very frugal food, and make it nutritionally superior. And like I said in my soft polenta post, it tastes great when prepared this way! It’s no sacrifice to eat it. The only difference I found in how Nourishing Traditions has you prepare it and my research is that it was always rinsed of the lime before using it in a recipe. This is important if you want to reduce the mycotoxin content of corn (though that’s hardly usually an issue in the US). Other then that, check out my soft polenta post for step my step instructions on how to do this at home! I hope to have some new recipes using nixtamalized corn soon. What do you think? Would you be wiling to do an extra step for extra nutrition? Why, or why not? For more reading: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Nixtamalization http://fst.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/8/2/81 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization Thought this was interesting. How To Cook From Scratch Editor's note. . . When you are making any recipe that has water added to it, do not use chlorinated water. It will leave its taste in soups, dried beans, etc. Use spring or distilled water whenever possible. http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/0.../comment-page-1 Homemade Hominy (This isn't an exact recipe as such. However, it should be close enough that you could make hominy without much difficulty by following it and using your own good judgment.) One late afternoon, sitting on Mr. and Mrs. Matt Burnette's front porch, the subject of hominy came up. They have made hominy many times and remembered their parents and grandparents making it. Originally, one necessary ingredient was lye. To get lye, they used a section of a hollow tree, set it on a base that slanted, and filled the hollow part of the tree section with ashes from the fireplace. The very best ashes were green oak ashes. Water was then poured through the ashes. When the water trickled through at the bottom, it was caught in a bucket and poured back through the ashes until the lye water was as strong as they wanted it. They used this lye water to make hominy and homemade soap. The next step was to soak dry corn in the lye water until the skin and the little "nib" at the point came off. This might take a day or two and the hominy was stirred occasionally during the time. When the skin would come off, the corn would be swelled to a certain extent to break those skins and then it was washed thoroughly, many, many times to remove all the lye. The last thing to do then was to cook the corn until it was tender, cover it with a generous amount of butter, salt to taste and "dig in." I asked Miss Addie Wood about more exact measurements and she said she had made some hominy and canned it about a year ago. Folks today usually use soda to soak the corn. Both Miss Addie and the Burnette's told me this Miss Addie said she did about a gallon and a half of corn and used about two boxes of soda to soak the corn in, the soda being dissolved in enough water to cover the corn. From there on, the recipe is the same. Stir occasionally until the skins come off the corn, which takes a day or two, then wash it well to remove all the skins and soda. Then cook the corn until tender. Mrs. Burnette told me that they used to have a certain amount of their corn "cracked" or very course ground when they took it to the mill. This they would prepare like hominy but was called hominy grits. They would make patties out of it and fry them for fried hominy grits. I have noticed that a lot of old recipes are fried. I have put a lot of thought into why and having once owned a wood cook stove, I think I know the answer. The fire has to be stoked up so hot to bring water to a boil, it uses a lot of wood (not to mention heating up the kitchen.) Frying could be done at a lower temperature, reducing the amount of wood needed and increasing the comfort of the cook by many degrees of heat! While the wood stoves had ovens, and baked many delicious things, they didn't have broilers so it was mostly a matter of "bake or fry." When large amounts of things were to be cooked for canning, more often than not a big pot was set up outdoors with a fire going underneath it. This was done for things such as hominy or apple butter. A big batch of apple butter is a good day and night's work. It is made in a copper pot so the apples won't stick so badly and stirred constantly, usually with a long stick so the cooks won't have to stand so close to the fire. Apple butter is made at Mayberry Trading Post, the old time way, each fall. If you get a chance to visit this area, you can probably see it being made and buy a jar or two, if you wish. http://www.mtnlaurel.com/Recipes/hominy.htm I think I see now where the word "tamal-e" is actually derived from. I think it could be from "nix-tamal-ize" Sodium hydroxide, or lye, food grade, for nixtamalizing corn, is also used for pretzels, olives, hominy, and making soap. If you want some ready made, until you're ready to make your own as in the story above, you can get it , same place you can get soap nuts. The Corona grain mill is $38.95 at wisemantrading.com, but I bought one from eBay for $39.99 shipping included which I thought was the Corona, looks just like it, but isn't. |
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| yass | Dec 27 2017, 06:16 AM Post #3 |
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‘Tasteless’ tortillas hurting consumption They've lost their flavour, texture, says businessman out to rescue the culinary icon  Mexico News Daily | Tuesday, December 26, 2017 Nobody likes a tasteless tortilla and one man is on a mission to make sure that nobody has to eat one. Tortilla consumption has fallen 40% over the past 30 years because they have “lost their flavor and texture,” claims Rafael Mier, a businessman and corn promoter. Mier is determined to rescue consumption of the national culinary icon, and says that there is no reason why there can’t be a rich diversity of different tortillas and flavors. “In Mexico, center of the origin of corn, there is not a single tortilla: there are hundreds of tortillas as there are of varieties of corn,” he said. However, a trend towards homogenization of the tortilla and the use of inferior corn flours are to blame for their declining quality and in turn the dwindling number of people who eat the staple, he argued. Mier explained that a traditional process called nixtamalization — in which corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution to remove contaminants and increase nutritional value — is being lost and the quality of tortillas is deteriorating as a consequence. “A real tortilla made with nixtamalized corn is not the same as a commercial tortilla made with industrialized, low-quality corn flour with conservatives and additives,” he said. In Mexico, there are more than 2.5 million people who cultivate corn, around 80,000 tortillerías (tortilla shops), 15,000 convenience stores, 5,800 supermarkets and “none sell nixtamalized tortillas,” Mier complained. The corn enthusiast also said that other popular Mexican dishes such as chilaquiles, tostadas, enchiladas and tacos used tortillas as an “invisible ingredient” and consumers don’t pay attention to their “image, quality and flavor,” leading to further negative economic, cultural and health consequences. In addition, government authorities don’t keep records of who is cultivating what kinds of corn in the country, Mier said, implying that if they did, it would encourage the production of a greater diversity of tortillas and help restore their position at the apex of Mexico’s culinary culture. In contrast to Mexico, Mier said that tortilla sales in the United States are on the rise and argued that if Mexico is to reverse the declining trend here, people need to elevate what many see as a humble staple to a product of near sacred significance. “You have to look at the tortilla as [a part of our] national heritage in order to conserve the greatest exponent of our gastronomic culture . . . we must protect corn and the tortilla as elements of Mexican culture,” he said. https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/tasteless-tortillas-hurt-consumption/?utm_source=Mexico+News+Daily&utm_campaign=4abcc0effc-december+26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1536a3787-4abcc0effc-349504489 |
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