Oct232010
INSTANT SURVIVAL TIP: Masa Harina for Gluten-Free Cooking
image by lucianvenutian
This week I made a soup that called for a quarter cup of masa de harina. I haven’t used masa, cornmeal dough, much in my cooking, in spite of a lifetime in the Southwest. Masa de harina , or just masa harina, is a dry powder made from corn and is the main ingredient in delicious corn tortillas and tamales. It’s also used as a hearty thickener for soups, stews, and chilis. For those on a gluten-free diet, this is a wonderful option to wheat and wheat flour.
If you purchase masa harina in a paper or plastic bag, remember to re-package it in a sturdy PETE container with an oxygen absorber for the longest possible shelf life. Oh, and learn how to make homemade corn tortillas! They’re a simple combination of water and masa harina, but it takes a while to learn how to produce the perfect tortilla.
Oh, don’t confuse cornmeal or corn flour with masa. They are produced in very different ways and won’t give you the same result in your cooking and baking.
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(17) Readers Comments
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Mary
One of the things I love about this site (and the internet overall) is the ability to learn so many new things. I had never even heard of masa harina until I saw this article. I will start learning more and give it try. I recently decided that I wanted to learn to make red wine vinegar from our undrank (undrunk?) red wine. (Our whites get totally consumed, but the reds have one to two glasses gone and then go bad). So I of course start googling and learn that there is a thing/creature called mother of vinegar that sounds kind of slimy and gross, but is needed for fermentation. Any of you sage viewers that know more about it, please share!
TheSurvivalMom
Thanks so much, Mary! I learn a lot from all my readers! Sometimes when I read all of your comments, I think, "I have the smartest readers in the world!"
)
Barbara
I have never tried to make vinegar, though I've read through the instructions. It seems a very hit and miss project that many never get the hang of. If you've got a copy of Carla Emery's "Encyclopedia of Country Living" (the epitome of do-it-yourself homemaking) she tells how she never got it right along with a funny anecdote about her daughter falling, rump first, into a large crock of fermenting vinegar.
I don't want to discourage you from trying, by any means! It could be fun and useful. I'm sure you could find information on-line.
Barbara
As with any grain milled into flour, this product has a shorter shelf life than the whole grain version. If you eat a lot of Tex-mex, Mexican or South American foods it would be a good idea to store dried corn and grind your own.
Dried corn is one of the hardest grains to grind, and could be havoc on your grinder. Some even recommend you don't do corn.
I don't like the use of popcorn for corn storage. Popcorn is bred to have very glassy and tough outer shell to promote the "popping" process, making it less than ideal for other uses. I store what is called Dent Corn. There is also Flint, and other kinds, sometimes referred to as Field Corn. They are all human edible, and all share nearly identical nutrients.
LizLong
We recently bought some pop corn from a farm near here that grows it. Clearly, TOTALLY different from regular sweet corn. I have seed to grow dent corn but didn't get there this year.
Do you know what the shelf life is for corn flour?
Hawaii Honey
In all of your posts , when you talk about storing wheat, I would give a sigh! I often think, " I should store some wheat, even though most of my family won't eat it. It just seems like an American thing to do!" My daughter and I are both gluten free (we have less joint aches and headaches, so it is worth it), so we vacuum sealed and stored a LOT of masa harina to make corn tortillas with in the future. It is a great thickener agent too when making chili or stews. It adds a nice texture and taste. I like that you can add just a little water to it and then easily make the tortillas, grill them over a fire or on a flat pan heated by sterno and you have a nice comfort food to eat with some beans and veggies. It is inexpensive and very easy to use.
An American Woman
This nice wonderful tasting comfort food of "masa harina to make corn tortillas" and beans may end up being our (staple survival food) real soon. I hope things don't get that bad. But my gut instinct tells me– it IS going to be that bad- real soon.
God Bless us all,
GoneWithTheWind
Masa Harina is a survival food (in much the same way most grains are but eaiser to prepare then most grains). It is more nutricious then corn or corn meal due to the process used to make it. It can be cooked in much the same way you can cook cornmeal. It has a little different taste but can indeed be used in any recipe calling for cornmeal. In our Western society corn meal is not a staple and although you can find it in a supermarket it is generally in small packages and somewhat more expensive then masa harina is. But as a result of the Mexican input to our multi-culturism you can find masa harina cheaply and in larger packages in most super markets. I even put some in my baked beans (hey, beans and grain equal complete protein) to thicken the sauce. I am (seriously) conducting an experiment on the long term storage qualities of masa harina right now I have a package on my shelf that is 30 months since I opened it and I keep checking for any off taste or quality issue. Not scientific but still informative.
Midge
Typical Mexican-style Masa is not made from sweet corn. It is commonly Dent corn. Typical American-style Corn Meal is sweet corn, so we notice a difference in taste. Most American corn meals are de-germed. They remove the oil rich center 'germ' to make it store longer once it's ground.
In a good container and oxygen free de-germed meal may be good for 10 years. Ground with the germ still in it, even O2 free, I wouldn't trust it for taste and nutrition more than 3. (The same idea applies to all grains, flour storage vs. whole grain.)
Corn for Masa is soaked in lime to remove the papery outer hull of the kernel and dried again before grinding. (I use pickling lime.) The use of the alkaline lime also releases bound niacin so it can be used by the body. Cultures that typically used corn as a primary grain without the liming suffered from wide spread of Pellagra in the past until they figured out what vitamins are.
If you plan to eat a lot of corn, be sure to either use some lime, or get niacin from another source. Good information on this on Wikipedia if you look up Masa, pellagra, or nix-tamale (What the Mexicans call the very course ground cornmeal).
Connie
What do you mean by lime… or alkaline lime?
I, too, have gone gluten free, but sadly the bulk of the corn crop is GMO.
The diabetic lifestyle calls for no sugar AND NO FLOUR. Seems impossible, but potatoes are amazing and versatile. Currently, I am hugely into storing dehydrated potatoes.
Hawaii Honey
Hawaii Dad is diabetic too, but has a hard time with potatoes. They turn to starch and sugar too quickly in the body. He does better with sweet potatoes or yams in smaller quantities, but not white potatoes. Have you found a good brand of dehydrated potatoes? and Have you tried dehydrating potatoes? Just wondered how that turns out. We have found that quinoa is a safe grain for HD as long as he doesn't eat too much. It's a high protein grain. Very versatile and good tasting. We have vacuumed sealed and O2 'ed a lot of quinoa.
Connie
I hear beprepared.com has good dehydrated potatoes. I buy potato flakes at Whole Foods and mash together with canned sweet potatoes for the fiber and flavor, since either alone leaves something to be desired. I've read you can live on sweet potatoes (alone)!
Fam, faith, and food
Hawaii Honey,
I've made mashed potatoes, then watered them down a bit and spread them out on the fruit leather rack of the dehydrator. They dry up beautifully, and rehydrate into the exact taste of however you origionally seasoned your mashed potatoes. Try adding sour cream or yogurt. Don't be scared the dairy will kill you. What do you think dried yogurt raisins are made out of? It makes the mashed potatoes super yummy when rehydrated.
Midge
Chemical name is calcium hydroxide. Sometimes called slaked lime. It is a substance that is highly alkaline (probably called base, these days) the opposite of acidic. Sometimes used in making pickles, paint, soft drinks and plaster!
Judy
I really don't know much about lime except that one person told me they added lime to homemade pickles to keep them crisp…I couldn't seem to find what I wanted and asked in a store if the garden lime, the lime for toilets, and the lime for food were one and the same…No, there are a number of kinds…so make sure what you are using is for the purpose at hand.
Nancy
Speaking of thickening things like soup, you can also use instant mashed potatoes.
also gluten free.
Sis
Midge said, “Corn for Masa is soaked in lime to remove the papery outer hull of the kernel and dried again before grinding. (I use pickling lime.)”
Thanks, Midge, great post.
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Homemade-640/make-masa-nixtamal.aspx
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/Pickling-Lime.html
http://thenourishingcook.com/how-to-make-lime-water-for-soaking-corn/