I say home cooked because with prepackaged masa it’s literally “add water” to prepare. It doesn’t take very long to make but since the flavor of the mass produced masa is very similar to some premade corn tortillas I usually only make them when I’m out of premade tortillas. In my opinion azul masa does have a better flavor, so I wonder if a less refined masa or even homemade masa may have better flavor.
Oh, it’s definitely worth it, just a lot of work.
Drying time depends on your amount of sun and local humidity. If you grow your own in a temperate climate and dry on the stalk it’s around 5-7 days. About the same for husked ears off the stalk.
It’s fun if you like that kind of thing (I do) but it’s not ‘I’ll make fresh Masa for dinner tonight’.
While I have tried growing my own corn, it didn’t really work out that well. I honestly didn’t water them enough.
You mention husked ears off the stalk, so if I were to buy corn in the husk would it be possible to dry those in the sun?
Sorry for the late reply, work is a biznatch, yes that absolutely works. I don’t know where you are but you want corn that is low in sugar, not American sweetcorn. If you can find Dent, or Asian ‘Sticky Corn’ they will work much better. Even popcorn will work, not great, but it does. Corn that is high in Amylopectin is what you want. You can adjust the starch level by adding cornstarch/ tapioca/ potato starch, or even cake flour if you need to. Corn that is high in sugar will often scorch when you toast it, and has less flavor. AP flour or Bread flour will make it gummy.
No worries, thanks for your knowledge!
Thanks, have fun, homemade Masa is better. Though any Masa is good Masa.