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.
Homemade Masa is better. It is also a pita involving many steps and a lot of time. I make it because I can’t get any other type, but sun drying corn, shucking, rinsing, soaking, nixtamalizing, removing the pericarp, then grinding is a multi day process. Think French fries but much more work.
All that said, the flavor is much better, you can play with different varieties of corn, and it freezes reasonably well. If it has been frozen for awhile you need to drain it and add starch to get it to hold together, the flavor does not change much though.
ETA : a meat grinder works well for this, as well as grinding chickpeas for Falafel
Thanks for that insight and tips on making homemade masa!
You’re right it does sound like a lot of work but I wouldn’t mind trying it at least once or making it in a few times a year. Both for the flavor but also for the knowledge and experience of the process.
How long does it take for the corn to dry in the sun?
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.
I don’t really have the capacity to make my own, but there is a company in Portland who makes masa from heirloom corn (Three Sisters I think?) and it’s definitely more flavorful than Maseca.
Thank you for pointing me in the right direction! I just found their website and it seems they also sell a diy kit for making your own masa. They don’t ship fresh tortillas or masa since they are perishable. I don’t blame them. If the whole point is to make a better tortillas you should probably make everything the same day.
Yeah, their masa comes wet like dough, so it’s sold in the refrigerated section. The kit sounds cool! I’ve met them at a farmer’s market and they seemed like good people.
