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Masa harina is a pre-made corn dough that is dehydrated and packaged for convenient use at home. It's created by soaking dried flint corn kernels (which are tougher than fresh corn) in calcium hydroxide (also known as slaked lime) or another alkali. This is known as nixtamalization, and it has been reported since 1500 B.C. The method liberates vitamin B3 for usage and prepares the corn to become the best tortilla dough. Following nixtamalization, the food is refined further in a fine-grade grinder, resulting in corn dough. Masa harina, or masa dough, is formed after the corn dough dehydrates. It has a finer texture and is more like flour than cornmeal. This is why, when you add water to the masa harina, it instantly becomes flexible and ready to work with. It keeps its shape well, making it simple to steam, cook, or bake the dough.
Corn flour is flour made from dried entire corn kernels. It is classified as whole grain flour since it contains the hull, germ, and endosperm of the corn. In addition to being frequently yellow, corn flour can also occasionally be white or blue, depending on the type of corn used. It has a fine and smooth texture, akin to whole wheat flour. Corn flour, like all flours, is frequently used with a binder, such as eggs, to impart shape and structure to baked dishes and other foods. Corn flour doesn't taste particularly nice uncooked, but baking, frying, or grilling brings out its earthy, sweet flavour. Corn flour is incredibly flexible and may be used in a variety of recipes, including breads, muffins, waffles, pancakes, battered and fried items, and more.
What separates the two corn products?
Masa harina and corn flour are both different ingredients. These are the key distinctions between masa harina and corn flour.
• Masa is easier to digest due to the partial breakdown of the maize during the nixtamalization process. While masa harina is not as nutritious as fresh masa, the nutrients in maize may be more accessible (easier to absorb) than those in corn flour.
• Masa is a far older product than corn flour. Out of need, Mesoamericans developed corn nixtamalization centuries ago. Grinding dry corn kernels by hand proved impossible, and soaking them in limewater softened the kernels enough to grind. The European settlers did not nixtamalize their corn. Instead, machines were used to ground the kernels into cornmeal and flour. Unfortunately, they did not reap the nutritional benefits of nixtamalization. Although dry powdered masa harina is a more recent development, it still relies on nixtamalization.
• Use corn flour in the same way you would all-purpose flour. Make quickbreads and other gluten-free baked dishes using it, or use it as a breading ingredient for fried foods. Masa harina can be used to produce fresh tortillas, tortilla chips, tacos, and other dishes.
• The majority of corn flour is made from dried yellow dent corn, which has a slight dent in the top of the kernel. Prior to using metal rollers to ground intact corn kernels into a fine powder, millers remove the fibrous outer hull and nutritional germ. Masa harina, on the other hand, is made from white maize that has been nixtamalized, which employs an alkaline solution to soften the corn sufficiently to grind into a paste. The paste is then dried to create masa harina. Masa harina is typically made from white corn, whereas corn flour is made from yellow corn; nevertheless, blue and yellow corn masa variations exist. Aside from the colour, there isn't much difference between the two corns. Sweetness levels are determined more by the variety and seasonality of corn than by its colour.
