52 Week Food Storage - Week 33

Week # 33: 8-10 lbs Masa Harina or other

Masa Harina:
Masa is Spanish for dough. The dried and powdered form is called masa de harina or maseca (which is actually a commercial brand); it is reconstituted with water. Made from corn that has been dried, cooked, ground up and dried again. It has a soft texture and reconstitutes very easily with water, so it is ideal for making easy-to-shape doughs. Although the masa harina can be reconstituted with many other liquids - from water to eggs to oil - water is generally the most common.

What can I make with Masa Harina?
The most widely seen use of masa is in making corn tortillas. To make them, masa is simply mixed with water and salt, then mixture is rolled out and steamed or fried. Other uses for masa harina include masatortillas, sopes and empanadas, enchiladas, pupusas, guaraches, arepas and atole.

Taste:
It has a nutty slightly minerally flavour that unsurprisingly tastes like corn.

Nutritional Value:
Gluten Free! Masa differs from Corn Meal nutritionally as well. The lime water used to treat the maize adds calcium and releases niacin from the niacytin which greatly increases the nutritional value of the corn and there is actually more available or usable protein.

Substitutions:
It is important to avoid confusing masa harina with cornmeal or corn flour. Cornmeal is made by grinding corn, either dry or wet, but the corn is not treated with lime first. As a result, cornmeals and flours behave different than masa harina in baking and cooking. Do not substitute corn meal or regular corn flour, however; they’re produced from different types of corn and are processed differently. They will not produce the same results. Regular wheat flour also cannot be substituted.
Purchase:
Grocery stores in North America that have a Latin American food section should carry it. Otherwise go to a Latin American specialty food store. It typically comes in bags that look like a bag of flour. Or even get it online. Just do a simple search for Masa Harina and you’ll get several results of where to buy it. Even Amazon.com has some!

Recipes:

Corn Tortillas   Rated: Submitted By: jenn Photo By: Allrecipes Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes Servings: 5 "This is the real thing! A simple mixture of masa harina and water results in the most wonderful corn tortillas you ever tasted. The secret is to use a cast iron pan! You can buy masa harina at Mexican grocery stores or in the ethnic food aisle of large supermarkets." Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups masa harina 1 1/8 cups water Directions: 1. In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes. 2. Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high. 3. Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of plastic wrap. 4. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=17500&origin=detail&&Servings=5