About Nixtamal and Masa

Many centuries ago, Mexican cooks discovered that as good as corn is when eaten fresh or dried, it takes on an exciting new identity when treated with a solution of wood ashes, burnt seashells, or some other natural alkali. The process is called nixtamalización. Nixtamal, the resulting hominy-like product, is valuable both for nutritional reasons (some important nutrients are more available than in plain untreated corn) and for the unique flavor that the kernels develop. If you taste