Masa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the dough made from corn. Masa or Masha was also a land to the west of Hatti during the Late Bronze Age; Masa was a member of J-Rock star Gackt's band gacktJOB. Masa is also an upscale restaurant in New York City.
Masa, or masa nixtamalera, is a fine maize dough made from corn boiled with lime and ground in a molino (a mill dedicated to that purpose). It can also be made by adding water to masa harina, which is ground hominy flour. It is used in the making of tortillas, tamales, pupusas, and many other dishes from Mexico, Central America, and South America. Masa is a very ancient food product; its preparation method discovered in pre-history.
Another use of masa is for thickening sauces or stews, particularly chili con carne.
In Mexican cuisine, it can also be cooked with water and/or milk to make a thick, gruel-like beverage called atole. When made with chocolate and sugar, it becomes atole de chocolate or champurrado.
Masa harina is different from ordinary cornmeal. Masa is made from nixtamalized hominy rather than plain maize corn. This makes masa tastier, easier to digest, and according to authorities, a more bio-available, nutritious food[citation needed].
In Puerto Rican cooking, the term masa can be loosely translated into starch mixture. Masa is applied to different types of flour, cornmeal, dough, batters, and pastes made of starches.
