The Masa Experiment

First of all, thanks to contributor "lasers" for the masa and tortilla advice in the "Pickling Nixtamal" post. Especially the corn nuts info.

The tortillas I made today with masa made from white dent corn I grew this summer came out ok. Not ever having had any made from scratch tortillas I really don't know how they compare with correctly made ones.

So I tried making chips out of the masa by pressing a tortilla in the makeshift press I found online (a cut-open ziplock bag and baking dish) and cutting the tortilla into strips to fry.

The first ones were too thick and tough in the center. To get the tortilla thinner I pressed it like the first one and then used a rolling pin to get it thinner. Better. The second batch wasn't done enough and tough in the middle whether eaten warm or cold. Good flavor though, real close to a Frito.

The third batch got fried longer and the fourth longer still. #4 was definitely overdone, verging on a burned flavor. Somewhere between #3 and #4 is the sweet spot but they get done so fast it will be almost impossible to hit it consistantly..

But I did gain some take-aways from the whole experiment:

It's true that fresh tortillas need to be eaten while still warm. The cold ones suck.

Since I don't eat a lot of Mexican food I don't think I want to go to the trouble of trying to make tortillas.

The tortilla chips were passable. I still think they need to be even thinner. But load them with salsa or whatever and wash 'em down with a cold beer and they'll do.

BUT.... The corn nuts I made from the nixtamal before making the masa were great! There will be more of those in my future. I've saved some of the best seed in case I have a spare space for dent corn next year.

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The Masa Experiment