Maize Flour
Maize flour or corn flour is a flour ground from dried maize (corn).Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', Third Edition, Pg. 165, Barrons Educational Series Inc, 2001 It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies. Coarsely ground corn flour (meal) is known as cornmeal. When maize flour is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater (a process known as nixtamalization), it is called masa harina (or masa flour), which is used for making arepas, tamales and tortillas. See also * Semolina * List of maize dishes References {{Portal bar, Food Flour Flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

Corn Flour
Cornflour may refer to: * Cornflour (in the UK), corn starch, from the endosperm of the kernel of the corn (maize) grain * Corn flour (in the US and elsewhere), very finely ground cornmeal, ground from dried maize See also * Flour * Starch * Gluten * Masa harina, a corn flour from the nixtamalization of maize * Cornflower ''Centaurea cyanus'', commonly known as cornflower or bachelor's button, is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Europe. In the past, it often grew as a weed in cornfields (in the broad sense of "corn", referring to gr ...

Flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures. Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe. Cereal flour consists either of the endosperm, germ, and bran together (whole-grain flour) or of the endosperm alone (refined flour). ''Meal'' is either differentiable from flour as having slightly coarser particle size (degree of comminution) or is synonymous with flour; the word is used both ways. For example, the word '' cornmeal'' often connotes a grittier texture whereas corn flour connotes fine powder, although there is no codified dividing line. The CDC has cautioned not to eat raw flour doughs or batters. Raw flour can contain bacteria like '' ...
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Maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences (or "tassels") and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that when fertilized yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits. The term ''maize'' is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as a common name because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike ''corn'', which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region. Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice. In addition to being consumed directly by humans (often in the form of masa), maize is also used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other maize products, such as corn starch and corn sy ...
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Staple Food
A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard Diet (nutrition), diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of Food energy, energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well. A staple food of a specific society may be eaten as often as every day or every meal, and most people live on a diet based on just a small number of food staples. Specific staples vary from place to place, but typically are inexpensive or readily available foods that supply one or more of the macronutrients and micronutrients needed for survival and health: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, Mineral (nutrient), minerals, and vitamins. Typical examples include tubers and roots, grains, legumes, and seeds. Among them, cereals, legumes, tubers, and roots account for about 90% of the world's food calories intake. Early agricultural ...
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Mill (grinding)
A mill is a device, often a structure, machine or kitchen appliance, that breaks solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting. Such comminution is an important unit operation in many processes. There are many different types of mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand or by animals (e.g., via a hand crank), working animal (e.g., horse mill), wind ( windmill) or water ( watermill). In modern era, they are usually powered by electricity. The grinding of solid materials occurs through mechanical forces that break up the structure by overcoming the interior bonding forces. After the grinding the state of the solid is changed: the grain size, the grain size disposition and the grain shape. Milling also refers to the process of breaking down, separating, sizing, or classifying aggregate material (e.g. mining ore). For instance rock crushing or grinding to produce uniform aggregate size for construction ...
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Cornmeal
Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', Third Edition, Pg. 165, Barrons Educational Series Inc, 2001 In Mexico, very finely ground cornmeal is referred to as corn flour. When fine cornmeal is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater (a process known as nixtamalization), it is called masa harina (or masa flour), which is used for making arepas, tamales and tortillas. Boiled cornmeal is called polenta in Italy and is also a traditional dish and bread substitute in Romania. Types There are various types of cornmeal: *''Blue cornmeal'' is light blue or violet in color. It is ground from whole blue corn and has a sweet flavor. The cornmeal consists of dried corn kernels that have been ground into a fine or medium texture. *''Steel-ground ...
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Limewater
Limewater is the common name for a saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide. Calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, is sparsely soluble at room temperature in water (1.5 g/L at 25 °C). "Pure" (i.e. less than or fully saturated) limewater is clear and colorless, with a slight earthy smell and an astringent/bitter taste. It is basic in nature with a pH of 12.4. Limewater may be prepared by mixing calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) with water and removing excess undissolved solute (e.g. by filtration). When excess calcium hydroxide is added (or when environmental conditions are altered, e.g. when its temperature is raised sufficiently), a milky solution results due to the homogeneous suspension of excess calcium hydroxide. This liquid has been known traditionally as milk of lime. Chemistry An experiment commonly used to demonstrate the interaction of CO2 and Ca(OH)2 is as follows. Resultant carbon dioxide passed through limewater in the right tube, producing a milky solution due ...
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Nixtamalization
Nixtamalization () is a process for the preparation of corn, or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater (but sometimes aqueous alkali metal carbonates), washed, and then hulled. The term can also refer to the removal via an alkali process of the pericarp from other grains such as sorghum. Nixtamalized corn has several benefits over unprocessed grain: It is more easily ground, its nutritional value is increased, flavor and aroma are improved, and mycotoxins are reduced by up to 97%–100% (for aflatoxins). Lime and ash are highly alkaline: the alkalinity helps the dissolution of hemicellulose, the major glue-like component of the maize cell walls, and loosens the hulls from the kernels and softens the maize. Corn's hemicellulose-bound niacin is converted to free niacin (a form of vitamin B3), making it available for absorption into the body, thus helping to prevent pellagra. Some of the corn oil is broken down in ...
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Masa Harina
''Masa'' (or ''masa de maíz'') (; ) is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', ''tamales'', ''pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a flour form called ''masa harina''. Masa is reconstituted from masa harina by mixing with water before use in cooking. In Spanish, ''masa harina'' translates to "dough flour", which can refer to many other types of dough. Preparation Field corn grain is dried and then treated by cooking the mature, hard grain in a diluted solution of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) or wood ash, and then letting it soak for many hours. The soaked maize is then rinsed thoroughly to remove the unpalatable flavor of the alkali. This process is nixtamalization, and it produces hominy, which is ground into a relatively dry dough to create fresh masa. The fresh masa can be sold or used directly, or can be dehydrated and blended into a powder to create masa har ...
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Arepa
''Arepa'' () is a type of food made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in the northern region of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in the cuisines of Bolivia, Panama and other countries. It is commonly eaten in those countries and can be served with accompaniments such as cheese, '' cuajada'' (fresh cheese), various meats, chicken, avocado, or ''diablito'' (deviled ham spread). It can also be split to make sandwiches. Sizes, maize types, and added ingredients vary its preparation. It is similar to the Mexican '' gordita,'' the Salvadoran '' pupusa'', the Ecuadorian ''tortilla de maíz'' and the Panamanian ''tortilla'' or ''changa''. Origins The ''arepa'' is a pre-Columbian dish from the area that is now Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. Instruments used to make flour for the ''arepas'', and the clay slabs on which they were cooked, were often found at archaeological sites in th ...
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Tamale
A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, herbs, chilies, or any preparation according to taste, and both the filling and the cooking liquid may be seasoned. ''Tamale'' is an anglicized version of the Spanish word (plural: ). comes from the Nahuatl . The English "tamale" is a back-formation of , with English speakers interpreting the ''-e-'' as part of the stem, rather than part of the plural suffix ''-es''. Origin Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC. The preparation of tamales is likely to have spread from the indigenous cultures in Guatemala and Mexico to the rest of Latin America. According to archaeologists Karl Taube, William Saturno, and David Stuart, tamales may date from arou ...
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Tortilla
A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica before colonization, tortillas are a cornerstone of Mesoamerican cuisine. Corn tortillas in Mesoamerica are known from as early as 500 BCE. Varieties Corn tortilla Tortillas made from nixtamalized maize meal—masa de maíz— are the oldest variety of tortilla. They originated in Mexico and Central America, and remain popular throughout the Americas. Peoples of the Oaxaca region in Mexico first made tortillas at the end of the Villa Stage (1500 to 500 BC). Towards the end of the 19th century, the first mechanical utensils for making tortillas, called tortilla presses, tortilleras, or tortilladoras, were invented and manufactured in Mexico. Wheat tortilla Europeans introduced wheat and its cultivation to the Ameri ...
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