UK corn flour is the same as U.S. cornstarch, which is the opposite of what is said here 00:53-00:59. In the U.S., corn flour means finely ground cornmeal
Hi Kandl, thanks for pointing that out. The important point is that you need to know where your recipe was written. What I tried to say is that in a recipe from the UK calling for corn flour you need to use what we call cornstarch in North America. Over here we can buy 3 different products; cornmeal, corn flour and cornstarch.
Hi Carmen. I've never had masa harina go bad on me and I just store it in the cupboard. Each bag has an expiry date on it but I've used it past the expiry with no change in taste. I keep the paper bag of masa in a large ziplock bag to contain any that falls out. I don't close the bag but it's possible that helps with freshness. I hope that info helps!
Hi M! I've only made pasta dough with my own flour blend (sweet rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour and millet flour) but you can definitely use corn flour. Toasting it would add another flavour but shouldn't affect the success of the pasta. I've seen corn pasta recipes that also use rice flour but also other corn pasta recipes using various combinations of quinoa flour and all of the starches. My best tip is to search for a pasta recipe that is written to include corn flour. Try it as it was written to see if it works and you like it. Then each time you repeat it you can adjust the amounts and see what you think. Keep good notes and you'll eventually perfect the recipe. Happy cooking!
Hi Joshua. In North America we use cornstarch to thicken sauces and coat meat or in breading. I talked about it in the video on How To Use Starches; cornstarch, potato starch and tapioca starch. There are a lot of corn products! (Note, in the UK they call corn flour 'cornstarch'.) I hope that helps.
Hi Reina! I've got 4 gluten free pasta recipes I'm experimenting with and 2 of them use corn flour. You could try and substitute masa harina for the corn flour and see what you think. I'm sure you know that masa harina has a distinct taste (I love it). I'm sure that will come through in the taste of your pasta so if that's what you're looking for give it a try. However, you still need a recipe that includes other ingredients to make a pasta dough. This is the one I've had the best results with: 120 g sorghum flour, 50 g potato starch, 50 g corn flour, 40 g tapioca starch, 6 g psyllium husk powder, 2 g xanthan gum, 110 g boiling water, 2 eggs. Best of luck!
Very educational video for me as I’m not very familiar with any of the three products! Can any of those items be used in place of all-purpose flour to make gravy? ☮️🖖🏽
Yes Ralph, I use masa harina to thicken my ancho chile gravy. Just sprinkle it on the pan drippings but you can see that gravy recipe here, everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca/recipe/ancho-chile-gravy/. I hope you'll give it a try!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 Hello Cinde, thank you for providing the link to your website! I found it fascinating! Will definitely explore more of it in the coming days! Also, thank you for being so passionate about this! It helps people like me who are looking for healthy alternatives! Please, keep up the awesome work you’re doing! And best wishes to you and your family! ☮️🖖🏽
@@ralphfurley123 Thanks Ralph, I'm glad you found some helpful info. People are definitely interested in different flours so I will be doing more videos on ways to use them soon.
Hello, as I don't find masa harina in Brazil (at least not for a reasonable price and an pretty high value for delivering it to 2,000 miles away), is there a substitution for it when preparing corn tortillas? I've tried corn flour and corn meal but these kind of raw ground corn will never become a dough, as they don't absorbs water as the masa harina. The "dough" just fall apart like wet sand, even if I use boiling water and let it rest for one hour or more. I have tried a pre cooked corn flour, labeled as "polenta", but it sticks too much and I need to use oil on my hands. Also, if I don't make really thin tortillas, the "tortilla chips" will become hard as raw pasta, not creamy and crunch. Any help is welcome! Thank you in advance!
Hi Eddie. I did a little research and although corn meal, hominy and grits are said to be substitutes I think you've proven that didn't work for tortillas. I ran across masa preparada, something I've never heard of but it might be available to you. My suggestion is to try tapioca starch with corn meal. Tapioca starch is know to make nice pliable wraps so I wonder if you could combine it with corn meal or corn flour to get a workable dough. Many recipes for tortillas call for 2 parts flour to 1 part corn meal. I found a recipe for 1 3/4 cups corn flour and 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1 cup water and 1 Tbsp oil. I think you should give that a try. If it works, the trick to getting your cooked tortillas to soften is to wrap them in a towel after cooking them. They will soften in a few minutes. Good luck!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 hello ☺️ I use tapioca flour everyday, and I will give it a try. When put directly on a frypan It turns from powder to a soft elastic disc. If cooked a little bit more, it becomes crunch, but not soft. The flavor is almost null, as tapioca is made from raw manioc. Maybe the corn meal will give it a corn taste, but raw corn doesn't taste good. My concern is that the dough becomes too stick to put on the tortilla press. I will let you know the results. Also, I am trying to avoid other ingredients but corn, because tortillas are made of corn, salt and water. As I live in Brazil, Portuguese colonization made us different from all other countries in latin america, starting from the language and food! Said that, there is no "masa preparada" in here. Masa preparada is the same as fresh Dough, before it's dried, ground and turned to masa harina. I even tried to nixtamalize some corn in order to make the real ancient tortilla, but we don't use CAL for ages in here. It can be done using wood ashes instead, but in a tropical country, we definitely don't use fireplaces at all. There is a corn meal in here made of cooked corn, just like the nixtamal, but without been soaked in alkaline solution. It's called "yellow corn flour". I will try it too. I found out that raw corn flour needs to cook for a long time in a lot of wather to become soft and stick, or it will taste like sand (texture and flavor). This process usually ends up creating a cream or a solid block of cooked corn, "polenta" in italian. (I use the word "stick" because I don't know the word that describes the dough to stay together, elastic and not fall apart as wet sand). For tortillas we need an already cooked corn flour, that will stick as soon as we put a little bit of water, so we can make the discs. My concern on using tapioca flour as "glue" is how it will behave when fried to tortilla chips. If we heat the tapioca flour too much it will behave like sugar, melting and becoming brown and bitter. Maybe I can try corn starch to make everything stick together. Due the covid-19, I am avoiding to go to places, but as soon as I go to the supermarket I will buy all the ingredients and try the tapioca one and the "yellow corn flour"... Thank you very much for the information and research!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 hello again! I was researching some types of corn flour and found out one of a kind in Brazil that is made similarly to the "masa harina", but without nixtamalising the corn grains. Even though I had bought the corn flour, corn meal, corn starch, pre cooked corn flour, tapioca flour and weat flour to try fake "masa harina" for corn tortillas, this product worked so well that I didn't bother to try the tapioca flour, and the corn starch in addition to the corn flour. If you are interested on how this flour is hand made, below is the link (portuguese language, but the images talk more than words. Just speed up and It will be very instructional). While the mexican nixtamal uses a chemical process to remove the "corn skin", this corn flour uses a mechanical process to remove it. After peeling the grains, the kernels are ready for hydration, doubling it's size and becoming soft for the grinding process. After it is ground, the moistened flour is sifted and dried on a hot surface. This process also cooks the corn flour, giving it a peculiar taste and behavior. th-cam.com/video/5Osn47Es1HM/w-d-xo.html In Brasil we call it "farinha de milho amarela" (yellow corn flour) or "farinha biju" (biju flour), where "biju" is the name given to the flakes formed when the flour is cooked and broken in small pieces. I hope you have liked the information!
you might want to learn a lil more about the process of nixtimization if you dont already know so you can explain it better in the video. The process is a lot different from how you explain it and it unlocks valuable vitamins and minerals that untreadted corn doesnt.
Thanks Rev. Maillet. I have read about the process of making masa harina but you're correct, I don't understand it well enough to explain it in exact detail. My goal is simply to help everyday cooks learn a little about the different gluten free flours that are available for them to use. I love the taste of masa harina and enjoy cooking with it.
Thank you for this. I cannot find Masa Farina. I find regular cornmeal (a staple in South Africa) too grainy for a flat bread. Should I grind the cornmeal more finely to get the consistency of Masa Farina? Thank you for your video.
@@ccc4102 Hi Caroline. No, ground cornmeal will give you corn flour. Masa harina is treated with lime so it is different. You can buy masa harina online or look for stores selling Mexican or Latin American foods. You might even ask at a Latin American restaurant and be able to buy some there. Good luck!
Thanks! I needed that explained.
I'm glad it was helpful!
Do you have a online class offering
UK corn flour is the same as U.S. cornstarch, which is the opposite of what is said here 00:53-00:59. In the U.S., corn flour means finely ground cornmeal
Hi Kandl, thanks for pointing that out. The important point is that you need to know where your recipe was written. What I tried to say is that in a recipe from the UK calling for corn flour you need to use what we call cornstarch in North America. Over here we can buy 3 different products; cornmeal, corn flour and cornstarch.
I have a question doctor
I'm not a doctor Mansilla but I'll try and answer your question.
Very good, thanks!
Can you please tell me how you store unused masa harina and how long does it last I really would appreciate it thank you so much
Hi Carmen. I've never had masa harina go bad on me and I just store it in the cupboard. Each bag has an expiry date on it but I've used it past the expiry with no change in taste. I keep the paper bag of masa in a large ziplock bag to contain any that falls out. I don't close the bag but it's possible that helps with freshness. I hope that info helps!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 how about if you store the leftover masa harina in a zip lock in the fridge.
+1 CONCERN about WHOLE GRAIN vs. Not.
Could also describe the Mixes like Jiffy (the cheap little boxes) which are mostly Wheat flour!
Sp glad I've just found this channel
I'm glad too. I'll be posting again soon.
I would like to make toasted corn pasta dough. Have you ever attempted to do this with corn flour?
Hi M! I've only made pasta dough with my own flour blend (sweet rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour and millet flour) but you can definitely use corn flour. Toasting it would add another flavour but shouldn't affect the success of the pasta. I've seen corn pasta recipes that also use rice flour but also other corn pasta recipes using various combinations of quinoa flour and all of the starches. My best tip is to search for a pasta recipe that is written to include corn flour. Try it as it was written to see if it works and you like it. Then each time you repeat it you can adjust the amounts and see what you think. Keep good notes and you'll eventually perfect the recipe. Happy cooking!
Where does CORN STARCH fit in with these variations?
Hi Joshua. In North America we use cornstarch to thicken sauces and coat meat or in breading. I talked about it in the video on How To Use Starches; cornstarch, potato starch and tapioca starch. There are a lot of corn products! (Note, in the UK they call corn flour 'cornstarch'.) I hope that helps.
I want to make pasta with masa harina. I just don't think it will work.
Hi Reina! I've got 4 gluten free pasta recipes I'm experimenting with and 2 of them use corn flour. You could try and substitute masa harina for the corn flour and see what you think. I'm sure you know that masa harina has a distinct taste (I love it). I'm sure that will come through in the taste of your pasta so if that's what you're looking for give it a try. However, you still need a recipe that includes other ingredients to make a pasta dough. This is the one I've had the best results with: 120 g sorghum flour, 50 g potato starch, 50 g corn flour, 40 g tapioca starch, 6 g psyllium husk powder, 2 g xanthan gum, 110 g boiling water, 2 eggs. Best of luck!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 You are amazing, thank you so much!
Very educational video for me as I’m not very familiar with any of the three products! Can any of those items be used in place of all-purpose flour to make gravy? ☮️🖖🏽
Yes Ralph, I use masa harina to thicken my ancho chile gravy. Just sprinkle it on the pan drippings but you can see that gravy recipe here, everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca/recipe/ancho-chile-gravy/. I hope you'll give it a try!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 Hello Cinde, thank you for providing the link to your website! I found it fascinating! Will definitely explore more of it in the coming days! Also, thank you for being so passionate about this! It helps people like me who are looking for healthy alternatives! Please, keep up the awesome work you’re doing! And best wishes to you and your family! ☮️🖖🏽
@@ralphfurley123 Thanks Ralph, I'm glad you found some helpful info. People are definitely interested in different flours so I will be doing more videos on ways to use them soon.
Hello, as I don't find masa harina in Brazil (at least not for a reasonable price and an pretty high value for delivering it to 2,000 miles away), is there a substitution for it when preparing corn tortillas?
I've tried corn flour and corn meal but these kind of raw ground corn will never become a dough, as they don't absorbs water as the masa harina. The "dough" just fall apart like wet sand, even if I use boiling water and let it rest for one hour or more.
I have tried a pre cooked corn flour, labeled as "polenta", but it sticks too much and I need to use oil on my hands. Also, if I don't make really thin tortillas, the "tortilla chips" will become hard as raw pasta, not creamy and crunch.
Any help is welcome!
Thank you in advance!
Hi Eddie. I did a little research and although corn meal, hominy and grits are said to be substitutes I think you've proven that didn't work for tortillas. I ran across masa preparada, something I've never heard of but it might be available to you. My suggestion is to try tapioca starch with corn meal. Tapioca starch is know to make nice pliable wraps so I wonder if you could combine it with corn meal or corn flour to get a workable dough. Many recipes for tortillas call for 2 parts flour to 1 part corn meal. I found a recipe for 1 3/4 cups corn flour and 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1 cup water and 1 Tbsp oil. I think you should give that a try. If it works, the trick to getting your cooked tortillas to soften is to wrap them in a towel after cooking them. They will soften in a few minutes. Good luck!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 hello ☺️
I use tapioca flour everyday, and I will give it a try. When put directly on a frypan It turns from powder to a soft elastic disc. If cooked a little bit more, it becomes crunch, but not soft.
The flavor is almost null, as tapioca is made from raw manioc. Maybe the corn meal will give it a corn taste, but raw corn doesn't taste good.
My concern is that the dough becomes too stick to put on the tortilla press. I will let you know the results. Also, I am trying to avoid other ingredients but corn, because tortillas are made of corn, salt and water.
As I live in Brazil, Portuguese colonization made us different from all other countries in latin america, starting from the language and food!
Said that, there is no "masa preparada" in here. Masa preparada is the same as fresh Dough, before it's dried, ground and turned to masa harina.
I even tried to nixtamalize some corn in order to make the real ancient tortilla, but we don't use CAL for ages in here. It can be done using wood ashes instead, but in a tropical country, we definitely don't use fireplaces at all.
There is a corn meal in here made of cooked corn, just like the nixtamal, but without been soaked in alkaline solution. It's called "yellow corn flour". I will try it too.
I found out that raw corn flour needs to cook for a long time in a lot of wather to become soft and stick, or it will taste like sand (texture and flavor). This process usually ends up creating a cream or a solid block of cooked corn, "polenta" in italian. (I use the word "stick" because I don't know the word that describes the dough to stay together, elastic and not fall apart as wet sand).
For tortillas we need an already cooked corn flour, that will stick as soon as we put a little bit of water, so we can make the discs.
My concern on using tapioca flour as "glue" is how it will behave when fried to tortilla chips. If we heat the tapioca flour too much it will behave like sugar, melting and becoming brown and bitter. Maybe I can try corn starch to make everything stick together.
Due the covid-19, I am avoiding to go to places, but as soon as I go to the supermarket I will buy all the ingredients and try the tapioca one and the "yellow corn flour"...
Thank you very much for the information and research!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 hello again!
I was researching some types of corn flour and found out one of a kind in Brazil that is made similarly to the "masa harina", but without nixtamalising the corn grains.
Even though I had bought the corn flour, corn meal, corn starch, pre cooked corn flour, tapioca flour and weat flour to try fake "masa harina" for corn tortillas, this product worked so well that I didn't bother to try the tapioca flour, and the corn starch in addition to the corn flour.
If you are interested on how this flour is hand made, below is the link (portuguese language, but the images talk more than words. Just speed up and It will be very instructional).
While the mexican nixtamal uses a chemical process to remove the "corn skin", this corn flour uses a mechanical process to remove it. After peeling the grains, the kernels are ready for hydration, doubling it's size and becoming soft for the grinding process.
After it is ground, the moistened flour is sifted and dried on a hot surface. This process also cooks the corn flour, giving it a peculiar taste and behavior.
th-cam.com/video/5Osn47Es1HM/w-d-xo.html
In Brasil we call it "farinha de milho amarela" (yellow corn flour) or "farinha biju" (biju flour), where "biju" is the name given to the flakes formed when the flour is cooked and broken in small pieces.
I hope you have liked the information!
you might want to learn a lil more about the process of nixtimization if you dont already know so you can explain it better in the video. The process is a lot different from how you explain it and it unlocks valuable vitamins and minerals that untreadted corn doesnt.
Thanks Rev. Maillet. I have read about the process of making masa harina but you're correct, I don't understand it well enough to explain it in exact detail. My goal is simply to help everyday cooks learn a little about the different gluten free flours that are available for them to use. I love the taste of masa harina and enjoy cooking with it.
Thank you for this. I cannot find Masa Farina. I find regular cornmeal (a staple in South Africa) too grainy for a flat bread. Should I grind the cornmeal more finely to get the consistency of Masa Farina? Thank you for your video.
@@ccc4102 Hi Caroline. No, ground cornmeal will give you corn flour. Masa harina is treated with lime so it is different. You can buy masa harina online or look for stores selling Mexican or Latin American foods. You might even ask at a Latin American restaurant and be able to buy some there. Good luck!
@@everydayglutenfreegourmet6242 I found a supplier. Happy 😏 thank you for answering 🌸
I sale masa in LA at 4150 Avalon LA CA 90011
That's great Luis!
Parle doucement s.t.p.
❤️