Page 8 - ISI_181_AprilMay
P. 8
Home & Lifestyle
PAGE 8 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT • APRIL | MAY 2022
Pozole Rojo and the Magic of Nixtamal
which you may know as cal or pickling lime.
BY STEVE hEIKKILA However, lye and wood ash are also some-
times used.
I know what you’ve been thinking. What Now you might be thinking, “Big deal.
the heck is the difference between masa Let’s get to the pozole rojo already.” Bear
flour and corn meal? The question keeps you with me, because this actually is a big deal.
awake at night. Somehow they’re different, Nixtamalization accomplishes several very
masa and cornmeal. Add water to masa important things:
flour, and you can make tortillas. Add water It makes corn taste better. That’s a good
to cornmeal and you … can’t. Why? Well let thing, right? You bet it is.
me cure your insomnia, friend. It’s because It destroys mycotoxins, which are poi-
of nixtamalization. sons produced by mold and other fungi
Great, you’re now thinking. What the commonly found on corn. Now that’s a
heck is nixtamalization? Well pull up a seat, really good thing. No one likes poison corn.
and let me tell you all about this fascinating It allows masa to form into a dough.
tale. There’s a Pozole Rojo recipe for you at Ding ding ding! Your insomnia, remember?
the end. Ground corn meal that hasn’t undergone
NIXTAMAL AND ThE FASCINATING nixtamalization doesn’t hold together very
STORY OF NIXTAMALIZATION well as a dough. This is why you can’t make
tortillas. Through the process of nixtamal-
ization, the alkaline partially breaks down
the cell walls of the corn. It also turns some
of the corn oil into emulsifying agents. Now
Photo by Steve Heikkila.
you can make tortillas, and arepas, and
208-733-5723 Nixtamalization is an ancient indige- gorditas, and tamales. These are all very
800-788-2843 nous American process whereby maize (aka good things.
corn) is soaked and cooked in an alkaline It increases the nutritional value of
489 S. Locust St. Twin Falls ID solution and then hulled. corn. The alkali increases the amount of cal-
The alkaline solu- cium, iron, copper, and zinc available. More
tion, at least among importantly, corn contains niacin (vitamin
Mesoamerican cul- B3), which is an important nutrient for
tures, was typically human health. However, the niacin in corn
slaked lime (cal- isn’t bio-available for human absorption.
cium hydroxide),
Are you over 55
and struggling to find a job?
Let SCSEP help you get back in the workforce.
Easterseals-Goodwill’s Senior Community Service
Employment Program (SCSEP) helps eligible low-income
seniors:
• Learn in-demand job skills
• Gain paid on-the-job training and work experience
at local non-profit agencies
• Find employment in the community
Learn more about these free services and
see if you qualify.
Call 208-454-8555 or
Visit www.esgw.org/scsep
• Audiology & Hearing Aids • Problem Snoring Treatment
• Head & Neck Surgery • Allergy Testing & Treatment
• Facial Plastic Surgery
Dr. Je Burry • Dr. Elizabeth O’Neill • Dr. Sennett Pierce
Call for an appointment today
Easterseals-Goodwill 208.816.4573
Senior Community Service Employment Program 330 Warner Dr • Lewiston, ID
www.esgw.org/scsep
