Azadeh Saadatmandi; Mohammad Elahi; Reza Farhoosh; Mahdi Karimi
Abstract
Corn tortiilas are flat breads made from corn dough (masa) which is prepared through the nixtamalization process (alkaline cooking). Corn, in nixtamalization, is cooked in a lime solution then the boiled maize is steeped in cooked liquor , following by washing out and milling to obtain wet masa flour. ...
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Corn tortiilas are flat breads made from corn dough (masa) which is prepared through the nixtamalization process (alkaline cooking). Corn, in nixtamalization, is cooked in a lime solution then the boiled maize is steeped in cooked liquor , following by washing out and milling to obtain wet masa flour. Drying wet masa flour in air oven produce dry masa flour. Cooking temperature, cooking time , lime concentration ,and steeping time significantly affect the quality of masa flour and final product( tortilla). In this research the cross effects of these four factors , to determine the best treatment for production of masa flour, were studied. Effects of cooking temperature (75,85,95°C) , cooking time ( 0,30,60 min) , lime concentration(0, 0.5 , 1%) and steeping time ( 10,14,18 hr) by measuring pH, protein content , ash content , color parameters, water absorption index (WAI) and using central composite design were investigated. Statistical analysis revealed the best treatment for production of masa flour as: cooking temperature 85°C, cooking time 30 min, lime concentration 0.5%, and steeping time 14 hr.
