Post by macmex on Apr 2, 2020 5:11:59 GMT -6
No, that's not true at all. It's fine to eat. Cornmeal is not nixtamalized. The meal in tamales, tortillas and hominy is. Now grits... that's an interesting one. Historically that corn is nixtamalized. Nixtamalization does improve the availability of vitamin B3 in the corn. Without it, one can develop a condition called pellagra. However, now a days most people eat other things as well, which will provide that. Modern grits are often ground without the nixtamalization process and few can tell the difference.
The claim that this process helps to remove mycotoxins is probably correct, yet properly produced and stored dry corn shouldn't have them to begin with.
When we first moved to Mexico to serve in missions we had to return to the USA every six months to renew our visas. Most missionaries, living in the interior of the country drove large vehicles and traveled between 500-1000 miles to get to the southern tip of Texas. We would take advantage of this trip to obtain supplies and car parts, etc. One of the things my family did was we'd stock up on cornmeal and grits, neither of which were available in Mexico, the land of corn. Cornbread, made with nixtamalized meal just isn't the same.
We'd buy several sacks of each and then, for the next six months we'd ration our use of them, in order to make them last till the next trip. After our first five years I took the time to figure out how to grind my own cornmeal, from corn readily available in the marketplace. This was huge. We felt like we were living high! Then, one day I set my grinder on a coarser setting and tried making grits. Walla! They came out great! I didn't nixtamalize at all. Yet the grits tasted great! We did that from then on. In fact, that's when I started growing non-sweet corn.
The claim that this process helps to remove mycotoxins is probably correct, yet properly produced and stored dry corn shouldn't have them to begin with.
When we first moved to Mexico to serve in missions we had to return to the USA every six months to renew our visas. Most missionaries, living in the interior of the country drove large vehicles and traveled between 500-1000 miles to get to the southern tip of Texas. We would take advantage of this trip to obtain supplies and car parts, etc. One of the things my family did was we'd stock up on cornmeal and grits, neither of which were available in Mexico, the land of corn. Cornbread, made with nixtamalized meal just isn't the same.
We'd buy several sacks of each and then, for the next six months we'd ration our use of them, in order to make them last till the next trip. After our first five years I took the time to figure out how to grind my own cornmeal, from corn readily available in the marketplace. This was huge. We felt like we were living high! Then, one day I set my grinder on a coarser setting and tried making grits. Walla! They came out great! I didn't nixtamalize at all. Yet the grits tasted great! We did that from then on. In fact, that's when I started growing non-sweet corn.