118 replies to this topic

[rancho_gordo]

I got 2 pounds of masa last Saturday. I've heard over and over that masa goes bad in a day or two but other than drying out a little, this masa seems fine. I know it was made fresh and has zero additives.

I described the masa elsewhere as being "alive" and it was and now it's a little duller but fine. Once kneaded with a little more water, the tortillas I've pressed have been grand.

[cristina]

A lot depends on what you're storing it in. If it's refrigerated in a plastic bag, it will normally go bad very quickly. If you've got it in the fridge in a glass or ceramic container, it might last longer.

Ranchito, you've just got the magic touch.

[rancho_gordo]

Ranchito, you've just got the magic touch.

Well, I think that goes without saying!!!! I think you have it, too!

But if it goes bad, I'll know it, right? It should be pretty funky, I guess.

[cristina]

It goes sour. Bleccchh.

[porkwah]

what city do you live in, rancho_gordo?

just wondering if there is any masa to be had in nyc.

[cristina]

Porkwah, is there a tortillería anywhere near you? If there is, they will sell you fresh masa. I suspect if you go to a barrio latino (Latin neighborhood), you'll find one easily. Everything is available in NYC.

[rancho_gordo]

what city do you live in, rancho_gordo?

just wondering if there is any masa to be had in nyc.

I'm in Napa, California, north of San Francisco.

I have a family that makes tortillas for my business, so I'm rather lucky, really!

[porkwah]

unless there is something new, there aren't any tortillerias in NY that i know of except for immense outfits that use masa of low quality.

maybe i'll head out today and do some investigation in one of the mexican neighborhoods here. but i wander through many of these areas fairly often and don't smell any corn.

[cristina]

Be sure to post back here about what you find out in your ramble. Inquiring minds want to know!


Cristina

[Lars]

I generally buy fresh masa at a Cuban market, and I would assume there are plenty of those in NYC. You don't have to go to a specifically Mexican market for masa - you could also try a Puerto Rican market.

For some reason, the Cuban market only sells fresh masa in fairly large packages, and so I have to repackage it and freeze parts of it. I don't think I've seen already frozen masa, but then I rarely look in frozen sections, except for fruit.

Fresh masa does go bad quickly, but it depends on how old it is when you get it. Look to see if it has an expiration date on it.

[rancho_gordo]

Fresh masa does go bad quickly, but it depends on how old it is when you get it.  Look to see if it has an expiration date on it.

I think I have to say it doesn't, if kept cool. Most Mexican cookbooks will tell you it spoils within a few days but perhaps this is one advantage of living north of the border. I've been present for all stages of preparation and our masa is 100% pure, made from cal-soaked corn, and it lasts for a week in the fridge. Again, it seems more "alive" the first few days but it hasn't gone bad. I've followed Cristina's advice and now keep it in a pyrex-style covered pan. I think in Mexico it isn't kept cool and I'm guessing it's consumed so fast it's not needed.

i think I'll make some tortillas now!

[cristina]

I'm scratching my head over the idea of masa in packages and masa with an expiration date. Where I live, I just go in the tortillería and ask for una bolita chiquitita, or medio kilo por favor, depending on whether I need it to thicken an atole or an atápakua or to make sopes, for example. Of course, I am here south of the border, where it's easy to go two doors up almost any block to a tortillería. Some of my friends here prepare their own nixtamal overnight and take it to the tortillería in the morning to be ground into masa.

Lars, I'm interested to know where you are that you can get packaged masa with an expiration date. Even when I lived in California, I picked up what I needed--freshly made and wrapped up in a piece of brown paper--from a tortillería. Until today, I have never seen or heard of packaged masa.

Ranchito, I'd love to try your tortillas, hot off the comal.

[extramsg]

I'd like to hear more about the masa in Cuban and Puerto Rican markets. It's worth noting that there are multiple things called masa in Latin American cuisines that aren't the same as the ground nixtamal in Mexican cuisine. One of the most common is the masarepa or masa para arepas.

The only way I can get fresh masa her in Portland -- that I've found so far -- even though we have several tortillerias is in the freezer section of some markets. Usually it's tamal grind and sometimes it will even be pre-mixed with lard and salt for tamales.

[guajolote]

I'm scratching my head over the idea of masa in packages and masa with an expiration date.

in chicago there's 4 or 5 major tortilla manufactuers. they are located in the immigrant neighborhoods of pilsen and little village, but they make deliveries daily all over the city. along with torillas they sell 5 lb cryovacked packages and 10 lb.. buckets of masa which have an expiration date. i think they last a month.

[cristina]

Thank you both for responding--I am amazed to hear this. I guess I'm just out of the loop. What else is new!