outer pericarp, or hull Early corn eaters developed a special pretreatment to ease the removal of the hull, which is called nixtamalization (from an Aztec word): they cooked the kernels in water made alkaline with a variety of substances The Mayas and Aztecs used ashes or lime; North American tribes, ashes and naturally occurring sodium carbonate deposits; and a contemporary Mayan group burns mussel shells for the same purpose One of the major glue-like components of plant cells walls, hemicellulose, is especially soluble in alkaline conditions Nixtamalization softens the hull and partly detaches it from the rest of the kernel so that it can be rubbed off and washed away It also helps transform the kernels into a cohesive dough for making tortillas and other preparations (see below), and it releases much of their bound niacin so that we can absorb and benefit from it Corn Flavor Corn has a distinctive flavor unlike that of any other grain Popcorn and other dry corn products toasted at a high temperature develop a number of characteristic carbon-ring compounds, including one that they share with basmati rice (acetylpyrroline) Alkaline processing gives rise to yet another set of distinctive aroma molecules, including one that is a breakdown product of the amino acid tryptophan, and a close chemical and aromatic relative of a characteristic note in concord grapes and wood strawberries (aminoacetophenone, related to the fruits’ methyl anthranilate) Masa can also have violet-like and spicy notes (from ionone and vinylguaiacol) ... flavor unlike that of any other grain Popcorn and other dry corn products toasted at a high temperature develop a number of characteristic carbon-ring compounds, including one that they share with... tryptophan, and a close chemical and aromatic relative of a characteristic note in concord grapes and wood strawberries (aminoacetophenone, related to the fruits’ methyl anthranilate) Masa can also have violet-like and spicy... basmati rice (acetylpyrroline) Alkaline processing gives rise to yet another set of distinctive aroma molecules, including one that is a breakdown product of the amino acid tryptophan, and a close chemical and aromatic