On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 916

They’re used to manufacture breakfast cereals, snacks, and beer, and are cooked into a kind of porridge that’s especially beloved in the American South Grits were once made from alkaline-treated hominy, but this is now rare Cornmeal is finer than grits, with particles down to 0.2 mm across, absorbs water and cooks faster than grits, and provides a subtler graininess It’s used to make unleavened mush, polenta, and johnnycakes as well as corn breads, muffins, and other baked and fried foods that include some wheat flour and leavening for lightness Popcorn Blossoms Leave it to Henry David Thoreau to see popcorn with fresh eyes In midwinter of 1842 he wrote in his journal: I have been popping corn to-night, which is only a more rapid blossoming of the seed under a greater than July heat The popped corn is a perfect winter flower, hinting of anemones and houstonias… By my warm hearth sprang these cerealious blossoms; here was the bank where they grew Corn flour is the finest-ground form of corn, with particles smaller than 0.2 mm, and is usually mixed with other ingredients to provide flavor in various baked and fried foods Wet-milled Corn: Masa, Tortillas, Tamales, Chips Tortillas, tamales, and corn chips are made from corn grains that are milled when wet, after they have undergone the preliminary cooking step called nixtamalization (p 478) The corn is first cooked in a solution (0.8–5%) of calcium hydroxide, or lime, for a few minutes to an hour, then is left to steep and slowly cool for 8 to 16 hours During the steeping, the alkalinity softens the hull and cell walls throughout, ...under a greater than July heat The popped corn is a perfect winter flower, hinting of anemones and houstonias… By my warm hearth sprang these cerealious blossoms; here was the bank where they grew Corn flour is the finest-ground form of. .. solution (0 .8–5%) of calcium hydroxide, or lime, for a few minutes to an hour, then is left to steep and slowly cool for 8 to 16 hours During the steeping, the alkalinity softens the hull and cell... tamales, and corn chips are made from corn grains that are milled when wet, after they have undergone the preliminary cooking step called nixtamalization (p 478) The corn is first cooked in a solution