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Comment by acadapter | Hacker News Reader

I wish that the "nixtamal" precooked form of corn would be more widely available in Europe. It really is a superior product compared to plain corn flour - I didn't really like most corn-based dishes before I tried it.

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Not sure where you are based, but recently found these german farmers [0] that use local corn with imported machinery for their products. They also sell fresh masa (which, I guess, you are referring to?) as opposed to already pressed tortillas.

[0] https://www.tlaxcalli.de/

Thank you! I had no idea this existed in Germany, and I know some people who will be very happy because of this discovery.

That makes me unreasonably happy to hear! I really miss good mexican and latin food in mainland Europe.

Of all places I could think of spreading the word HN was definitely the last place :D

Wow, that's quite the find. Thanks for the link.

It's honestly a shame how hard it is to find true latin american foods and restaurants in parts of europe. I stuff my face with anything mexican/latin american every time I visit the States...Already miss it.

Masa Harina is becoming pretty easy to find though. Most asian (for some reason) grocers carry it.

I literally just bought some nixtamal online the other day, I wish there were more shops that carried it.

More interestingly, I was extremely surprised to discover that nixtamal is completely absent in South America, despite the high consumption of corn products. I lived in Peru for a time, and buying nixtamal was impossible, not one vendor, physical or online, carried it.

The process is not completely absent in South America, it's just named differently. In Colombia for example it is referred to as maíz "pelado" and in Venezuela it is spelled slightly different "pelao" but the process is identical to what Mexicans call nixtamal.

If you're desperate enough, you can nixtamalize corn by getting your hands on some calcium hydroxide (referrred to as cal) and giving some kernels a good overnight bath in a mixture of cal and water. The obvious downside being that it takes forever (and also the mixture is caustic so you can't touch it).

I've done this process maybe 5 times, and I live in Mexico where it's done daily. It really doesn't take that long relative to cooking a good loaf of bread. And I've never had problems touching the mixture as long as I wash my hands etc. Not trying to dismiss you, just want to share that it's really an easy process and everyone should try it!

Coolchile in the UK will export their masa to just about every country in the E.U.

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